When is a mast not a mast?

[Smudge601]

Hi all I own an old Nichlson 32 built in 1970 which has an original Procter mast. I am costing out the options for doing her up or selling and buying a bigger boat.
Looking aloft the mast has been re booted and appears to be solid at the foot. However it does tremble quite alot if shaken (why do it then I here you say). The spreaders are a bit gnarly and the mast fitting at the top is old rusty and in my view had it.

So questions.
1/ does a mast wear out?
2/ is the tremble a problem?
It appears on inspection the mast has a sealed welded top plate.
3/ do i need to saw off the top plate to fit a new cap.
4/ presumbably the spreaders will be replaceable from Seldons as they took over Procter some time ago.

As always to you long suffering gooroos thanks for those who comment. Smudge

[UNCIVILIZED]

Originally Posted by Smudge601

Hi all I own an old Nichlson 32 built in 1970 which has an original Procter mast. I am costing out the options for doing her up or selling and buying a bigger boat.
Looking aloft the mast has been re booted and appears to be solid at the foot. However it does tremble quite alot if shaken (why do it then I here you say). The spreaders are a bit gnarly and the mast fitting at the top is old rusty and in my view had it.

So questions.
1/ does a mast wear out?
Occassionally. Though this is typically a racing boat thing, where the mast is borderline strong enough from the day it's first built. And as well, it gets some harsh treatment over time. Usually involving excessive bending, & or, excessive loading. Plus generally poor maintenance.
2/ is the tremble a problem?
Not necessarily, it could simply be out of tune, with some of the shrouds being too loose.
It appears on inspection the mast has a sealed welded top plate.
Most have their caps welded in place. With the cap containing some of the sheaves, as well as it's being an attachment point for some shrouds & stays. And sometimes bolted on bails for external halyard blocks, masthead antennas...
3/ do i need to saw off the top plate to fit a new cap.
This is one where you need to call in an expert to analyze things, to inspect it in person. Though we could tell you a lot about what's going on if pics get posted.
4/ presumbably the spreaders will be replaceable from Seldons as they took over Procter some time ago.
Spreaders are pretty easy to come by, & fairly universal. Kind of like automobile tires. So long as you have roughly the right size, everything's good. And like car tires, several different sizes & styles will fit. Though, like tires, each set will fit slightly differently.

As always to you long suffering gooroos thanks for those who comment. Smudge

Hope that helps.

[roverhi]

If your mast cap is welded aluminum or some other aluminum fitment, the mast head should be fine. Knock the axles for the sheaves out, best done on the ground, and inspect the sheaves, axle pins and general masthead for elongation of holes, wear etc. If the holes are oval probably easiest and cheapest to drill them oversize and put a sleeve in. The SS cap on my mast is nearing the half century mark and it and the mast are doing fine. A little Scotch Brite and wax should put you right.

When your mast has been 'rebooted' are you saying they cut away rot at the bottom and sleeved on a new piece to return to its proper length??

What's gnarly about your spreaders. If they still holding the wire out board, aren't in danger of escaping from whatever is holding them at the mast, these are probably ok as well after a little clean up.

All masts shake somewhat and some quite a bit. Shaking we don't worry too much about. Falling down is another story and assume yours is still standing proud. Getting a professional to tune the rig may make things a lot stiffer.

Must admit I recently saw a vintage Proctor Spar that didn't look so hot. The gold anodizing was having a hard time keeping corrosion at bay. The stick was still holding up though.

[Don C L]

I took my 55 year old Un-painted mast down last year to do some refurbishing. Someone referred to it as "lightpost." Now I am not familiar with yours specifically, but the older ones often are pretty heavy duty, emphasis on heavy. The base of mine had corrosion, the shoe and mast had corroded themselves together and had caused "mushrooming" at the base, so I sawed an inch off the bottom. I added a 1 inch shim to the base when I stepped it. I think I put a photo of it in one of my albums. The old spruce spreaders looked bad but my rigger friend said, not to worry. He took them home cleaned them up and gave them 3 coats of epoxy and said they should be good for another 50 years. The head had lots of crusty aluminum oxide, which left the sheaves not turning so well, but some elbow grease took care of that. The phenolic sheaves were fine until I switched from the wire halyard to dacron line that I THOUGHT was sized to fit the sheave. It wasn't and split one of the sheaves. Once down I discovered that I could not find off-the-shelf sheaves the right thickness to fit in the box! So I called up Ballenger Spars in Watsonville (great folks!!) and the owner emailed me back on a Sunday about it. He knew all about the older boats and knew exactly what I meant. They made new sheaves for me. The stainless bolts that held them WERE a bit bent and corroded so of course now they are new. So I elected to fine sand the unpainted mast to make it look nicer and I am leaving it paintless. On my old boat I painted the mast, and it looked great for a few years, but the crusty paint bubbles after a while were not appealing. (You may have some corrosion around fittings that would necessitate replacing the fittings.) I ran new antenna wire wrapped every couple feet with a bit of foam insulation to prevent that slapping annoyance, got a new antenna and lights. I think my mast is good for another 50 years. To make a long story not so short, chances are I'd bet the mast is fine. If I were to change mine it would only to do so to get a LIGHTER one since my boat is already pretty tender and doesn't need any more weight aloft. As far as being able to shake your mast, I'm not sure. You should see how mine shakes with only one set of lowers! But I am guessing a little rig tuning will clear that up if there is any problem.

[Smudge601]

As always thanks everybody. much help unfortunately I am unable to post pics as they all got wiped on reset of the phone. I was coserned when up the mast the selden fittings all seem pretty rigid and sustantial. However the spinaker block on mine sits at the end of what I would best describe as a light weight toung protruding in front of the mast and does not seem very substantial. I will try and see if I can get another pic from the dock see what that shows.