Chris wrote:

At the risk of hijacking this topic. Im am interested in David getting 23 years plus with single pack paint on his mast.  If you were doing it today how would you do it ?? 

Well, this would depend first of all on the quality of timber being used. If I was to glass sheath I would for sure do two layers around the portion of the circumference that gets the most abrasion from the yard and battens. I would pre-impregnate the timber with several layers of low viscosity epoxy sealer to ensure the sealer has penetrated well into the timber to provide some protection even if the glass wears through. This also ensures better adhesion of the glass cloth to the timber. I would then do my fiberglass application and use Peel Ply for the final layer, which once cured and the Peel Ply is removed, provides a resin rich surface ready for painting, and because minimal sanding, almost none, is required there is less risk of sanding through the glass cloth. If going this way I would follow up with a 2 pack paint system for hardness.

If for various reason I decided not to use fiberglass sheathing I would still impregnate the timber with several coats of low viscosity epoxy sealer. This will soak well into the surface of the timber to provide a good level of water proof protection, and hardens the surface of the timber. The epoxy sealer also acts as a primer coat for the subsequent paint system. I would use a single pack paint system. Personally I would use International Toplac which is very durable and provides a good degree of abrasion resistance because the paint contains silicon.

Regardless of which of the above systems I used I would also pad all the contact surfaces of yard and battens with high density foam of about 10mm thickness and covered with webbing, either sewn onto the batten packets, or attached directly to the yard and battens if they were not in sleeves.

There, you asked!!  

Annie wrote:

I see no reason for the glass/epoxy bond to break.  The one layer of glass seems to flex happily with the mast and it isn't difficult to apply.  I can cap your 23 years, David.  Badger's mast were built in 1982 and as far as I know are still going strong and have given no problems.  However, each to his own and if a way of doing things has worked for you in the past, why change it?

I expect that the success of glassing, or not glassing depends firstly on how well the job was done when the item is originally built, and secondly on regular inspection and maintenance. So, someone has got to go up the mast from time to time to carry out an inspection of not just the mast structure, but also the other fittings attached at the top of the mast. The same rules apply to everything connected with a boat including the hull and underwater appendages. If owners do not check, they should be prepared for eventual nasty surprises.

I am convinced about the merits of glassing the mast.  On Badger, even with the glass, the wood underneath the boom parrels was crushed,  but neither the paint nor the glass was damaged.  I have always been concerned about the parrels sawing into the mast and creating grooves, that they then fall into by default and make worse.  This happened on Jester.  I think it is most likely to occur on a long passage in settled weather.  These do actually happen on occasion and you might not adjust a halyard for days or even weeks.  I know I'm unlikely to spend 30 days at sea on Fanshi, but I still have the same mindset.

I see no reason for the glass/epoxy bond to break.  The one layer of glass seems to flex happily with the mast and it isn't difficult to apply.  I can cap your 23 years, David.  Badger's mast were built in 1982 and as far as I know are still going strong and have given no problems.  However, each to his own and if a way of doing things has worked for you in the past, why change it?

Congratulations, Annie with that mast top  -
you surely aren’t shy of taking on tricky jobs! Without much skills in wood-working, and without an equipped workshop, I have always given those mast jobs to Curtiss Boatbuilder. Don’t ask me how he does it, but the masts from him always look as if coming right out of a giant lathe.   
The top mast for my Ingeborg was simply made of four planks. This results in thicker walls and a heavier mast, but since spruce was used for it, it was good enough.

To glass or not to glass, and how...
Malena’s second, hollow mast (1995) was glassed with epoxy and then covered with seven (I think) coats of 2-pot varnish. This looked great for many years after I sold the boat, but around 2010 it showed signs of decay. The owner at the time didn’t take action, so a bad rot-spot developed (..I refuse to baby-sit later owners of my boats...), and in 2012 the mast ended up as firewoods.

Luckily, after glassing Johanna’s mast the same way (2002), I painted it with white 2-pot polyurethane paint, and hopefully, this still keeps the UV-rays away from the epoxy.

The topmast of Ingeborg (2016) was only varnished and then painted with 2-pot polyurethane  -  no glassing. Next spring I will go up the mast (or up in the mast crane beside it) and check it thoroughly. My hope is that the 2-pot paint holds well.

Recently we did a little repair job on the deck of a GRP boat, putting on a patch of glass roving. Instead of using polyester or epoxy for resin, we simply used the 2-pot polyurethane paint. This appeared to work brilliantly well, so if I ever am to glass a wooden mast top again, I will use that method and thus avoid the epoxy.

Cheers,
Arne

I've just posted about making the topmast and yard.  Nothing too controversial this time!!  I can't get the link to work: https://anniehill.blogspot.com/