Valiant Masts

[Brian Duff]

Who built masts for Vailant Yachts?

Where would I find a 'Spar-Tech' mast section now ? I think this is not an original mast, but rather one built by Spar-Tech, of Seattle?

Where have their dies gone too?

[Stumble]

I think they are out of business, but the number I have for them is(was) 425.883.2126. But I have no idea who might have their dies. You could try asking Buzz Ballenger at 831.763.1196, since he might know, and is normally very helpfull and willing to help. But I don't really know.

[Brian Duff]

i have found out that the dies were owned by (can't remember now - not at my office) but that company has now gone out of business too, and their equipment was all sold at auction... gone i suppose ?


whats the guy to do now, i guess buy a new spar... the current one is all rotted out on the bottom 18" from the boat sitting partially sunk for some years. otherwise not too bad though...hence the thought to put a new bottom on.

[Stumble]

Before replacing the section I would look at trying to have a new base fabricated. If you can get a template of the existing extrusion which should be relatively easy you might be able to have a sleave made that would fit it. The other option would be to cut the bottom so that it has a nice clean end, then build a post to support it on.

While these may work, if it was me I would just replace it. But then I tend to work mostly on race boats where the stresses and tolerances are small and any weakness can become disasterous much more quickly. If you do go with a new mast, I would however seriously look at a carbon one. Since a new one is sunck cost anyway, the difference in price is not likely to be all that much more expensive, and the weight savings aloft would be very significant.

You might also want to look at composit rigging for the weight savings, but then like I said I tend to think along racing terms more than cruising.

[Brian Duff]

We are considering to build a step tall enough to remove the 18" of corroded material, and have already made a set of plates to fit inside the rig as a reinforcement if we do not build a taller step.

As far as a new rig goes - carbon is THREE TIMES as expensive as aluminum. A new mast for this type of boat in alum is something like 10k, where an carbon one starts at 30k. that is a HUGE spread, and not worth it for most types of sailing...

Another thing I have seen done is to convert a mast to deck stepped from keel to rid corrosion problems, but now I know what this does to panel stiffness, so am not sure I would do it.

This is not really a JOB of ours , as the guy is a do it yourselfer and I am just trying to help him out a bit...by figuring out what he should do and making some metal pieces for him...