Painting the Sticks

[Oceandeep]

The time has come for me to paint my wooden mast and booms on my Hudson Force 50 Ketch. The paint is starting to peel and has lots of areas that are flaking off . Yesterday I scraped the lower section of the main mast to see what I was getting into. The good news is that the wood still appears to be in good shape underneath the paint but I'm looking for some advice on the best process to follow. My plan is as follows...

1. Scrape any lose paint off the mast a section at a time. I don't want to get overwhelmed by the scope of this project.
2. Treat the bare woo with Smiths Penetrating epoxy .
3. Sand the mast and maybe treat it with Smiths a second time.
4. Prime the mast with Interlux topside primer and sand between coats.
5. Fill any low areas with 2 part epoxy
6. Continue to primer and sand until I have a smooth surface
7. Paint 2 coats of Interlux topside paint on the mast.

My plan is to do the masts and booms a section at a time and it will be a good opportunity to check all of my fittings and bulbs and get comfortable working aloft. I suppose I really should go into a boat yard and pull the sticks and do this project on the hard but I thought that maybe I could work on it a couple of hours a day and complete the project in the marina.

Does anyone have any input on my process? Am I using the right products? Will this give me a good result? Any constructive feedback would be much appreciated.

Thanks for your help!

[Suijin]

The sequence looks pretty solid. At first I was wondering why you wanted to do a section at a time until you mentioned you're doing it in the water, so that makes sense.

With all that work, I would choose your paint carefully, going for the longest lasting stuff you can find. Interlux Brightside (Topside?) is one part paint. I would seriously consider using a two part paint if you can manage it for longevity. I think Alwcraft, which is brushable, will outlast Brightside but I'm not certain.

I might also explore options for what filler you use. While epoxy is more flexible than polyester and I think vinylester, masts flex a bit. I'd look for info on what's going to be the best solution for that. Probably epoxy with fairing filler, but it's probably even worth a call to Gougeon to check.

[Oceandeep]

Thanks good input on the choic of paint and the epoxy filler. I'm also thinking that several coats of a qwality primer with sandin between will help get the surface ready for the top coat

[Roy M]

Sanding and painting is a big part of the job, but so is the careful and thorough examination of every part attached to and through the spars. Removing the rig from the boat and setting it on supports allows you to remove the sail track and discover the dry rot that might have gone unnoticed which covered the screw hole beneath. Then there's the possible breakdown of the electrical conductors running up through the mast to the steaming light, spreader lights, the vhf antenna, etc. Then, again, each of those parts receiving the conductors may reveal decay and UV damage that would have gone unnoticed while you were bouncing around in mid air in the bosun's chair. And, then there's the wonderful moment when you realize why that halyard has been such a drag, with discovery of a jumped sheave, worn bearings, weathered hardware chewing up the lines, etc. And, the ability to modify and improve is so much easier when you can walk from one end of the mast to the other, with someone handing you tools, screws or just a hand. Plus, you will never really know the status of the compression bolts that are supporting the shrouds, unless you physically pull them and inspect them. It might turn out to be considerably cheaper and more efficient to pull the stick and do the job right, and thoroughly, then put it back on the boat and write a check. This is an opportunity, not a challenge. Don't blow it.

[Oceandeep]

Yeath you might be right. I think I will finish scraping off the flaking paint and treat the wood with penetrating epoxy and prime every thing to begin with
I know I could do a much better job with the masts on the hard. I'm planning to go cruising for a few years so I would like to have confidence in the complete sailing rig

[Stumble]

Skip the penetrating epoxy and go to a 100% solids epoxy. West, System 3, etc... it doesn't matter much. You will need three coats to be fully waterproof, ideally the inside would have been sealed at construction, but you do what you can.

After that you are on the right track. But I would really recommend calling the paint companies and getting their recommendation for painting a wooden mast. There is likely a paint system designed specifically for it that isn't commonly used elsewhere.

[Suijin]

If you're heading off for a few years you might want to bite the bullet and pull the sticks. I know when I have my mast down the list of maintenance items grows exponentially, in part because I discover things that need my attention and also because it's all so much easier to deal with when it's laying on sawhorses.

Doing a full refinishing while sitting in a bosuns chair is no picnic. The time and aggravation you spare yourself by dropping the sticks will more than offset the cost. And, you'll be able too pull all the hardware, refinish and rebed. Better result, less time, more confidence in the rig.

[UNCIVILIZED]

I'm in the camp of putting it on saw horses for maintenance as well. The work goes 10x faster, even if you have a tried & true system for doing major work aloft, which few people do. So for me, other than changing bulbs, inspections, or swapping out a stay or two, the rig comes down. Especially if it's been more than 2yrs since the last time it was unstepped.

There are some inspections that you essentially cannot do to it from aloft, since they involve disassembly of some major components. For example you stand a better chance of detecting broken strands in rigging wire if you can gently flex a stay back & forth near the end fittings while listening with an astute ear. Broken internal strands have a unique sound all their own, & they most commonly break by the end fittings anyway, so...

Keep a legal pad handy for the next several days, & write down everything you'd love to do to the mast given an unlimited amount of time & money. Including hardware inspections & upgrades, added lighting, like spreader lightes, etc.
Full on brainstorm it, & then also do the same with another wizened sailor or three. After which you can select & prioritize which jobs you'll tackle now, or do the prep work for now, so that it's easy to later fit the "nice to haves", whether you lower it for them or not.

For example, running a couple extra wire pairs now, in excess of what you currently need. So that if/when you decide to add another light, or a loud hailer, it's a simple job from the bosun's chair.
Or adding a masthead crane with a bail, so that if you want to add a spinnaker halyard later on, all you'll need do is clip a block to it, & then reeve the halyard.

[Blue Stocking]

Bluestocking's Yawl rig are the same Douglas Fir masts and booms she came out of the Hong Hong Cheoy Lee yard with in 1965. Very neglected varnish when I bought her in '94. Took them down to bare wood, thinned and then full coat of West System while stripped of all fittings. Important to look at condition of all fastening holes in the wood, Discovered that a previous owner had removed the compression tubes thru the mast for the main spreader fittings. Used 2 coats of Werdol primer, followed by Interrlux Brightside. Many will tell you a 2-part is necessary. but my experience in a heavy UV/saline environment like Bermuda has only required painting in '95, '03 and '14. Don't over oversmooth between primer and successive topcoats, light sand with about 180 grit, for good mechanical bond. Spars need to come out and be stripped.

[Scot McPherson]

Personally, I like my mast unpainted...or rather, I like to see the wood. I therefore stay with a clear coat of epoxy.


Additionally I like to use a thin layer of glass, something 2 or 4 oz. This doesn't really add any strength, but in the case that the epoxy is starting to peel or chip away, the glass holds it together for a bit longer so you can attend to it. You just sand out the glass that's cracked and lay up a new piece in it's place.


This won't strengthen the spar by any appreciable amount, but it will strengthen the weatherproofing, and it truly is transparent so you get to see the nice wood underneath. That's the way I would go.

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by Blue Stocking

Bluestocking's Yawl rig are the same Douglas Fir masts and booms she came out of the Hong Hong Cheoy Lee yard with in 1965. Very neglected varnish when I bought her in '94. Took them down to bare wood, thinned and then full coat of West System while stripped of all fittings. Important to look at condition of all fastening holes in the wood, Discovered that a previous owner had removed the compression tubes thru the mast for the main spreader fittings. Used 2 coats of Werdol primer, followed by Interrlux Brightside. Many will tell you a 2-part is necessary. but my experience in a heavy UV/saline environment like Bermuda has only required painting in '95, '03 and '14. Don't over oversmooth between primer and successive topcoats, light sand with about 180 grit, for good mechanical bond. Spars need to come out and be stripped.

Are you sure they aren't spruce?

[Stumble]

Originally Posted by Scot McPherson

Personally, I like my mast unpainted...or rather, I like to see the wood. I therefore stay with a clear coat of epoxy.


Additionally I like to use a thin layer of glass, something 2 or 4 oz. This doesn't really add any strength, but in the case that the epoxy is starting to peel or chip away, the glass holds it together for a bit longer so you can attend to it. You just sand out the glass that's cracked and lay up a new piece in it's place.


This won't strengthen the spar by any appreciable amount, but it will strengthen the weatherproofing, and it truly is transparent so you get to see the nice wood underneath. That's the way I would go.

If you are going to go this route, and i really recommend against it, you need to finish the job with a UV inhibited clear coat. Carbon soars are often delivered this way, and it's ok, but requires recoating every five years or so.

Uncovered epoxy is highly suceptable to UV damage and should never be allowed to sit in the sun unprotected.

[Blue Stocking]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

Are you sure they aren't spruce?

Douglas Fir, 4 staves 47 ft. Splice at 30ft, alternated sides and fore/aft pieces.

[Blue Stocking]

Originally Posted by Stumble

If you are going to go this route, and i really recommend against it, you need to finish the job with a UV inhibited clear coat. Carbon soars are often delivered this way, and it's ok, but requires recoating every five years or so.

Uncovered epoxy is highly suceptable to UV damage and should never be allowed to sit in the sun unprotected.

Exactly !, the reason I had to change to paint. PO had let them go to milky yellow thru UV.