Our local lumberyard has just started stocking 4X4 relatively straight grain Douglas fir. In 14 foot lengths, yet! The wood has a few tight knots, but is otherwise pretty good - kiln dried. Is it suitable for the mast, boom etc or is the weight a problem? I was considering the birds mouth technique for the mast but hadn't decided on a wood choice. Straight Doug fir would be a lot easier.
Dave Blake
Hi Dave,
The mast is fairly overbuilt on the Weekender plans, and the weight gets to be tiresome when you are setting it up and a line gets tangled and you have to do it several times. That being said, either the solid 4x4 fir lumber or the birdsmouth mast will work. With the solid lumber, you get an easy stick to shape and add a hinge to, with a birdsmouth, you get a light stick, that is hollow, that can add floatation to as well if desired to aid in preventing turtling in a capsize.
One thing I've seen some boats do is change the mast step, so that rather than gate hinges, the upper section pivots above cabin height as normal, but extends below the pivot point and meets up with the base a foot or so below that pivot point. Rather than a straight cut across, the joint is cut at an angle, so that the mast cannot continue to swing forward, but instead locks into the joint, and a pin is put through at a point below the pivot, locking the mast upright.
Here is a webpage which has a couple of interpretations of my poor attempt to describe it.
http://members.fortunecity.com/duckworks.../index.htm
You can use either mast with this setup. The main benefits are that it makes raising the mast easier, and looks a little more boaty than a pair of gate hinges.Â
That is my 2 cents worth. Good luck
Douglas fir is okay for a mast, though it doesn't finish very well. It's moderately heavy, but in birdsmouth you can mitigate this to a degree. Leave your boom and sprit solid, preferably a laminate.
Thanks guys. The birdsmouth would be lighter, but a lot of work. I may just go with solid Douglas fir for all the parts mentioned.
Dave
You'll regret a solid mast every time you have to move or raise it. The boat will also heel less with a light mast, compared to others with a solid mast. This means you can carry on loner before considering a reef.
The Birdsmouth method looks difficult but actually isn't and can be very enjoyable. A hollow mast also permits you to hide lines, such as halyards, lifts and jacks inside the mast. This saves windage and makes for a much neater rig. My most recent birdsmouth mast was just over 20' and white spruce. It weighed just a tad over 11 pounds. A hollow Douglas fir mast, of the same size would have weighed over 15 pounds and if the same dimention mast was solid Douglas fir It would be over 23 pounds.
That's the difference between using a light weight species and a hollow mast. The hollow spruce is over 53% lighter, the hollow Douglas fir over 34% lighter. These are pretty substantial figures to ponder.
Thanks, Paul. The heeling point is significant. I'm a pretty fair woodworker so I should be able to handle the birds mouth. White spruce is wood of choice? Any other species to consider?
Dave
Most of the spruces will do, if straight grained and fairly free of defects, which is often difficult to get in spruces. Sitka is the preferred stuff, if you can find or afford it. It really depends on where you are located. I'm lucky, I can get most anything and have 3 saw mills within a 25 mile radius of the house.
If I was forced to use Douglas fir as a mast material, I'd decrease stave dimensions to take advantage of the additional strength of this fir over the more common species of spruce. I would be able to offset the weight penalty down to maybe 10% with this trick.
If you elect to go this route, drop me an email and I'll set you up with dimensions that will suit your needs.
Dave, I used cedar for my mast and I did the birds mouth method. It was easy to put together, my grand daughter helped me and she was only 9. I also tapered the staves sightly so the mast has a nice taper to it. It's very light and finished up nicely but it is a very soft wood, you need to be careful. Just my $0.02.
I hadn't considered cedar, so it"s good to know it can work. Easy to find, also. BTW Cedar City, UT is a nice little town. I was there a few years ago visiting the Parks!
Dave
A little late chimeing in here, Dave.Â
The birds mouth method is really not a lot of work. It is realtively easy if you know how and have a router table and a specialized bit or you can do it on the table saw, my preference is the router table and bit.
Here is my link to my oars that I built using this method. I built two pair of 9'6" Octagonal, spoon blade hollow core oars for less than $30 worth of wood. The same solid oars from an oar maker on line was about $200 per pair including shipping the last time I checked. It would be simple to scale things up. You can use the same method to make your boom, Gaff and Jib foot and Bow Sprit. This way you can use all clear lumber and cut around the knots.
I have a comprehensive article published some years ago by Joel Herzel which he was kind enough to forward to me on the WoodenBoat Forum when I inquired about about oar making.
If you would like a copy, please email me direct.
Here is the link to the pics. If any one else wants the article. Please email direct.
http://sports.webshots.com/album/366127989OQvvXQ