BYYB Forums

I've been looking for something for those mast hoops and I'm not quite sure what to get. I see some big plastic pipes in the plumbing section that I think I could cut down to the right width. My guess is that you don't buy those hoops described in the plans pre cut to the right width. Speaking of which....what is a good width for these? My guess is that in addition to linking them with twine on the forward side of the mast I would probably want to kind of round off the inside edges so they will slide more readily on the mast. Any other ideas for hoops? [/i]

Tom I made the ones I have on my boat now out of small cable and beads off a car seat . One of those bead seats you get so some air can get under you. I also used some of the same beads on the bridle of my yoak they work well. Bud.

I seem to recall you mentioning that some time back. So what did you string the beats on? Is it a cable of some sort or a hard ring? At some of the supppliers' web sites I've been looking at they have these things called "parelles" (??? spelling) that look like they might be for that purpose.

Tom

This is another option you can use. My mast is all one peace when I drop the rigging I have to pull it from the mast box . It works great for me.

Posted By Roland Blais
http://byyb.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=6...light=lace

Rather than using the ABS pipe, use the ABS couplers for the pipe and then cut them to the thickness you desire. They can be rounded over on the edges with a router and roundover bit. But they can also shatter. I know a couple of sets that were rounded over using one of the preformed cove type sanding stones on a spindle. Seems to work well enough.

In the old forum, there are several good discussions and explainations of how to make the beaded hoops. The only challenge is on a square mast, the beads can get hung up on ether side of the corners and cause some issues. On a round, oval or well rounded off corners they will work well. When one breaks, and it will, just cut a bead in half with a dremel tool cut off disk and epoxy it together over the wire to replace the broken one. Quick and easy fix. Helps if you heat them and then soak in hot boiled linseed oil as well. Toughens them up quite a bit and makes them hold up a whole lot longer too. :wink:

Hi Tom,

Like Barry mentioned, I bought a couple of 6" diameter ABS couplers and cut the rings from them, about a 1/2 wide each. I didn't really like the look of the bare plastic so I wrapped each one with 5/16 line, leaving a longer loop tied off on one side for the mainsail to attach to. I like the way it looks, it doesn't mar the varnished finish of my mast and it was quick, easy and cheap to do (cheap is always a winner in my book).

Good luck, let us know what you decide to do.

John k.

Heres a pic of the final product...

My mast is tapered and square. I rounded the corners with a 1/4 round over bit. I would pfrefer a 1/2", but I have a 1/4" and I think it is probably enough. I like the idea of lacing as shown from the post from Roland. Any ideas on how long the rope should be and what thickness and type would be best?

Karl, you're using this lacing method. When you said you pull it down from the mast box, I'm guessing that you you have to grab layers of the lacing up the mast and pull them down. Is that right? It sounds like this would be a good workable technique for me to use. Does your sail go up well, without any hang ups?

Tom,
You might want to check out the various ways that mainsails are attached to the mast and the boom with lacing, hoops, etc.
Frank has done a good job of compiling information on Gaff Rigs.

http://www.messing-about.com/gaffrig/gaffmain.htm

Tom, you might want to take more off the edges of you mast than 1/4" roundover. I originally made mine with 1/2" and it wasn't enough to keep things from getting snagged. I later on used a handplane on it and made it much more rounded and it works a lot better now. I used rope lacing when I first started then I went with beaded loops courtesy of Bud. They work pretty good now that I rounded the mast down. It also made the load lighter when rigging it up.

Keith