How to cut the mast

[MrPlywood]

I have the tabernacle in hand, and I'm ready to get the mast cut. The question is, how?

Options:
1. I have a nice powerful radial arm saw, and I could get a cut-off blade for the one time (two time?) use. It's a non-tapered mast so I could set up supports to make sure the mast would stay square. I'm wondering if the heat generated would be bad for the metal?

2. There's a metal distributor nearby and they are willing to cut it for $20, but getting it out there would be a bit of a hassle. I'm guessing that they would cut with a hinged bandsaw. Slow and clean. And square.

3. Or I guess there's the hand hacksaw method, but I would think that would be hard to keep square.

Thoughts?

Also, is there any preference for which half of the hinge goes up? Large side up (I saw Roger's gallery with the large side up) or small side up?

Last but not least, the instructions say to cut at 32-1/2" and 34". If that sounds out of whack, please let me know.

Any thoughts from those that have done this would be greatly appreciated.

[calden]

Mr. Plywood:

I don't think you need special equipment to cut it. It's aluminum. I'd go buy a new quality hacksaw and new blade and be careful about it. If you wanted to you could make a guide (like a miter box) out of wood that would cradle the mast section. This would help keep it straight.

I cut mine at a friend's shop. He had a ton of auto tools (he taught Auto Shop at a local Community College) and used a metal cut-off wheel. Even so, it got cut at a very slight angle, but it all evened out when the hinge was on.

If worse came to worse and you bobbled the cut, and were, say, 1/8" lower on one side than the other, you could simply file the high side down and install the hinge. That would shorten your whole mast by 1/8" - big deal.

I don't recall the up/down installation of the hinge. I'd follow the directions.

For the length, I measured a bunch of times and thought that the hinged would work better way down low by the cuddy opening. However, I did not take into account needing to hook up the boom vang. I had to put a bail on the lower part of the mast, right where it exits the cuddy.

If I did it over again, I'd step the mast, rig things up (don't need to put the sails on,) and picture where the step would be. You know, play with it, hold it up to the line indicated by the instructions, think about what happens when you tack the jib (okay, you'll need the jib put on.)


But the cutting is the easy part. I've work with aluminum for boat stuff and it's only marginally tougher to cut than wood. It's not tough to correct a cut that strays, especially with a hacksaw.

Carlos

[MrPlywood]

Hey Calden/Carlos

Thanks for the reminder about the boom vang. I am missing the blocks, but I believe there is a bail on the boom so I take it that the previous owner(s) did use one at some point. I want to keep that as an option. And also a good idea about rigging before cutting.

I've had this boat for more than a year without even hitting the water, but I determined to sail this summer!

Cheers, John

[algonquin]

I added a tabernacle to my DS last year. It went pretty quick and easy.

I laid the mast across two saw horses. Marked the cut line on the mast then used masking tape around the mast to make sure there was a good reference line. Then cut it along the tape line using a sawsall with a new metal cutting blade. I cut the line closest to the mast base first which allowed me to make the second cut on the longest portion of the mast so that it remained steady on the saw horses. You should also be able to do this with a hacksaw. Aluminum does have a tendency to cause the cutting blade to drift. Key is to take your time. After you need to deburr the cut surfaces and you also may need to put a small block of wood over the tabernacle and tap it into the mast with a hammer. If the cut isn’t exactly perfect don’t panic. The shoulders on the tabernacle are deep enough to compensate if you are a little off the mark so to speak. Brad

[GreenLake]

Here's an alternative to cutting the mast...

https://forum.daysailer.org/greenlake/daysailer/MastRaising.html

[phil]

Put a 60 or 80 tooth blade (carbide) pon your chop saw. clamp the mast tightly to the saw bed and you can cut the mast with ease