Mast size

[slowpoke]

I just ran into a guy who has a Mercury sailboat with a spare 26' mast. My concern is that the mast is extremely tapered at the top, and they only run fractional spins. Any thoughts? would this mast be too small for the i550?

[M&S]

Rocky,
If the price is right then it can be made to work. My information is that it is a 24'6" height off of deck spar. Inline spreaders can be changed to swept back and run the uppers to near the masthead and bob's your uncle. But the price has got to be reasonable. Used sails from the mercury can get you on the water for cheap also. There is no shame in running a fractional kite while learning your boat. some of the spars were made by Ballenger a well respected sparmaker.

[Big_Dog]

Rocky
I am starting out with a Viper rig and can put my thumb and index finger around the mast head. I'll aslo will also need to relocate the spin halyard and stays to the top.
Jon

[Chad]

26' is a great starter length. I think it's about a 25 pound mast, so a little less than a pound a foot. That compares reasonably with the Dwyer sections others have talked about using. Mercury's use forward jumpers and no spin, so you'll be pretty much starting with a bare tube as far as reworking goes.

I have a friend with a Mercury, I'll ask him what he knows about the mast.

[TexLex]

Rocky
I am starting out with a Viper rig and can put my thumb and index finger around the mast head. I'll aslo will also need to relocate the spin halyard and stays to the top.
Jon

I too have a Viper mast I will be using. Obviously gonna have to cut it down a little.

I am wondering if I cut the top section down to where the Vipers run their kite from (just below the top) if the mast will be stable enough to run with just the single spreader as it is currently rigged. THOUGHTS???

Big Dog: How are you planning on rigging yours?

Chris

[Kevin]

I think it was Tim Carter who figured out that you could trim a viper mast from the bottom and get pretty much right on position for the jib sheave and forestay. But it could be the other way around. I don't remember. That rig is built for a "7/8" fractional kite host above the hounds with single swept spreaders. If you trim from the top, you might be ok with a masthead assuming that it's basically where the kite hoist is currently located. From the bottom and you will need a 2nd set of spreaders to go masthead kite. The viper AL spar is sleeved. That makes it heavy and limits the amount of pre-bend you can dial in.

Good luck with the Mercury rig Rocky. If it gets you on the water and it's cheap then go for it. If he's giving you used sails with the package than you are that much closer to getting on the water.

Cheers, Kevin.

[Big_Dog]

Chris,
Congratulation. I see that you have a SB18 to play with in the Houston area. PHRFGB gave Lady C an initial rating was 245, but it has been revised down to 150. No pressure, but you could be the first i550 to race an SB18 design.

As for the mast: I’m planning to position the jib and forestay per the i550 rig dimension. That puts the mast head about 1 1/4“ higher than the i550 sail plan. I talked with a North Sail expert that recommended keel stepping the mast. I will need to cut off 6” – 10” from the bottom end. This also requires cutting out the compression post and building the step at berth height. I see a sawzall day coming.

I also talked to the local West Marine associate, which owned and raced an early Viper. He said that to get pre bend the rig loads are high than other boats he raced. Kevin is correct about the inner sleeve (Butt to spreaders). You could remove it and the Selden 3525 mast is 10% lighter than the Dwyer DM-4. Also you keep the tapered top section. If needed, I’ll could pull the sleeve later, or save for a CF. Also by cutting from the bottom end you are removing more of the heavier sleeved section. I’m thinking that I need to run wires from the mast step to the chain plates to help distribute the extra load. The spinnaker does exit needs to move up 30” (inside or out) and add stays (diamond?) to support the tip.

The Viper mast meets my requirement for a cheap first mast to get off the dock. About half the price of aluminum stick and 10-15% of CF rig. The tradeoff is the weight. 26 feet of mast is 3 lbs less than a DM-4 before adding 8 – 9 lbs of sleeve. Net is 5-6 lbs more. All boats in the SE are using Aluminum rigs.
Jon

[noemar]

I am planning on keel stepping a Viper 640 mast on my i550. The plan is to laminate carbon fiber across the beam from chine to chine ,covering with 3/4 "hydro edge plywood then setting an aluminum I beam and then the keel step. I am visiting in Ellicott City MD this weekend returning back to MA tomorrow. I will then dry fit the keel step ,take some photos and send in for opinions.
Thanks,
Noel

[admin]

Darn, I was in the backyard all day sanding about 20-25 mintues away. And I have an extra longboard and lots of extra dust masks, too!
Viper mast sounds like a plan, cant wait to see the pix.

TF

[noemar]

Next time I'm in Ellicott I send you a message

[Marino]

I've also just purchased a viper 640 mast and would be interested to see the pix's, and what length of spreader(s) you woud be using.

[noemar]

Because I also got a mainsail and jib with the purchase of the mast I will try using the rig as it is. I do not expect to be racing one design so we will see out it goes.
But first I have to finish building the boat

[Marino]

Need help
Have purchased a viper mast and I am thicking of converting it to s double spreader setup.
Has anyone converted their mast?

[noemar]

Marino,
Did you ever get a response on converting to a double spreader rig? Spreaders can be purchased at APS in Annapolis but do not know where to get the spreader mast brackets

[Marino]

Noemar i am purchasing the brackets and spreaders through VELOCITY BOATWORKS.
Mark Stieber has a breakdown of measurements he used on his viper mast on the S.A. i550 forum site. I believe its in one of the last three pages.
Also Ron Bowman on this forum ask about a double spreader system measurements in one of the last pages.
Hope this helps you.

[Marino]

For those using a viper mast, did you need to purchase a mast step and from whom did you purchase one or did one have to be modified to fit the mast.

[jray]

I have the measurements for the double spreader setup that Ron did. I did the same on my mast. Don't know how much help it will be as the measurements are for the C-Tech carbon.

[Warren Nethercote]

Marino, have you considered making or having made a C-Tech style mast step to carry the bare Viper tube? It should work just as well for aluminum as for carbon. There are various pictures of the C-Tech mast step about. You could start looking in Chad's build log. I am on the road at the moment, otherwise I would attach a photo that I downloaded to my desktop.

[Marino]

Thanks Warren, will check it out.
Also to Jon, thanks for the info on the double spreader measurements.

[noemar]

Marino,
I am using a alum. Viper mast but it will be stepped below. Try the Selden catalog for deck stepped mast step also you might want to try www.apsltd.com. They carry many Selden parts which fit Proctor masts There are also a couple of suppliers in Great Britain that are a good source for Selden mast and boom parts.
www.coastwatersports.co.uk or www.sailboats.co.uk A little pricier due to exchange rate and shipping, but if you need it and they have it you pay . No one said building a boat was cheaper. Good luck finding whatever you need.
Noel

[noemar]

Marino,
I never did find the measurements for setting up a double spreader rig.
Noel

[Marino]

Thanks Noel for the info for the mast.

[Marino]

Any suggestions as to how to remove the inner sleeve in the viper mast. Rivet holes would be filled with rivets again and sealed with silicone.

[micah202]

Any suggestions as to how to remove the inner sleeve in the viper mast. Rivet holes would be filled with rivets again and sealed with silicone.

....sounds like you're the one 'in the know' now! congrats!

[Marino]

Have removed the inner sleeve in my viper mast. with the suggestions offered by Michael and a few extra steps that were found to be needed, I was able to pull the sleeve out.
Unable to post picture, size of picture exceed the limit allowed. Will try at a later date to post some pictures and a description of the steps involved.