Can I ask advice on an old I14 mast...

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Aquarius
Posts: 105
Joined: Thu Jul 13, 2017 11:08 am
Location: Woodbridge Suffolk

Can I ask advice on an old I14 mast...

Post by Aquarius »

Galatea, I14 no 478, has a very old, possibly original mast - hollow spruce, two integral winches, three diamonds and two parrot perches.

The 17 gauge piano wire used for the diamond shrouds and jumper shrouds isn't the problem - it is stainless and it seems fine. The problem is to do with the struts over which it passes. Uffa Fox for some reason made these of small aluminium tube which he sleeved inside a brass tube where it passes through the mast. The tension is adjusted very simply - the piano wire passes through the slot of a round headed brass bolt which sits in a nut that is too big to pass down the tube - screw the bolt in or out to vary the tension in the wire. Good engineering but.. after 71 years the aluminium is disintegrating.

I want to replace the aluninium and brass with carbon fibre tube.

Will this render the boat ineligible for CVRDA racing?
Last edited by Aquarius on Mon Sep 04, 2017 10:46 am, edited 1 time in total.
CVRDA eligible:
1962(?) Firefly F3163 "Aquarius"
1946 International Fourteen K478 "Galatea"
Not CVRDA eligible:
1991(?) Nethercot IC K229, "Ogaf the Unbearable"
Squib. possibly number 251, "Squirt"
realnutter
Posts: 212
Joined: Mon Aug 03, 2015 11:18 pm

Re: Can I ask advice on an old I14 mast...

Post by realnutter »

Good question! I've seen some carbon fibre foils that might look nice on my 1970 Moth.... So wondering the same thing...

But they're both development classes, right?
Matt

Int Moth K2992
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azimuth
Posts: 153
Joined: Thu Sep 11, 2008 10:13 pm

Re: Can I ask advice on an old I14 mast...

Post by azimuth »

I wouldn't think there would be an issue with this. Handicaps get tweaked for 'state of tune' to take into account mods which may make a boat quicker but I wouldn t of thought this would be in that category. Definitely wouln't make it ineligible, at clywedog there was an old Finn sailing with a carbon mast as he didn't have metal - no problem the handicap was just tweaked accordingly.

Not that it's up to me, just my thoughts!
Keith.

Finn K60 'Sfinnx' Fairey
Zenith 74 'Azimuth' (rescued from the undergrowth 20yrs ago)
Zenith 61 'Bali Hai'... A family heirloom...
chris
Posts: 2474
Joined: Sat Sep 18, 2004 7:43 pm
Location: somerset

Re: Can I ask advice on an old I14 mast...

Post by chris »

The cross trees wouldn't have been bog standard alluminium but Durallumin from the aircraft industry. In his Specifications he actually names it as that. You can obtain something that is the same but I have forgotton what the specification code is but you could find it quite easily. There is a product called duralac which prevents corrosion between alli and other materials . I used that to keep things authentic and haven't had any trouble with any of my wooden masts.
Aquarius
Posts: 105
Joined: Thu Jul 13, 2017 11:08 am
Location: Woodbridge Suffolk

Re: Can I ask advice on an old I14 mast...

Post by Aquarius »

chris wrote:The cross trees wouldn't have been bog standard alluminium but Durallumin from the aircraft industry. In his Specifications he actually names it as that. You can obtain something that is the same but I have forgotton what the specification code is but you could find it quite easily. There is a product called duralac which prevents corrosion between alli and other materials . I used that to keep things authentic and haven't had any trouble with any of my wooden masts.
I now feel compelled to do the same.

Found this:

Quote:
Aluminium Alloy – Commercial Alloy – 2014A
Also known as: 2014A – H15 is a high mechanical strength alloy
2000 series is alloyed with copper and can be hardened to strengths to match some steels. Formerly referred to as duralumin, 2014A combines high strength with good ductility and machining. It’s not recommended for welding and has poor durability.
Unquote

I can't find small tube in that grade. - may have to go for something close.
CVRDA eligible:
1962(?) Firefly F3163 "Aquarius"
1946 International Fourteen K478 "Galatea"
Not CVRDA eligible:
1991(?) Nethercot IC K229, "Ogaf the Unbearable"
Squib. possibly number 251, "Squirt"
chris
Posts: 2474
Joined: Sat Sep 18, 2004 7:43 pm
Location: somerset

Re: Can I ask advice on an old I14 mast...

Post by chris »

It's not compulsory!
Aquarius
Posts: 105
Joined: Thu Jul 13, 2017 11:08 am
Location: Woodbridge Suffolk

Re: Can I ask advice on an old I14 mast...

Post by Aquarius »

Finally got all the attachments (spinnaker cleat, burgee eye and cleat, fixed gooseneck, three cross trees and two parrot perches) off the mast.

It looked like the Wrath of God after scraping off the (black, opaque)copal varnish- black patches everywhere. You can't scrape Sitka spruce, so after some thought I set to with a no.4 smoothing plane with a dead sharp blade and a very small mouth setting and planed a thin shaving off the 1/4" thick walls of the mast....

I did think of oxalic acid but I chickened out, worrying that it might weaken the wood.
CVRDA eligible:
1962(?) Firefly F3163 "Aquarius"
1946 International Fourteen K478 "Galatea"
Not CVRDA eligible:
1991(?) Nethercot IC K229, "Ogaf the Unbearable"
Squib. possibly number 251, "Squirt"
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