How big to bore hole for spindrift mast

[davidpm]

I have the 2" aluminum mast and have a 2" hole saw. But that does not allow for epoxy and paint. Would I be better off boring a 2-1/8" hole and being liberal with the epoxy?

What is the ideal clearance?

[Hirilonde]

I take it this is for the mast step?  If so, you will note in the plans, that you need a shaped plug in the butt of the mast, and a slot, not a hole in the step.

[davidpm]

No i'm talking about the mast collar which the plans show has a 2" hole. My mast is exactly 2" so of course it needs to be a little bigger. I'm just asking what the epoxy plus paint adds up to so I make the hole big enough. I'm thinking that even a 2 1/8" hole will be too small.

The mast step shows a 2 1/4" slot at the widest point but that may be a little sloppy on purpose to allow for minor adjustments of the main.

[quote author=Hirilond

[wardm]

I made the hole in the collar a bit larger then applied a couple of wraps of epoxy and tape around the aluminium tube at the point where the collar touches the mast to protect the tube from wear. I noticed that if the fit is too tight it can be difficult to pull the mast out when derigging. So I sanded the epoxy tape back a bit to give a couple of millimeter slop so I can wriggle the mast out.

[Garry]

Wardm's solution sounds good to me. My hole is just a bit snug even after spending time trying to sand and rasp it bigger. I would go with the 2-1/8" diameter and add a layer of tape to the mast until its a good fit. That way it's not a snug fit for the whole length of the mast, but only where it needs to be snug.

[Hirilonde]

No i'm talking about the mast collar which the plans show has a 2" hole. 

Aha, yeah, mine is a bit tight as well.  When next I paint mine I think I will do as Wardm is suggesting.