Craig Posted January 5, 2007 Posted January 5, 2007 CJ, Mike, et, al... Anyone ever use this stuff to make a topmast? Can you offer any tips? CJ, the foot valve in the well broke off ~4' below the top of the casing. Glad I called the drillers first. Saralee says it has been down there more then 15 years. Damn but time flies.... Quote
Charlie Jones Posted January 5, 2007 Posted January 5, 2007 ouch!! That's a bummer. Just 4 more feet eh? Well, sometimes you're the windshield, sometimes the bug Quote
Guest Oyster Posted January 5, 2007 Posted January 5, 2007 Well the story goes something like this. Fabricating parts using carbon fiber in the homesetting can be risky for parts under stress. I do solemly believer that a man of your caliber has the ability to do so, but of course you know what they say about opinions. Quote
Craig Posted January 5, 2007 Author Posted January 5, 2007 As it turns out Mike there is quite a bit of information about this on the web. Most says this is a super critical job best left to the professionals. Then, on the other hand, there are many who have done this in the home boat shop setting that got perfectly good result with lets say more time consuming methods. In the length I need for the top mast it is looking like the carbon fiber and aluminum are running neck and neck as to price. With the Al all I would need to do is make wooden reinforcements top and bottom. The carbon fiber is a multi day project that looks like a 25-35 hours time line plus what ever it takes to paint the thing. This will take more research for materials availability. Thanks for the confidence. Quote
Charlie Jones Posted January 5, 2007 Posted January 5, 2007 Ya know- many wind surfer masts are carbon fiber. You might luck up on one the right size and length for a good savings, both in time and materials. Quote
Craig Posted January 5, 2007 Author Posted January 5, 2007 That is an idea CJ. Them things new are about $30 a foot! I will keep an eye peeled I need between 2-2.5' OD for this to look right. You could rig a Barq with the wire I have on this so the over engineered safety factor is there. (And the cost) Quote
Guest Oyster Posted January 5, 2007 Posted January 5, 2007 Visit your local windsurfing shop. In many cases they keep broken ones that can be had. Remember my sprit pole? Thats two broken ones plugged and glass together. Its liteweight and works and 19 feet long. The pole actually is about ten years old from another oldtimer recycled. Quote
Craig Posted January 5, 2007 Author Posted January 5, 2007 There is a shop about 5 miles from here just going into Niceville. I'll stop by there tomorrow. thanks guys! Quote
Craig Posted January 7, 2007 Author Posted January 7, 2007 No luck at the wind surfer shop. He did have an $85 glass mast; however, it is only 2" OD. Kept pointing me back to the $300 tapered 15' masts. No clue as to what I was building even after I explained it. I had Sara's little dogs with me and his bird dog attacked my truck to try to get to them. He never did apologize for the scratches in my 15 year old paint. I suspect I can build this for ~$50 using my own epoxy and my manufacturer works cheap. Quote
Guest Oyster Posted January 7, 2007 Posted January 7, 2007 Sorry to hear about your truck's paint. I was just thinking about you today. This is the view of that pole about two hours ago. Please ignore the lose line as I did not get it in its proper position while we were in a hurry to get underway. But the way, how big do you need it to be? I will send you some others by way of e-mail. I do not want to offend others that are dealing with boat work during the winter time. Quote
Craig Posted January 7, 2007 Author Posted January 7, 2007 I got the other pics Mike. Thanks. Sure looked like fun. I an slowly but surely working out from under the to-do list and may be able to get back n the boat work. I still need to fix that hatch cover too... Quote
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