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Coating a wooden mast
Dear all
I started two courses about varnishing and painting and I really like it. Also I am currently building my own little wooden sailing boat and thought about making a wooden mast (instead of buying an aluminium mast). Friends in my boat building club already made wooden masts and all of them finished them with fiber glas, several layers of epoxy and varnish.
To my question: As I learned in the course, epoxy is used for coating rigid structures and varnish is used for coating more flexible structures. Is it therefore safe to use fibre glas and epoxy for coating wooden masts, which should be (in my understanding) rather flexible than rigid?
Thanks for your opinion.
Cheers
Jan
Hi Jan
It depends a little on the construction of the mast but as a general guide I would recommend going with the more flexible, traditional varnish system on masts and spars. Given the work they do this also makes them a lot easier to touch up and repair in the event of them getting marked.
Cheers
Dan