"BobFilipczak" wrote in message
...
Shiver me timbers, but I'm going to be in the position this fall of
building a mast for the new (old) sailboat I've acquired for next-to-
nothing. The boat is sound, but the mast is glued together and
threatening to come apart in many places. The boat is an old 1968 C
scow from Johnson Boat works in White Bear Lake, MN. The mast is about
22', and from what I can see, it's a kind of torsion box design with
lots of hardware holding it together. The box probably makes up 3/4 of
the total mast, and the last 5 feet are probably solid wood as it
tapers to the end.

Any reason I can't duplicate it with new lumber, put the hardware in
the exact same spots and be confident that it will hold together for
10 years?

Anyone on this list ever done this? [For what it's worth, I also plan
a pilgrimmage to the boat maker to quiz anyone I can find there with
some history and woodworking sense].

use it for a mandrel and make a carbon fiber tube by wrapping it around. you
can get prepeg fiber tape for not very much. do a thick buildup in the
places where you need the attachments, but you won't need any of the
hardware that simply holds it together. you'll just need to vacuum bag it
when curing. after you're done, you should be able to lift the tube with one
hand, it will be so light.