davidpm Posted April 14, 2008 Report Share Posted April 14, 2008 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? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hirilonde Posted April 14, 2008 Report Share Posted April 14, 2008 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidpm Posted April 15, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 15, 2008 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wardm Posted April 15, 2008 Report Share Posted April 15, 2008 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garry Posted April 15, 2008 Report Share Posted April 15, 2008 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hirilonde Posted April 15, 2008 Report Share Posted April 15, 2008 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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