replacing a mast question
- Thread starter Phillster
- Start date
I posted under "Sunfish wanted" for a mast. A member here hit me up about two weeks ago who had one for $50. He happened to live in St. Louis so I picked it up on the way back from Christmas in Chicago. Worked out great. Got some funny looks with it strapped to the top of my Honda though. 
L&VW
Well-Known Member
This is a toughy.
Holding onto my Sunfish in shallow water in a raging Summer storm, my mast snapped off at 18-inches above the deck. The sail tore significantly. At 2¼ inch diameter, the "aluminum tube" is not a particularly standard size. Search Google for "aluminum tubing" in your location; unfortunately, there aren't too many suppliers having that size in stock. They will likely have to order them from halfway across the country.
At the mast's ten-foot length, the mast picks up oversize-freight charges! The price for the mast gets bumped significantly—from $125. Because I'd just heard of another sailor having a mast disappear into deep water, I had a friend pick up an extra "tube" at a location close to his workplace. The supplier only had 20' sections, but didn't charge to cut them in half.
Sometimes it's cheaper to locate a wrecked Sunfish—just for the hardware. That said, I ended-up buying three wrecked Sunfish, fixed them up with epoxy, and put them back on the water to race with visiting friends!
Holding onto my Sunfish in shallow water in a raging Summer storm, my mast snapped off at 18-inches above the deck. The sail tore significantly. At 2¼ inch diameter, the "aluminum tube" is not a particularly standard size. Search Google for "aluminum tubing" in your location; unfortunately, there aren't too many suppliers having that size in stock. They will likely have to order them from halfway across the country.
At the mast's ten-foot length, the mast picks up oversize-freight charges! The price for the mast gets bumped significantly—from $125. Because I'd just heard of another sailor having a mast disappear into deep water, I had a friend pick up an extra "tube" at a location close to his workplace. The supplier only had 20' sections, but didn't charge to cut them in half.
Sometimes it's cheaper to locate a wrecked Sunfish—just for the hardware. That said, I ended-up buying three wrecked Sunfish, fixed them up with epoxy, and put them back on the water to race with visiting friends!