As Mr. Shaw was kind enough to encourage me to Split my mast, I find myself glad I did. The wooden mast on Spark #5942 came apart easily, requiring no more effort than steady grip, steely fingers, and enhanced fortitude to do the job. To be honest, I had been dreading this particular job as I was treading into the unknown. As this mast came apart so easily, I doubt it would have survived even the slightest puff of air before coming apart with canvass aloft.
Thankfully, as you will see, the wood has suffered no rot in it’s 54 years of service, it did contain a multitude of long dead bugs, but they were only using it for shelter and nest rather than as a food source. Now to sand her smooth, drill out all the screw holes and fill with wood, and to glue up before varnishing.
At some point, Spark’s mast had suffered a repair. It looks well done and quite solid, so I will not be touching it aside from sanding to dry wood and varnishing it again.





And of course, the insects that had once called it home.
