Spliced mast -- walk away?

[reeddsail]

I'm looking for a boat that's bigger and I'm able to take offshore. Not necessarily a true bluewater cruiser, but a capable offshore boat. I found a 1976 Nicholson 35, which seemed to check the boxes, but it is a bit of a project boat. Then I noticed that the mast has been spliced. Anyone have experience with this? I'm thinking this is a red flag for a boat that I might take offshore, but does anyone want to argue that maybe it's a yellow flag? It's a shame because the Nicholson 35s are lovely boats. Just looking for thoughts and reactions.

[PamlicoTraveler]

Do you have any photos. "Spliced" can mean a lot of things. Did you get any backstory? Did the mast break?

[reeddsail]

I've attached two photos. One is a zoom in which the mast was in the background and another is a close up of the splice area. I have not heard back from owner. I just texted him about an hour ago.

[stormalong]

A lot of masts are spliced when built. Some are welded and painted so you never see it. Some are screwed together and left exposed. The fact that the mast is spliced means nothing. The reason why it is spliced and the condition of the splice means everything.

[misssherry]

I had a 1976 Westerly 36 that had a spliced mast. It was manufactured that way. Perhaps that was common for early British sailboats. Never had a problem with the mast.

[Island Time O25]

I have a factory welded mast on 1980 36 foot boat. 45 years and no issues.

Today a lot of carbon masts are spliced when made. The reason being that the autoclave to make them is often considerably shorter that 70ft or more the mast length. My boat builder buddy used to work for an outfit making those. Their autoclave was only 45ft so most masts ended up being made in sections and then epoxied together. We're talking masts selling for $100k or thereabouts 15 years ago.

[reeddsail]

But isn't carbon fiber just fundamentally a different material? More akin to fiberglass that bonds chemically than aluminum alloy

[jordanbettis]

Above a certain length masts must be spliced. Aluminum masts are extruded by machines that are limited in how long the extrusion can be.

The above looks like a professional splice with a large sleeve and staggered rivets, located at spreaders which will be a support for the structure. This probably is not a repair but dates to the original construction.

[Island Time O25]

Originally Posted by reeddsail

But isn't carbon fiber just fundamentally a different material? More akin to fiberglass that bonds chemically than aluminum alloy

Yes but done correctly most spliced aluminum masts will break anywhere but at the splice. The key phrase is "done correctly".

[ggray]

Some masts were spliced because the anodizing tank wasn't long enough.

You could get either a painted one piece mast or a spliced anodized one.

[silvercreek]

Brand new Jeanneau boats do this today. Nothing to worry about. Though the better makes have single piece masts.

[marcjsmith]

MY late 80's Moody 376 has a factory splice, as do all of them when they came fresh from the yard.

[Don C L]

Looks like it was done professionally. With a sleeve inside, as said previously, it'll probably break somewhere else.

[El Pinguino]

My mast is 'spliced' .
Made in a single length in Brisbane, Qld. Cut in half, splicy sleeve thingo fitted , all wiring run, folded in half, put on a truck and sent across Australia to Carnarvon, W.A.
Unfolded, put back together again, riveted , fitted to boat. That was 32 years ago.

[El Pinguino]

Originally Posted by reeddsail

I've attached two photos. One is a zoom in which the mast was in the background and another is a close up of the splice area. I have not heard back from owner. I just texted him about an hour ago.

Looking at first piccy I see that the lowers have sta-loks and tangs rather than swaged t-ball thingos. That would be a major plus for me.
Once upon a dream time I lost a mast - see my previous reply - when a T-ball thingo failed on my port lower. More recently I had broken strands where the wires entered the swages on the top of the lowers after only about 14,000 miles / 4 years.
That's when I changed to what you see in that first pic.
Rig/mast looks good to me.