Masts

Masts on the Star yachts were made from Finnish birch wood. This wood had an inbuilt flex and little graining. The various diameters and lengths of later yachts can be found on the "Dimensions" page. Later masts were delivered to the factory pre-cut to length and diameter needing little finishing before having the sails fitted and fixing to the yachts as a unit. Profiles of the ends of the masts and booms changed over the years and series of the yachts from just a conical machined end on the smaller yachts to a long tapered and rounded end on the racing yachts.

There was always a distinction between the masts, for the pre-war models the cheaper mass-produced models were left bare wood and the better quality models were coated by being stained with shellac and varnished. Post-war as more coatings were available, spars were just varnished then later polyurethane was used. In the 1980s in the factory, a big tumbler dryer type machine was used for the masts, they were spun around whilst wax pellets were fed into the top of the machine which melted and coated the spars. There were a couple of exceptions to the rule in the early days, from 1922 to 1924, Fishing Boats had white painted spars and for 1932 to 1933, the start of the SB range, the spars were also painted white with a gloss paint.

"Top Tip" - If replacing a mast or boom on a smaller yacht with a conical end, use a pencil sharpener to get the desired profile. Electric sharpeners of different sizes were used in the factory.

Finnish birch is hard to find nowadays, using a length of hardwood dowel  from B&Q or Wickes makes a good substitute or find an online supplier.