Doug fir pole mast

[cwa]

Ben,

The splices are sleeved and plug welded.
Easy to make the sleeve by reducing a piece of pipe to the required dia. and inserting inside the joining pieces.
As for getting stiffness, I believe that the .275" wall thickness would really help there.
Actually I'm having a fellow at Beecher Bay on Vancouver Island make my mast.
He has done a number of masts (I've seen two examples so far) using this technique but haven't asked about ones for a gaffer.

I just talked to Ken (the fellow making my mast) and he has made 2 masts for gaffers using this technique.

Carl

[benz]

Thanks, Carl...it's good to know this has worked for gaffers before. I'm glad to have another option to explore.
Ben

[allene]

This may be an option, not sure. I have a 36' sloop that has a spruce mast made of mostly hollow box sections. It is 3/4 inch spruce board about 7" by 5" box. Solid where in parts but mostly hollow. Could be made easily. I am sure a good woodworker could provide details.

Let me know if I can provide more details.

Allen