Wood Mast Rehab

[penthink]

Hello,

I am restoring (completely) the main and mizzen from my Cheoy Lee B30 right now. Excessive delamination on both requires this process, and now that I have the mizzen stripped and sanded, I am preparing to correct the problem. I know that epoxy is super strong and everyone loves it, but I cannot help but want desperately to aid the epoxy (the mast is a four-sided sitka spruce affair) with some small brass or stainless screws, perhaps countersunk every foot or so on each side.

I know that boat builders everywhere rail against drilling any hole that is not absolutely necessary. Any opinions out there about whether this would actually add any strength, or whether it would be a detriment? I would love to hear opinions.

With drill in hand,
Mike

[Tim]

Unless you need the screws as a sort of clamping device to aid the epoxy during cure, don't bother with them. Epoxy is more than strong enough alone, and the screws will really add no significant value--and could, as you suggest, actually create more of a problem where none exists. If you can successfully clamp the wood together without screws, then do that. Avoid the screws if you can.

Whatever you do, do NOT use brass screws. If you must install screws, buy silicone bronze for this application--Hamiltons has a good selection, or order them from Jamestown. I'd even stay away from stainless here, as most stainless will eventually bleed rust, if nothing else.

[Safety OCD]

Hey Tim, thanks. I am actually going to call the MAS epoxy company today to find out more about cure and blush and all that, but I have to admit that in the back of my mind, I am a bit manic about worst-case scenarios. All I can imagine is thirty knots of breeze and fifteen foot seas, and my poor little epoxy-laden spars straining to stay upright. I'm not sure why I thought a few thirteen cent screws would aid in that situation, but there you have it.

[Tim]

Just remember that properly-applied epoxy is significantly stronger than the surrounding wood...given that, the repair should never fail at the epoxy adhesive. The wood might fail, but then that would happen anyway, if indeed it's predestined to happen.

[penthink]

Okay, having stripped the mast of all it's junk, I found the cleats and associated hardware to be in poor shape. They were all chromed brass, but over the years, the chrome had pitted and started to peel, so I took the wondrous wire wheel to it all. The are nice, but they are a bit too rough to take a true "shine," as a new, highly buffed piece of brass hardware would.

Do you have any suggestions? Should I just live with them, or do you think a buffing wheel would smoothe them to a high sheen? I am not going to the expense of having them re-chromed, and personally, I like the look of brass.

Thanks,
Mike

[Figment]

(this comes as no surprise to some of you, I'll bet.....)

That boat deserves bronze hardware, not chrome.

If the chrome is truly gone, then a good felt wheel, a pot of polishing paste, and some time will yield a fine finish on that hardware. The quesiton is.... do you have the time?

Gratuitous bit of modern sea lore:
When the Seawolf returned to Groton after her first cruise, the refit workers at Electric Boat noticed that the rough-cast bronze inspection hatches on the missile tubes were now finely polished. The story goes that some poor swabbie had pissed off the wrong officer, and spent a good portion of the cruise hand-polishing those hatches with rag and paste.

A "sea story"??? yeah, probably. My point is that bronze can ALWAYS be polished.

[penthink]

Since the better half would rather have me out in the garage at night than grumbling about the weather in front of Andy Griffith re-runs, all I have is time. Thanks very much for the input. I am off to the evil empire (Home Depot) to get myself a buffing wheel.

Thanks very much for your advice!

[Figment]

Grab a good wire wheel while you're at it. The felt and paste will eventually get through whatever remains of the chrome, but there's no need to be masochistic about it. Start with a wire wheel (Tim, didn't you recently post something about a cool new kind of wire wheel?), and don't be afraid to use a bit of nasty-coarse sandpaper before proceeding to the buffer.

[penthink]

Already done! My brother-in-law wanted to avoid Christmas shopping one day, so he stopped by. I propped him up in front of the wire wheel with a pile of flaking junk, and within three hours he had every piece looking brand new, save for the high sheen.

Of course, he is no longer speaking to me, but he'll be avoiding the mall again one of these days, and will once again find himself in front of the wheel.

Any suggestions on the polishing paste? Brand?

Thanks,
Mike

[Tim]

My question is: why bother going for that high shine in the first place? Once the pieces go back on the boat they're going to weather and verdigris in short order anyway (unless you lacquer them at least annually...see my recent posts on that in another thread here). My suggestion is to spend only as much time polishing as required to remove the chrome and even out the surface. Beyond that, I guess it's just a matter of doing it for the sheer enjoyment. If you enjoy it, then go to town--there's certainly no harm!

[Figment]

My question is: why bother going for that high shine in the first place? Once the pieces go back on the boat they're going to weather and verdigris in short order anyway

I couldn't agree more. No need for a showroom shine. Just polish enough to smooth out the porosity imparted by the wire wheel and let the patina begin!

I can't think of the name of the polishing compound that worked well for me. I didn't buy it, the compound and the buffer belong to a friend with a well-equipped basement. It came in stick form, like a big fat crayon.... had two grades of polish..... red for coarse and blue for fine, or vice versa.... but you only needed the fine if you wanted a real mirror-finish. Eh, for this application I would think that most anything would do.

[Tony]

That sounds like the 3M polishing sticks.