National 12 Mast Types

[Iain]

Could anyone tell me if a Proctor C mast 24 foot long is good to use on a new N12
Thanks
Iain

[sam293]

are we talking brand new? if so your gonna want carbon

if not il measure my mast in the morning

[Iain]

I am looking at an Aluminium Proctor C mast used with all fittings still in the box
I have a small budget, therefore second hand is my only real option
If carbon is a real advantage, if I could get one, how much would I get one for?
Iain

[Carefully (Guest)]

In the olden days the Proctor C was one of the sections of choice for the lightweights (the other was a SS, but I’m not good at their sections).  The most of the fleet used the kappa (sp?) or the SS equiv.
 
24 foot sounds long, you want 6.2M above shear from memory, that’ll be a little less than 6.5m overall in a doublebottom boat, so you should be OK there.
 
I don’t know if all the tapers are the same but the next problem will be the jib halyard exit and shroud terminals being the correct distance from the top.  You can move the spreaders and gooseneck with little difficulty if you need to, then cut the bottom of in the right place.  As a champion boat bodger once said, ‘I’ve cut it twice now, and it’s still too short’, so take care there.
 
If you need cheap, and are light have a good look at it.  If you’re not skinny forget it.

[Antony (Guest)]

Iain,
As others have said it sounds like you need to measure the position of the crucial fittings, the spreaders and the jib halyard box being the obvious ones to see if it can be made to work once  you cut the right amount off the bottom.  The easiest way is obviously to borrow a mast from another boat with the same or similar floor and sheerline to your new one and put it alongside the C.
The 'C' was pretty much the standard mast section for a long period slightly before my time (so i guess from 70s through most of the 1980s).  It was then in competition with the SuperSpar M1 and subsequently anybody apart from the genuinely light moved over to the Kappa.  We were still using the Kappa section until Carbon showed up in the late 1990s.
To you final question, i do not think that you get much (if any) change out of £1200 for a carbon mast with fittings.  Obviously P&B (Who can sell SuperSpar or Selden) and Aardspar (Terry Cooke) can give you an accurate quote and know the class well. 
I do have a spare mast which i guess i might sell one day if we sell N3514 but i have not even thought about what a 2nd hand carbon mast is worth.
Good luck getting the boat on the water,
Antony
N3514

[Dave Croft]

Hi Iain,
You don't say what design boat. An alternative which was a popular mast in 70's and 80's is a Proctor Alpha. Have you looked around dinghy parks? I know there was an old Warlock at Tamesis recently, it was beyond repair but had all the spars. If its still there the club might be happy with a small donation to the RNLI.
I would be interested in the C-section if you decide it's not suitable with the position of the various key things such as spreaders and such don't suit a 12.
Regards, Dave