Aluminum Mast Repair / Sleeve?

[JoeNeubauer]

Has anyone ever heard of successful repair of a DN mast  (Norton or Bryant)?  Can a person purchase a sleeve to go over the break and then have it welded or is it not worth the hassle. I've got two broken masts and was considering an attempt at repair?  This would be for casual use - not competition of course.

[Geoff Sobering]

I've never heard of a repaired DN mast, but I don't think there's anything that much different from other aluminum masts.  The wall thickness of the DN mast might be slightly thinner that a typically softwater boat, but I'll bet not that different from many high-performance masts (ex. 470 or Star).

Typically, the sleeve is installed inside the mast.  Depending on the aluminum alloy used in the extrusion, welding is sometimes a bad idea.

It seems that aluminum masts are selling in the $200-$300 range, so a repair might be economical at the right price.

Cheers,

Geoff S.