HENNING came with two masts, the original mast is split along a scarf line right around where the boom jaws would sit. There is also a bit of rot there, most likely from corrosion where an old fitting would have been, a downhaul cleat possibly. The wood appears to be fir, based on what we see, the weight and what was commonly used. The scarf shows no remnants of glue, it probably soaked into the wood and dried up decades ago. Whether there is a "There I Was" Sea Story to go along with the split, we don't know, but we'll make one up as the restoration progresses.
Skipper's fleet of Gorilla Carts were called into action to act as mobile workstations, which meant I needed to air up some tires, which meant one tire's dry-rotted valve stem gave up the ghost, which meant I had to find the spare, which meant that the spare hub didn't fit the axle for some odd reason, which meant a spare needed to be ordered, which meant order two in case they are a little different size, which meant scratching my head as to why Gorilla Carts don't sell their own tires on their website, which meant crossing fingers to hope the ordered parts would fit...Spoiler Alert...The spare fit.
We used TotalBoat THIXO PRO thickened epoxy adhesive to reglue the mast. PRO refers to the larger two tube system of THIXO, industry pros who use a LOT of adhesive can save some money and time by buying THIXO in this configuration and using the special High Thrust caulk gun to dispense the thickened resin and hardener. Single tubes are available that fit regular size caulk guns, but if you go that route be sure to buy a High Thrust 25:1 ratio or similar gun vs the basic level 7:1 cheapo gun.
To get THIXO into the small crack at the end of the scarf, we squirt some THIXO into a small plastic syringe, sold by folks like TotalBoat or West System, and use the syringe to inject epoxy as far into the void as we can. Then we hope that light clamping pressure distributes the adhesive throughout the joint. Only light clamping is needed, just enough to see "squeezeout" along the joint line, to ensure the joint is filled. And when clamping raw or dry wood, avoid the urge to wipe off excess, as the wood will soak some of that epoxy back into the joint.
The split scarf was about two feet long, but we added a clamp every foot or so to hold the mast level along the forward face. We used all of our Jorgensen clamps, which are named for family and friends. Richard, Webb, Doug, Alan, Murray and Hazlewood are friends who are exceptional Mariners, as well as serial boatbuilders, serial circumnavigators and serial sea story tellers. Hazelwood was Capn Jack's friend, he helped Capn Jack build his first sailboat in the 1960s, a 16 foot Petrel. Skipper watched, fascinated by the thin shavings that curled off of Hazlewood's plane and the thin wisp of smoke from his cigarillo. Skipper was then pressed into service puttying all of the screw holes with her little fingers, peeling off a layer of skin or two in the process. Unfortunately the fingerprints grew back, spoiling her potential career as a bank robber.
Video: Mast Repair and Clamps
