Need help to replace mast and boom

[Greatlaker221]

I need to replace my mast and boom on my Hershine 37 trip cabin. I searched the forum but did not find earlier threads on the subject. I have thought about spruce or aluminum. I talked to a sailboat rigger who has some old sailboat mast I could buy and rig. I figure by now a lot of the 80s vintage masts have been replaced. How did you do it?

Here is what's left of the original mast and boom.

 

[bayview]

Any old wood boat builders in your area? They can easily make them

 

[AKDoug]

I ordered nice new stuff from Dwyer Mast, aluminum extrusions with anodizing. West Marine did my swagings for the new cables with turn buckles for adjustment. Being in Alaska I had to ship UPS and they would only accommodate lengths to 9' so I got a 9' mast and had the boom material stuffed inside the mast extrusion.

Super happy with it, I get lots of compliments! I put spreader bars on it to push the support cables out so my kayaks on the cabin roof didn't rub on the cables. This year I am adding another bracket just below the spreader bars to mount a pair of Rigid LED diffused flood lights on, they will adjust for almost 360 degree lighting from that height and I can adjust them by standing on the cabin roof.

That was my fix

 

[DHeckrotte]

Greatlaker, I made a new mast last year. See http://www.trawlerforum.com/forums/s32/making-new-mast-26497.html and my album of pics. I used the original maststep, ditched the shrouds in favor of a table-tabernacle, used the original spreader lights, changed the design of the masthead to suit a radar scanner, installed a new nav/anchor light. Most of the mast was made from a scrounged spinnaker pole. I made fiberglass tube for the adapters and bought fiberglass shapes for the masthead parts.

 

[Greatlaker221]

Thanks guys, I had to travel so a little late seeing your responses. AKDoug any pictures and or comments about price?

DHeckrotte nice job. I will study your pics. Was the top all wood? How did you join the FRP tube sections?

 

[DHeckrotte]

GL221, thanks for the kind comment. The hinged step is the original heavy bronze casting. It accepted a slightly-under 3" dia neck on a wood mast (The OD of the casting lined with the OD of the mast). The spinnaker pole was slightly under 3" ID. I shopped around and could not source suitable fiberglass tubing in small quantities. So I made up several short lengths of fiberglass tubing whose OD was made to slip into the bronze and into the aluminum. I arranged the bottom tubing / inside splice so that the aluminum and the bronze did not touch. I made the masthead out of fiberglass sheet and tube stock, epoxying it all together and together with the masthead interior splice / tubing. Everything but the bronze is painted.

 

[AKDoug]

I spent around $1500 including shipping to Alaska. There were no second hand sailboat masts with rigging and hardware available to me up here so I was pretty much forced to do it all brand new from the manufacturer.

I did search for used masts but didn't find anything in the size I was looking for. Not sure how much you can blow up the picture of my avatar, but that is the new mast and boom. I use the boom to support a rain cover, as Prince William Sound is pretty much famous for damp weather.

I will look into my photo album later tonight and see what pictures there are in there...

 

[AKDoug]

Pictures

Here are a couple, you may not want or need a boom.

 

[AKDoug]

The boom started at 9' in length as it was shipped inside the mast, and has been cut down shorter a couple of times. There is a fiberglass tube sleeved inside the boom that extends out and completely covers the back of the boat to allow my generator to be run and for grilling in poor weather.

 

[healhustler]

Mice setup, Doug. The mast looks "right", and the function of the boom extension is a nice touch.

 

[FF]

Call locally and find out where the light poles that are scrapped by the road dept go.

As you only need the top 15--20 ft it should be undamaged when scrapped.

This is nice heavy wall tapered tubing and should be bought by the pound , not the piece.

Tell the junk yard its for a yard flag pole or bird feeder, not a yacht.