Ed Hawkins Posted May 6, 2003 Posted May 6, 2003 I have been looking into tubing for my CS 20 masts. I am having trouble finding 3" AL 6061-T6 in .083 wall thickness. .065 wall is no trouble. Shapiro Supply can do all .065 for about $200.00. Will that be strong enough? Quote
Brent Posted May 6, 2003 Posted May 6, 2003 I have had a very difficult time locating a source for this aluminum tubing. Local suppliers are all 2x. I was delighted to hear in your note about Shapiro Supply...they are relatively close to me. I will be interested to hear the view if the 0.065 in 3" is strong enough. My guess is it will be ok, but maybe slightly more bendy. Quote
Tim Posted May 8, 2003 Posted May 8, 2003 Ed, I guess this is question for the designer. I would go for the heavier stuff personally. I'm using 11 ga = .124" at 2 1/2 inch bottom and 2 inch on top for the CS 17 just because thats what I have available. Also we have some reports on this forum that stiff masts work well. You can normally find aluminum tubing in 3 sizes (11,14 and 16 gauge) from pneumatic conveying suppliers. I got a quote from a supplier in Kansas for 2- 20' sections of 3" 14 ga = .083" for $104 total but I'm not sure on the grade of aluminum. I'm not sure how much to ship. Closer to you is Morris Coupling in PA a very large supplier. I would get a quote from them you can find the contact on the web. Tim Quote
Joe Nelson CS#35 Posted May 9, 2003 Posted May 9, 2003 From previous discussions... the .065 is the desired wall thickness. Quote
Ed Hawkins Posted May 9, 2003 Author Posted May 9, 2003 Thank you Tim from Denton TX, here is what Morris Coupling said... Thank you for your inquiry. Yes we do supply Aluminum tubing in 6061-T6 material. We supply it in 20 ft lengths. The 3" OD 14 ga. (.083 wall) is 2.68 per foot. The 2.5" OD 16 ga (.065 wall) is 1.78 per foot. The 2" OD 16 ga (.065 wall) is 1.40 per foot. This material is stocked in Knoxville,TN. We have a 50.00 minimum order. If you are interested in ordering we would need to set up either an open account or credit card account. If you have any questions, please feel free to call me. Thank you, Rose Merritt Customer Service Rep Morris Coupling Co. Phone: 800-426-1579 Fax: 800-545-1399 Quote
Guest Anonymous Posted May 9, 2003 Posted May 9, 2003 The 3" x .065" is what you need. The white hull with the red sails on our web site used spun tapered flag poles which were .083 wall thickness and you can see very little bend in the photo's. The blue boat on the site is using 3" x .065" and having watched her sail, I think that her mast bend is about right. Those prices you quoted seem too low. I usually pay about 3 times that price. The masts were designed around 12' lengths, so if they supply 20' lengths you could cut one into 2 - 10' lengths and make up the extra length in the next section. Graham Quote
Brent Posted June 13, 2003 Posted June 13, 2003 Shapiro supply came through on the mast tubing. Got the whole lot for less than $300 and fast service too. Quote
MikeM Posted June 13, 2003 Posted June 13, 2003 Outside of economizing and maximizing the use of the aluminum tubing in the normal lengths it's sold in, is there any reason why one shouldn't use more sections of varying diameter? Specifically, instead of using just three sections for a 21 foot mast, e.g., 3.0", 2.5", and 2.0", why not use five sections of say 3.0", 2.75", 2.5", 2.25", and 2.0"? This would provide for a smoother transition and simulate the taper of a wood mast. Furthermore, if .065 thick walls are used, it should allow for a better fit between the sections. The only possible draw back that I can see might be the fact that there are more section joints. Anybody have any thoughts as I'm ready to build? Quote
Guest Anonymous Posted June 15, 2003 Posted June 15, 2003 I just finished the masts for a CS17. Morris couplings would not confirm that their tubing was 6061-T6. it is some other weaker alloy and it is not seamless tubing. Sorry, but this Rose Merritt person does not know what she is talking about in my experience with her. Be careful. i got my tubing from online metals in Seattle. However, they only will ship 8' pieces, they only ship via UPS, and UPS will not take anything longer than 8'. However the shipping was only $22 from the west coast to Eastern N.C. very inespensive relative to the cost of trucking. I am using 2-1/2 x .125 for the bottom and 2-1/4 x .065 for the middle section. you might think that the middle would fit right in the bottom section, but no way. I had to make a tool to sand out the inner diamter of the bottom section. The positive thing is here, you don't have to make bushings for the middle section, just sand out the bottom until it fits the way you want it. We are going for the first sail tomorrow, so we will see how this combination works. Bill Quote
Guest Frank Ladd Posted August 21, 2003 Posted August 21, 2003 Anyone try using old cut down windsurfer masts? They can be had For about $15 each for the basic fiberglass ones in good condition. I gues they might be a littly more bendy but their are carbon ones available for about $50 that are really stiff. Quote
styge Posted August 21, 2003 Posted August 21, 2003 Regarding UPS, on their website, when you enter the dimensions of the package you intend to ship, the limit they state is 108", which to my little brain equates to 9ft! Just my ten cents! Styge Smith Tin Bin boy! Quote
Designer Posted August 21, 2003 Posted August 21, 2003 I have been using a broken windsurfer mast for the top 1/3 of my Spindrift 10 mast with good results. The windsurfer mast is neither long enough or strong enough for the whole Core Sound mast. Quote
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