Once I had the Bulkheads cut out and things like the rudder and centreboard case made I decided to make most of the longer spars while I had the space to work. Above are a few Photos of the building of the birds-mouth mast. This is a hollow mast made from narrow strips of wood that the corner of each piece fit in a right angled groove in the edge of it’s neighbouring piece to make an, in this case, 8 sided spar that is then planed and sanded into a round cross section.

It’s far more complicated to describe than actually to do, although it is a bit of a challenge handling very flexible 20′ long 2″X1″ pieces of wood in a 20’x22′ space. I did a dry clamp up on the trestles to make sure it would go together. When I was satisfied all was well I did the final glue up, after a frantic 20 minutes spreading glue, in custom cradles I lay along the level floor. It worked out well and the finished mast weighs around twenty kilos which is pretty light for a mast of this diameter.  The boom and mast are simple rectangular laminations for the moment, I might make them round to improve their looks and reduce their weight a little in the future.

If you’d like to be involved in having your next or first boat being built why not drop Tiernan an email at roeboats@ymail.com or give me a ring on +353 86 158 6937. Our landline blew away last week so it’s out of action for the moment.

Roeboats, Ballydehob, Co. Cork, t:+353 (0)28 38973 m: +353 (0)86 158 69 37
e:roeboats@ymail.com

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