Dart 15 Forums

Oliver wrote:

Anyone have any good advice on the sleeve in the middle of a 2 piece mast?
I made the mistake of turning turtle yesterday a bit too close to the shore, and the top of the mast went a couple of feet into lovely thick mud. When the rescue boat tried to pull the boat round to help it out of the mud, there was a nasty cruching noise from under the water line, and sail and mast floated to the surface while the boat was still inverted.....
Initially I feared total carnage and a much thinner wallet, but when we eventually got back to the shore we realised that the mast had (only!) broken at the join, and that everything else was undamaged (oh, 1 bust top batten). And bizarrely, the sleeve was made of wood, not metal. A previous owner had decided to use a section of shaped wood rather than the proper aluminium sleeve (or whatever the metal is).
The reason for the story is that I'd like to know if anyone else has got a wooden sleeve. It's possible that had the sleeve been metal rather than wood, then I'd probably be replacing the whole mast, not just the 'sacrificial' sleeve (?).
So, should I buy the regulation metal sleeve, or make another wooden one?
Any advice would be very welcome.

Keith in Hong Kong replied:

It could be argued that the sleeve, had it been made of the 'regulation' aluminium, would not have failed when the boat was inverted, and therefore the timber was more likely to fail when you are sailing......not good.

Also, by the sound of the circumstances, the mast was probably stressed in such a way that the aluminium sleeve could have sacrificially buckled as well.

Getting the strength and shape of a wooden sleeve, and stopping it swelling and stressing the mast anyway, are pretty hit and miss.......I'd go for the proper version....tried and tested.

Things often fail when under abnormal conditions, for incalculable reasons...I'd remove that unknown!

Happy pondering...hope you're back on the water soon in that ace weather you're having.

Tim Dieu de Bellefontaine replied:

We have a fibreglass one kicking around somewhere you can have for the cost of the postage

Peter replied:

Tim,

I know this was a long time ago, but....do you still have the fibreglass mast sleeve kicking about somewhere that you mentioned in your reply ?

Thanks,
Peter