| Re: mast floats
[Re: grandpap]
#81623 08/03/06 06:42 AM 08/03/06 06:42 AM |
Joined: Jan 2006 Posts: 195 Straight Outta Hell Boudicca
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Posts: 195 Straight Outta Hell | Neoprene may cost the same, I'm not sure. In any case you could make a float of it. Cut a piece wide enough to go around the mast less the track, and about 2-3 ft tall. Glue this to the mast top. I suppose if you can't find neoprene that's rather thick, you could laminate several layers. Just guessing, I'd think you want something on the order of 1/2 inch thick, more or less good luck with it tami
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| | | Re: mast floats
[Re: srm]
#81628 08/03/06 08:55 AM 08/03/06 08:55 AM | Anonymous
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Unregistered | I would consider a gallon milk jug (or something more durable like a detergent bottle). Tie it to your mainsail head when you are solo and the wind is high. Cost… free. Obviously, the increased tip weight makes it harder to right and more likely to go over.
Matt | | | Re: mast floats
[Re: ]
#81629 08/03/06 08:59 AM 08/03/06 08:59 AM | Anonymous
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Unregistered | And make sure your mast is sealed. It has to be 100% water proof. I intentionally turtled my boat with a sealed mast and went to the aft leeward corner and the boat came right up to its side. Any water even a very small about will make it very difficult to right.
You can test the mast by dunking it in the water and looking for bubbles to flow out.
Matt | | | Re: mast floats
[Re: MarkW_F18]
#81631 08/03/06 12:01 PM 08/03/06 12:01 PM |
Joined: Jun 2001 Posts: 12,310 South Carolina Jake
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Posts: 12,310 South Carolina | My Tiger Mast has a foam core inside it, so you don't have to be too concerned about if it is sealed. This got me thinking about my H16. I bet you could remove the mast head cap and use some of the spray foam that you buy at your local hardware store for insulating cracks. You may need to attach a small hose to the spray nozzle to get it deeper down the mast. I would still seal the mast end cap with silicone, but the foam may provide more bouyancy for the mast. We need to get Myth Busters to prove this theory. I would be concerned that the foam will eventually absorb water and will be impossible to remove. Mark, isn't the foam in the Tiger mast just a plug at the top and bottom?
Jake Kohl | | | Re: mast floats
[Re: bvining]
#81634 08/03/06 01:25 PM 08/03/06 01:25 PM |
Joined: Jan 2006 Posts: 195 Straight Outta Hell Boudicca
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Posts: 195 Straight Outta Hell | Bill, Not trying to get the last word in here, but it's misleading to indicate that neoprene absorbs water, and we're trying to give good information, aren't we? If neoprene absorbed water, wetsuits wouldn't work. The principle involved is that although a layer of water gets between you and the wetsuit, the wetsuit PREVENTS exchange between that layer and the ambient water around you. The layer of water next to you is warm, thus keeping you warm. Plus, the air trapped within the neoprene foam is also insulative. Last I checked, air generally floats... If wetsuits absorbed water, then divers who normally don't have to wear weights, still wouldn't have to wear weights when they put on wetsuits, and they do. Ask any diver. Like the fella said earlier, the cloth laminated to some wetsuits absorbs water (geez, how much could that possibly be), but no, the wetsuit itself doesn't. I promise. I've even consulted a couple of mechanical engineers on it, so you don't have to take my word. If your wetsuit absorbs water, then you need to send it back or it's really old and it ain't working anymore. But in my observation, really old neoprene just gets crumbly. sea ya tami | | | Re: mast floats
[Re: Boudicca]
#81638 08/03/06 04:27 PM 08/03/06 04:27 PM |
Joined: Oct 2002 Posts: 1,226 Atlanta bvining
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Posts: 1,226 Atlanta | If neoprene absorbed water, wetsuits wouldn't work. Tami, I own 8 wetsuits. I've surfed all my life. All my wetsuits absorb water. They all get really heavy when they are wet and when I hang them to dry they seep water for hours...the water runs down the material and the legs and ankles are the last parts to dry. Wetsuits work by trapping a layer of water next to your skin which your body heats up. The water isnt in the suit before you enter the water, it soaks in. It holds the water, in the suit, thats the point. I'm not putting a big sponge on the top of my mast and dont think anyone else should. A closed cell foam - think swim noodle - would be a much better solution. If you dont believe me take a wetsuit - weigh it and then dunk it in water. Take is out - shake it off and then weigh it again. I'll be dramatically heavier, I promise. Dont use neoprene for a mast float, it will absorb water. I dont care what the engineers say, they are wrong. As far as your diver example, I agree, the rubber in the suit wants to float, but so does our body, so it doesnt prove your point. Bill | | |
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