In need of wood specialist....please.

[DumnMad]

Originally Posted by Sandero

Cedar was used by the Egyptians for their caskets and it lasts forever! (the right species)

Just about all timbers will last for thousands of years if dry enough or if wet enough. Fungas needs moisture + oxygen.

Roman bridge piles under mud level and swamp timber survive because of no oxygen. Many ancient house beams suvive because they are kept very dry.

Some low density timber in my boat had furniture beatle holes and needed treatment because the humidity inside the boat was sufficient to make the timber chewable.

[IdoraKeeper]

Z, in case you can benefit from some levity...you should remember that most of the old geezers on here just wish they had some wood too.:-)

[Mirar]

Hi Zee, I have a special fondness for onsite repairs, expecially of the DIY variety. Last time we were in Central America we helped to pull a very heavy solid stick from a gaffer in Costa Rica. Our boat and a similar sized one rafted up on opposite sides in a calm (essential) anchorage. We used a union purchase tackle to lift the mast out of the hole with very little effort. with all the extra stuff removed from your mizzen, it is not much of a weight. I have manhandled the Ct-41 mizzen mast with another lad, not heavy. This is a very quick procedure, once you have done the prep work. Keep everyone safe, minimal crowd hanging about. We used our spinnaker cranes and an electric windlass. Let me know if you want some photos of the operation. Believe me, it is too easy. You just need two similar displacement boats that are reasonably stiff. And....two imaginative skippers!
cheerio, Greg

[zeehag]

whooot!!!!
have been advised to as i knew remove heavy thing from masthead. not work anyway--ditch it.
syringes thickened epoxy n clamps after removal of windmill n mount. clamp 1-2 days, unclamp n go.
whew.
aiming at day or 2 after payday to leave for mazatlan and solid repairing for 2 yes mebbe more if NEEDED and then here n zihuatenejo then strain brain as to future.

life is an adventure meant to be LIVED!!!

[Tayana42]

Good for you Zee. You are an inspiration.


S/V B'Shert

[Schooner Chandlery]

Best of luck!

[rognvald]

Zee,
You have been given some very good advice in regards to your mizzen and main. However, before doing anything, you need to decide if your ultimate goal is to save your mizzen or discard it. Since it is painted, it will be impossible for you to determine the true extent of the problem and you'll have to gamble. If you do elect to save it, sistering with wood and rope, as several have mentioned, is the best alternative. Another poster mentioned something like a polysulfide betwen the mast and the sisters and that is a good idea for added security with minimal slipping. However, if you think you might want to build a new mizzen, why not hire someone to cut it down in pieces and discard it completely? This, by far, is the safest approach if you intend to move your boat North. An unintentional dismasting could cause considerable damage to your boat and crew. After that, your biggest concern should be proper support of your main mast to enable sailing as well as motoring and sturdy, well-supported backstays are essential. A final remark: most sailors have a personal, intimate connection with their boats. Even though they are inanimate objects, they represent our hopes and dreams and when you have that special connection it is very easy to be offended when you think your boat is being criticized or denigrated by others--whether real or imagined. We must be aware of this whenever we communicate about someone else's boat. So, Zee, good luck on your new adventure. Think, prioritize and things always fall into place.

[zeehag]

the electrical bus bars are to the mizzenmast itself, so stepping before i change that all out is not an option.
if the addition of a charger invertor changes that, then i willbe able to do the step repair restep thing, but, as it is, i will have to remove the heavy mount and windmill from masthead, epoxy and clamp, then only use for cover of cockpit for sailing to maz, with lines placed in case of disaster at sea. i willbe removing paint and making my masts both visible from deck by use of a clear coating over epoxy. i will also be creatiing new boom--i already have mizzen under construction, main will be done in mazatlan, maintenance of masts, stepped, is high on list, along with packing unit and some other goodies.
many changes planned, as well....
thankyouall for assisting witht his issue--more will come from mazatlan on this ....

[hellosailor]

zee-
You say that you have routinely inspected your spars, but unless you used in inspection camera inside a hollow spar, or an ultrasonic probe from the outside, I submit that you only observed them, you could not do a meaningful inspection of a hollow spar from the outside only. And somehow, I don't think you carry those kinda tech toys on board.


The EASY and SAFE solution would be to "distress" the questionable parts, by removing weight, as you have, AND by sistering them, in time honored fashioned, with 2x3's or other timber, as long and strong as possible, tightly secured to the spar by tight ropes. That's fairly cheap and can take a lot of stress off them, with no permanent damage.


And then, might one ask, did your engine ever get running again? If I couldn't trust the strain on the spars, I'd let the engine do most of the work, so the spars only had to sit there and flop in the wind. Yes, fuel costs money. Way less than what a spar breaking off and plunging into lord knows what and taking the rigging with it.


Just saying, you have options. Nothing new or exotic required for any of them.

[DumnMad]

If you are planning to do any sistering make sure there are no moisture traps for fungas.
Untreated timber needs to dry out from time to time.
This is why cracks in paint coats often cause trouble, moisture seeps under the paint coat and small areas of timber stays moist for months and fungas gets a hold.
Take care Zee.

[zeehag]

engine good. trying to convince mechanic to come with on misadventure.
jib good.
main good.... could sail some.
not gonna install new mizzenboom for sailing. only to rest it on taff for shade cover.
the first 180 miles are the hard part.