Jim’s experimental Carbon Fibre Mast.

Jim has decided to convert his 32′ gaff rigged ocean cruiser to Junk rig. He’s been considering this for quite a long time, and here is the first step in accomplishing that rather dramatic refit. A new fifty foot mast, built around a ten staved douglas core and now sheathed in a vast quantity of carbon fibre, which took several weeks of effort. Being Junk rigged, it’s designed to be unstayed so is really rather huge at the butt end. So I was pleased to simply come up with a way to easily roll the mast during lay-up. Surprisingly, carbon fibre turns out to be quite easy to work with once you get the hang of it, at least the backyard way we were doing it. I’m also interested in some of the physical and dynamic challenges of such a project. Of course extending the vessels keelson, partners, and mast step, building a yard and making the first sail are all still to come, and I hope to be involved with some of these too.