I am making very slow progress with Project Saturday, the 1:10 model of the Super Skipjack that I hope to build for real some day. But I have been thinking ahead, and I must say I don't like the idea of a mast box. It looks like an obvious place where water would collect, and start to rot the wood. A box might make sense with a one-piece mast that gets removed for transport. But since I want to be able to fold the mast down anyway, the bottom part does not need to come off very often, if at all. And, on general principles, I don't like holes in the deck.
I do appreciate the simple hinge design, but I must say that I like the look of a traditional tabernacle better.
Couldn't the mast stump just be bolted to the bulkhead instead of sitting in a box? Or could the box be replaced with a few pieces of U-shaped plywood fixed to the bulkhead?
Advice? Comments? Ideas?
i built the mast box for my superskipjack, and i think its needed for strength, the other materials in that area simply won't be strong enough on their own. i plan to wrap a angled trim around the base of the mast just above where it enters the deck, to prevent water from running down the mast into the box.
i'll post a picture in the spring after i build the mast , but i think this could prevent the issue you're concerned with
bob
Thanks, Bob&Bob
Paul Riccelli mentioned in one of those threads that the box also prevents adjusting the mast rake. That sounds like another good argument against it.
Now I just need to design and build some sort of tabernacle, and see how it looks on the scale model. Once I have the model a bit further...
I used a tabernacle that passed through the deck. No mast box. Works well, no water inside. See my drawings in the links provided by Bob Booska. My tabernacle is inspired by Ryerson Clark's "San Souci". Check out his website.
Dave
No, you can adjust the mast rake if you make the box loose fitting. I messed up the measurements on my mast box because the lumber I was using wasn't exactly 3/4 inch. Because of that, I use wedges to fine tune the set of the mast in the box. I have made noticeable differences in the handling of the boat by simply adjusting the wedges. Once I got it where I wanted it, I made permanent wedges that set the rake where I liked it and covered the whole thing with a boot. The only way I can see for water getting in there now is if I load up the cabin with water. As far as water in the bottom of the mast box goes, I simply left some seep holes at the very bottom of the box and made sure to seal up the wood around the bottom of the box pretty good.
Al