In 2021 there are two sources we had identified that can fabricate a W-P aluminum mast:
Selden
Selden acquired Proctor who supplied the initial tapered masts acquired by some W-P owners
Selden offers a tapered mast “Cumulus C069” that is 70.5mm fore/aft and 58.7mm athwart
Dwyer offers a non-tapered mast “DM-284” that is 2.84” (72.1mm) fore/aft and 2.12” athwart (53.8mm)
Mast #1:
Since I was replacing a tapered mast, I initially did not deal with Dwyer. My experience with Selden confirmed Toby’s advice that they were difficult to deal with. It took from June 26 to Sept. 10 (11 weeks) to get a mast on order and it was delivered to Frankfort on Nov. 5 – over 4 months from my first contact with them.
When I called Selden’s N. Charleston phone number (843-760-6278) I was told by the recording to engage a ‘local dealer’, so I called a Traverse City dealer Quantum Sails asking for help replacing a broken mast. They told me they didn’t know how to order a mast and perhaps the dealer in Muskegon could. I then called back the Selden N. Charleston number and hit “1” – as a distributor – and someone in sales answered. They told me they’d have Diego Carvajal “Aftermarket Sales Manager” (843-760-6278 ext. 209) contact me.
July 7: Diego sent me an email that said “. A replacement mast will cost about $1100. Shipping cost can be an issue as will have to ship LTL truck which can run upwards of $600. We will dropship the mast to you, so you may look to another dealer to order from. Lead time is about 4-6 weeks from date of order.” I asked some questions in reply.
July 22: Diego finally responded to some of my questions and attached the bill of materials for a W-P mast they were working on for a NJ customer. I responded with a list of 7 questions.
July 23: Diego sent a “Dinghy Rig Facts Sheet” for me to fill out, but did not answer my 7 questions, the answers to which were needed to provide my measurements. – the major one being the height of the mast heel (the piece inserted into the bottom of the extrusion that then sits on the step on the hull. I’d also asked if we could re-use the shrouds and fittings from the broken mast.
July 31: Diego answered my questions and I replied with more questions
Aug. 4: Diego answered my questions and I asked about the mast heel they were proposing, the height of which would determine all the extrusion measurements for attachments.
Aug. 18: Diego provided a schematic for a NJ W-P customer. I replied by reiterating the 4 questions in my Aug. 4 email. He immediately replied with a schematic of their standard mast heel/base – a single extension on the base of the mast that appears to fit in a slot on the keel of the boat. My W-P has that reversed, the base has a slot that fits over a cast aluminum fitting on the keel and a bolt through the base fits into one of the 5 or 6 slots in the fitting. So I sent measurements for my base and asked if it would fit their extrusion.
Aug. 20: Diego replied that they could re-use my mast base/heal, so using its height, I sent the following 17 measurements in millimeters as well as a document showing a photo of a mm tape measure next to each fitting (the basis for the measurements):
Vang bracket lower rivet
Vang bracket upper rivet
Gooseneck lower rivet
Vinyl Tape (18mm) lower edge
Gooseneck upper rivet
Halyard lock – center tooth of 5
Vinyl Tape (18mm) upper edge
Sailfeed bottom
Halyard exit bottom of hole
Halyard exit top of hole
Sailfeed top
Spreader lower rivet
Spreader upper rivet
T-Terminal backing plate lower rivet
Shroud attach (center of hole in T-Terminal for all 3 shrouds)
T-Terminal backing plate upper rivet
Top of the Mast Headbox Sheave (Measurement is to top of sheave NOT to the top of mast headbox fitting)
Aug. 21: Diego replied, surprised my measurements were so different from the NJ customer. I replied that Woodpussies differ quite a bit, starting with how and where the mast is stepped – both in height off the keel and in position fore and aft. That makes the Class rule for mast length (23’ 5”) problematic – they probably should have set the length starting at the deck, since some hulls have the mast step 8” above the keel. So instead of the rule for deck-stepped masts including only a ‘brace’ under the deck, it should also include the height of “the normal mast step” above the keel – two very difficult measurements to get under the foredeck. And with a sloping deck and the differences in where manufacturers put the mast step on, or the mast hole in the deck, the position where the mast sits on or goes through the deck varies. The key Class rule measurement in my view is the “Halyard Sheave to Tack Pin Measurement” (the luff length of the sail) – which in my case is exactly the 20’ 5” requirement.
Aug. 17: Diego provided a schematic showing my attachment point measurements. I replied with 5 more questions.
Sept. 1: Diego replied to my questions and then asked for the name of my dealer on Sept. 2. I replied that I had no dealer and asked him to provide a name.
Sept. 4: Diego told me to contact Daniel Martinez at New England Yacht Rigging (1 Masthead Dr #1A Warwick, RI 02886 401-884-1112 daniel@neyachtrigging.com to place an order.
Sept. 8: Daniel replied that Diego would have to answer my shipping questions. Diego then replied that a commercial address is required as this will ship LTL, not UPS. He also said that normal Lead time on masts is 4-6 weeks, but since we’ve already done most of the engineering and it’s ready to go into production, it will be closer to 4 weeks. It turned out to be nearly 8 weeks.
Sept. 10: Daniel told me they don’t take AMEX so I mailed a deposit check for 50% of the cost of the mast ($1,100 estimate) and shipping ($600 estimate) to New England Yacht Rigging to get the mast into production.
Oct. 20: Daniel replied to my email asking when the mast would ship by saying “Still no updates on shipping from Selden.”
Nov. 5: Daniel responded to an email asking when the mast would ship by saying “Your mast shipped earlier this week.” I requested a tracking number and determined it was scheduled for deliver Nov. 5
Nov. 5: Mast arrived at MacDonald Marine who reported it looked damaged (see photo below)
Nov. 5: Selden told me to have MacDonald unpack and inspect the mast for damage (we’d left the Lake 2 weeks earlier so I had them ship to MacDonald Marine).
Dec. 9: MacDonald was able to unpack and inspect the mast (which had to wait until after they completed all their winterizations) and found it to be in good shape. So I sent Selden (New England Yacht Rigging) a check for the balance due.
After unpacking the mast I measured it and determined it was 4” too short.
