Dart 15 Forums

Drastic action to get the two halves apart , first we tried jarring it apart, then we used a turfer to try to pull them apart then get a grinder on it.
When we eventually got it apart after Erling gave it a serious talking to, we then find it has a wooden plug. Erling now needs a new top section for his old boat.

Has anyone got an old top section they want to get rid of.

Has anyone seen a wooden plug used??

Chris

Hi Chris,
The Sparks originally had one piece masts until a kit was issued to cut the mast and join it with a fibre glass joining piece supplied in the kit. A lot of the old Sparks that had the fibre-glass mast joining pieces have failed - but then they lasted 20+ years so not too bad. Wood can be a stronger joining piece if the right wood is selected but will be heavier and more prone to swelling as can be seen from Erling's problem. Strictly speaking it would not pass the 15 boat rule but no one is likely to protest something which is heavier and unseen. In retrospect it seems a shame to wreck the upper half of the mast when it was serviceable as a one piece mast. The upper section of the mast is more prone to failure as old masts can crack near the hounds so they are in short supply. Anyway easy to be smart after the event. I hope you find a top section.
Regards
Bob
PS It might be worth asking David Lloyd as I know Tim used to collect spare halves.
PPS I see from Facebook that Tim Hemel had a spectacular failure of the fibre glass joining piece. It must be cold sailing in Finland at the moment.

The sensible people went sailing to get their boats well clear of this mindless violence.

There was no mindless violence what so ever, both Erling and me like to play with grinders.

In reply Bob it wasn't a serviceable top section it had a rather large bend in it, over the last few years we have tried to straighten it, Erling has even tried his total massive weight but to no effect. So it came down to the grinder.
I must admit the mahogany plug is rather well made.

Many of the fiberglass sleeves being used were made when the boat was a single hander with no jib or trapeze or extra down haul purchase. Whilst the boat specification has changed creating much greater mast compression loads, the original fiberglass sleeves have not been upgraded in most instances.
More recent fiberglass sleeves supplied by Windsport have additional strengthening laminate to allow for the extra compression and stress loading.
Brian
Windsport Sprint 15 technical support