wood for mast

[gizmoJoe]

Hey all, newbie here,
         Just got my DN plans and I think i'm gonna start by building the mast first. I just starting looking and I'm having trouble locating any spruce or redwood stock for the mast. How is Poplar as mast material? The local Lowes carries some that is straight and clear and mostly knot free.

 Thanks, Joe

[Geoff Sobering]

Just in case you don't know, most DNs these days have composite or Aluminum masts.  If it's in your budget, a fiberglass/carbon mast would be a big improvement.  I noticed one at a very good price recently posted here: http://dnamerica.org/forum/index.php?topic=503.0

If you decide to build a wood mast, there is a more detailed description on how to build the type of mast shown on the IDNIYRA plans at:
   http://idniyra.org.hosting.domaindirect.com/articles/mast_made_easy.htm

As for wood, if you're not trying to build a super-flexible fiberglass/carbon reinforced wood mast, Poplar would probably work OK.  Just be very careful selecting boards; my experience with Poplar is that the density varies quite a bit (and you want the lightest boards possible).

[gizmoJoe]

Thanks Geoff,
                    I started sailing a sailboat about 2 years ago and then last month I found some of the iceboat websites and figured it would be great to do when the fish aren't hitting the tipups. I made the mast for the sailboat and sewed the sail also so i figured i'd try it. I'm about 30 miles from Lake Wallepaupack in Pa., Hopatcong in Jersey and the hudson near Poughkeepsie is about 50 miles so I'm keeping a lookout for any races that come up just to check them out, but I don't see myself competing. I'm more interested in the building and then sailing for recreation. Thanks for the help.

                      Joe
                 

[Geoff Sobering]

Joe,

I love building boats, too: http://www.iceboat.org/photos/nordhaus/nordhausboatworks.html

Probably the best thing I can recommend for sailing and building is to get in touch with local iceboaters.  There's a Yahoo! group with the East Coast as it's focus:
   http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/IceBoating/
I'd check them out to see if there are some other folks you can hook up with in the area.  You can often find great deals on the parts you can't easily make (like runners) from local iceboaters.

Cheers,

Geoff S.