Wood mast design and build

[Ian McColgin]

On the WoodenBoat Forum we heard about one fellow who somehow made a bird's mouth with seven staves. He said the eighth would not fit. I don't quite see how this was pulled off without some interesting errors in milling the notch and perhaps in alligning the joints. All I can say is read it all, study the videos, and make a small practice spar of some sort of perhaps cheaper wood so that you get the idea of how to plane the staves for taper and how to get the thing to come out straight. And dry fit, dry fit, dry fit. Few things worse than epoxy kicking off while you screw around with band clamps and rubber straps.

Once you get it, it's like magic.

G'luck