Steve W Posted March 10, 2012 Report Share Posted March 10, 2012 I'm just about to glue i the mast step in my Spindrift 11n that I made out of Phillipian mahogony. This step gets glued and screwed to the bottom of the boat and forward bulkhead. It occurs to me that the stress on this will ge great. It is covered with three layers of plywood, but maybe I should remake it out of some other wood. What do you all think? Take Care, Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hirilonde Posted March 10, 2012 Report Share Posted March 10, 2012 Mine is made out of a few layers of Okoume plywood epoxied together and epoxied in place (no screws). No signs of problems after years. The tang for the boom vang is screwed into it between layers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howard Posted March 10, 2012 Report Share Posted March 10, 2012 The base for mine was made from clear douglas fir. The ply caps from Okoume. No problems to date. As Dave mentions, a shallow rabbit was left in the doug fir base to inset the metal tang for the various turning blocks. The plywood mounted flush over that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve W Posted March 12, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2012 The plans call for that in mine. But the screws are shown coming only up into the base material, and not into the ply. I don't see any reasn not to put the screws coming up through into the plywood. I also match drilled the aluminum plate from the top. I realize all the force from the vang and halyard are in compression on the mast, but there is also the side pressure. I suppose the fillets reinforce the pressure. Thanks, Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hirilonde Posted March 12, 2012 Report Share Posted March 12, 2012 ......................but there is also the side pressure. I suppose the fillets reinforce the pressure. They help a little I suppose, but the fact that the entire mating surface with the hull is epoxied does most of the resistance to moving. The filets are mostly to make a nice smooth transition from piece to piece. Epoxy is an amazing adhesive, it is why we use it. It is why many of us wouldn't even think about using anything else for wood to wood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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