Preview: How to Build a Caledonia Yawl, Part 36 – Finishing the Mainmast
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October 29, 2014
Email this Video to a FriendSome planing, sanding and a little carving to bring our birdsmouth spar to completion and ready for paint or varnish.
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8 Responses So Far to “How to Build a Caledonia Yawl, Part 36 – Finishing the Mainmast”
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Peter Richardson says:
The birdsmouths I cut for a hollow yard are a bit dodgy. Hopefully it will come together OK, but is it a good idea to coat the finished spar in epoxy before varnishing , to give it extra strength?
Geoff Kerr says:
If I am painting or varnishing I usually seal with a coat of epoxy. If the piece is destined for an oil finish leave the wood raw for the oil.
John Sims says:
Soooo since the boat has been sailing, how about some video of this beautiful boat doing her thing? Just gotta say, watching this process and marveling at the skill & experience of Geoff, I would really love to see the fruition of the build! Thanks!
Larry Cheek says:
Once again, Geoff, this is an excellent and very helpful segment.
Did you happen to weigh the finished mainmast, and if so, could you report the figure here—along with the length and diameter?
The reason I’m asking: I’ve been contemplating whether it might be worth the cost to make a new birdsmouth mast to replace the solid spruce mast for my Devlin Winter Wren.
Steve Stone says:
Hey Larry. We didn’t weigh it, but Geoff might have that in his head and reply… but after sailing the boat for the summer, I can tell you the mast was fantastic to handle. Hardly an effort to stand it up or bring it down to stow in the sail bag. Every time I handled it, I thought how glad I was that it was hollow.
Geoff Kerr says:
This mast is more or less 17′ long and has a max diameter of 3 1/8″. This is the threshold at which I choose to build hollow rather than solid… on smaller spars the time and weight savings aren’t productive…this size and larger they seem to be. Off the top of my feeble head I think this spar would weigh in at 16#. Just so happens I have two Caledonia mains masts in my shop right now; one of each construction style. I’ll weigh them next work day and report the results here.
Geoff Kerr says:
Actual weights: Solid spruce( Northern white) 24#
Hollow Douglas fir, 16#,
As a final thought, in teaching classes I recommend that folks make up a sample or practice spar just to work through the logistics of a building a hollow spar. Practicing the cuts, set-up, clamping, etc on a 4 footer is cheaper and a lot less intimidating.
Larry Cheek says:
Thanks for the data, Geoff.
This also now has me considering VG Doug fir instead of Sitka spruce for my next mast. It’s a bunch less expensive.