TAS
2317 posts
I heard somewhere on this forum about a guy making these from broken masts..
I have an opportunity to aquire a spare bottom half for my North Sails Excellerator 480 mast, free of charge; is it possible to cut the top 40cm off and use it as an extender?? If so, this extender would go in the middle, between the regular top and bottom sections, right??
QLD
14953 posts
i believe the extender should go at the bottom....
i also think that north masts are slightly smaller in dia so check that out.
the broken mast turned into an extension worked well. i think anything over 30cm might be asking a bit much. collar, base/pulleys all fitted well. it did bend slightly over time but wasn't a problem.
extenders are pretty cheap, why not just buy one.
TAS
2317 posts
No way! Extenders are about 150 bucks, that's what I usually pay for masts!!
TAS
2317 posts
Gestalt, you have a friend who does this? Can you ask him for more info??
QLD
2315 posts
Any extending of a mast you do other than at the bottom will generally end in tears. Masts are reinforced in different areas to take extra stresses involved, if you go chopping willy nilly it could break. It might not I made 2 piece masts out of 1 piece masts for a while and one of them is still going but i never sailed far on them since I just dont trust it.
There is a guy up here that makes tip extensions but they arent over 30cm (I think) and are made of alloy. They seem to work pretty well and are a good compromise for those not using race sails.
Besides that bottom piece might be worth something... nearly always it is the bottom piece that breaks (apart from people that dont connect them properly so it breaks at the ferule)- people making extenders from them arent cutting up good bottom pieces.
QLD
14953 posts
hi wet willy,
agree with mk...
the price you quoted, is that the powerex extender? i think they might be a bit cheaper. The masts i use cost $600-1100 retail so at that point $150 is pretty good and cheaper than a north extension or chinook carbon extension. 2 thumbs up on the powerex masts by the way. best there is.
my mate didn't make an extender, he made a mast extension. he doesn't sell them it was for his own use. i think it was the bottom of the bottom half so all the reinforcing is in the right places.
if your north mast is free, why not just cut the bottom 40cm off and then resin a ferrule in. use it as an extender for the bottom of your mast. i wouldn't go much over 40cm with it though. of course it may break? there is always a risk involved. or swap it for an extender maybe.
TAS
2317 posts
I just checked out the "free" extra bottom half and it's broken off at the top. So, I guess I may as well try to make an extender!! Hey where the heck would I buy a ferrule? Ferrules 'r' us? Ferrule Mart? Ferruleworths? How about using 40cm of an old metal mast extension, minus the bottom bit of course?
