hello people,im new to this and the forum so a big hello from not so sunny england lol.
i have a question regarding the mast support,i know the mast should be able to rotate but wouldnt the tube rub and wear the mast and cause it to fail? i see in the construction plans that people are using non seemless tube? surely the seam will aid in trashing the mast? what other ways are there to allow the mast to rotate but not rub in the tube? best regards,greenE.

so your mast goes into the plastic tube then? okydokey,thankyou ;-)

aha,i see,ill be using a ws sail/boom so i think ill try the above method,cheers ;-)

i dont like the thought of my carbon mast rubbing on steel so think ill use plastic tube insert or make a swivvling mast base with the mast clamped secure inside the mast support/base. (forgot tech name for it sorry)

greenE said...
i dont like the thought of my carbon mast rubbing on steel so think ill use plastic tube insert or make a swivvling mast base with the mast clamped secure inside the mast support/base. (forgot tech name for it sorry)

you can get sufficient swivelling movement by machining up a plastic cone shaped plug to fit in the base of the mast and then leave the mast step pipe as per the plans. ive seen this set up work well. there is a photo in my pics ,I will see if I can find it

We have found when using windsurf sail and boom there is not any mast rotation if proper downhaul is applied to sail. Boom will rotate on mast, rubber cushions and all. Boom is not designed to do that, but thats what happens. Using 2.25 OD, .065 sidewall seamless mast step material, 30" wood dowel inserted in mast base (close sanded fit, epoxyed, with one steel screw thru mast and dowel cut and filed flush), one racquetball in base of mast step to act as cushion and squeak reduction. All is needed because of downhaul tension applied, have crushed bottom of mast several times just setting downhaul. On my yachts the interaction between mast bottom and spine was a constant noise generator, racquetball solved it. There is excellent speed to be found using an unmodified w/s sail and boom, good luck.

does the wooden stiffener or alu tube etc inside mast have to be flexible? just thinking about which wood will be best,also thought of pvc pip in a pipe in a pipe ,by slotting them lenght wise so they fit snug inside each other,would this be enough ? cheers,

lol, ive seen the idea on youtube to make a pvc bow,i tell u what it was pretty powerfull and that was just 2 pipes together the second being roughly 1.5" diamiter and a thin glass fiber dowel in middle,so id say 3 pipes or more together would be stiff,could stagger them along the length too to make stiffer or softer,just an idea?...but yes i will post pics of my build,ive got 3 sails and a mast n booms,just collecting chassis materials now and ill start ;-)

Just shows that Paul is a "Forward Thinker" and way ahead of us.

I have brought my mini up to Shark Bay to find some decent wind between working on my house, have my eye on the airport but have to be careful as they have two commercial flights per week in the busy time!! Otherwise plenty of dry salt lakes here. Actually I'm sussing out the possibility of a long 200k moonlight sail when the sealed road is practically unused and Mr Plod is asleep. Meanwhile I'll go catch some Snapper and crabs.
..wok