replacement mast?

Mariel, # 162 did battle with Hurricane Ivan last year and lost. The storm surge lifted the boat onto the dock before being pushed back into its slip. The good news is the hull was barely scratched. The back stay pulled out and the mast got twisted under the dock. Its bent about 30 degrees. Any used Ariel masts around? I'm located in Opelika, Al. I've checked with Dwyer Aluminum about a new mast but they haven't made a replacement for an Ariel. Is it necessary to get an exact copy of the original? Who sells a replacement mast that matches the original?

I'm also looking for a lazerette cover and hatch.

My cattle in the pasture seem to hold their heads high with pride knowing they're the only cows in Lee County with their very own yacht.

I think the cost of a new mast would be prohibitive, especially with shipping.

There has to be some around from hurricane damaged boats. I'd call around to boatyards. Local riggers might have a lead. There's even some on ebay from time to time.

It doesn't have to be the same shape extrusion. You could even cut a longer mast down. You'll probably need rigging to match, and mast step. Would take some figuring.

You do know that the Ariel mast is a cut down Triton?
That suggests you might find a longer mast and cut it down.
Ariel's fame for nasty sailing may have a lot to do with the heavy mast she carries.

C'pete's suggestion is righton. Have to check around the marinas/boat yards
for masts that made it thru the hurricanes. Or made it past the knackers. Aluminum masts seem to last longer than the boats they're rigged to.
Phone around, visit the yards, there always are masts lying around, go with all measurements and pics of what you want!

Good hunting!


338's lazarette hatch is available.
What's the difference between 'cover and hatch?'

A complete mast and boom and shrouds and stays is available at Irvington Marina in Irvington VA. (or it was in April when I went down there)
(I should have added that - it is an original mast, not just something that is the right length. It is the identical teardrop shape as the original mast. The boom is the original also (same shape, length, etc))
I can post the phone number later when I find his phone number.
An old coot named Andy Whiley runs the place.
As I recall, his price for the mast was negotiable, but in the $500 range.

I measured it, and it really is the exact replacement.

it also has some neat hardware: the outhaul runs into the boom and terminates at this cool looking lead-screw adjuster. You pop the handle out, and put on a few cranks, which inturn rotates a nut around a lead screw (which doesn't rotate) and your tighten (or loosen) the outhaul.

He also has a bunch of other random and neat hardware for sale. There are no prices on anything. Everything is negotiable. Your price depends on your haggling ability.

Like i said I will try to post the number later.

Thanks for the info:

1) commanderpete: I thought shipping would be prohibitive also but when I priced a new mast from Dwyer Aluminum , he gave me a price of 150$ for shipping ( but I may be misinformed) to Alabama

2) Mrgnstrn: i would like to get Irvington' Marina's number if you come across it.

3) ebb: Is 338 your boat or someone elses. I'd like to buy the lazarette if possible? The other hatch I was talking about is the one going into the cabin


I've looked at rigrite's web site but didn't find a match for an ariel. I'll try looking for a Triton and see if I come up with. The dimensions I've come up with is
CORRECTION 6" x 3 1/2" and 30' 3 3/8" in height(not counting the mast step or the mast head, Is this called the extrusion?) but I'm going to remeasure this afternoon to make sure. I'm very ignorant about sailing (as with other things) but it hasn't stopped me yet. Any advice is greatly appreciated

How do I find out the year hull 162 was made?

The technical drawing shows dimensions of 6.0" X 3.5" X 30' 3"

It's page 162 of the Manual (funny enough)

I think you lucked out with the mast in Virginny

You need to feign vague interest when you talk to the guy, and find the smallest U-Haul that will carry it on top.

Don't use my method

http://pearsonariel.org/discussion/a...tid=1793&stc=1

Hope you have agressively persued that mast. Can't hardly think of a better reason to have joined this board than to get a tip like that! Not going to worry about shipping or getting it back to your site until you've seen it, touched it and got it!

I'd figure a marina would be happy to get rid of the spars especially if no rent is being paid for stowing them.
[A new mast and MATCHING boom new would be pretty close to unbelievable in price.]
I'd go there believing Whiley would make you a fair deal. I'd phone first to find out if he still has it. Wouldn't even mention money til I got there. Dress in jeans. Dirty fingernails. Look like you need help. :) Sounds like an upgraded rig, maybe upgraded (newer) rigging is still with it.

Nobody knows the price of a 40 yearold mast. Except Whiley, That mast belongs on your boat, Whiley knows it too!

Go for it!!! :cool:
Rooting for ya!

MRGNSTRN: I got the number to Irvington Marina off the net. Trying to track down Andy Whiley. Thanks for the info.

Great that your got the number.
I got the card from the home and for the benefit of everybody else:

Irvington Marina, Inc
Andy W. Wylie (no...really it's spelled like that), President
804-438-5113
The card says that his business includes:
"Masts & Rigging - Gas & Diesel Engine"

Note that "marina" wasn't on the list. This matches my impression of the place, that it was mostly a "marina" in name only. There were a handfull of slips, but his main business (it seems) is the boat junkyard.

a couple of things to know before you try to haggle with him:

1. He is a consummate penny-pincher (which means he isn't giving anything away for less than top dollar). As evidence, he had a few customers with boats up in his land storage area. Most places go out and buy boat stands to do this.....not Andy. A few 50-gallon barrels, a few cinder blocks and some random pieces of wood are all he used.
As further evidence, I picked up a 6" ships bell, bronze, corroded green, with grass grown over the top of it. When I asked how much, he said "$40". I replied that "I could buy a new one for that price". He responded with "Fine, buy a new one then." .....so the moral of the story is that he isn't afraid of not selling things. He is happy to wait until someone else comes along (although most rational people would argue that it won't happen, at least at this place.)

2. He seemed to me to be less in the business of buying and selling hardware, than just in the business of collecting it. I picked up some random piece of mast; like the top 18" of a mast, the rest of which was nowhere to be seen. It had a neat stainless steel do-hickey on top, so I asked how much for the do-hickey. He said "no, you have to buy the whole piece." .....now really, I dare you to find anyone looking for the top part of a mast that was at least 30 years old. I was the ONLY person looking to buy ANYTHING from him that day, there were 0 other customers.

3. He is running a junk yard. Nothing is, in any way, shape, or form, organized. You will have to root through all kinds of crap to find good stuff. You will have to tour the whole place before you find what you seek.

Also, he houses transients, I think, in the upstairs of one of his storage buildings. I don't know if they pay rent, but I doubt it.

Now on the good side, you could probably root around in his junk yard for a whole day, finding all kinds of treasures you need and can't find anywhere else.

I bought a bow pulpit that day, and a couple of genoa blocks. $100 for the bow, and I forget how much for the others. decent price, but it took a long time to get to that point.

Now that sounds like the kind of place Im looking for. After awhile, pointing and clicking and credit card numbers gets pretty boring. No romance at all.

Andy is a real piece of work , He ain't impressed by city slickers !
There are deals to be had if you know what you are looking at and dont say "how much" , but "I'll give ya $--- for that...." .

You might want to check (call) Bacon & Associate's consignment in Annapolis.

They are better known as "Bacon Sails", but consign everything nautical. (even power boat stuff........eeewwww)

I wandered into their "back room" and they had at least one mast worthy of scrutiny as a replacement for the Ariel: one for a Bristol 27. It didn't have the mast lengtH on the tag, but the I,J,P,E measurements are within a foot or so, depending on exactly which Bristol it was for.

You might want to call them directly on Monday and inquire about it.

What caught my eye was that it had the exact same spreaders and spreader bases (the castings) as the Ariel. Curiously, it didn't have a bolted/screwed-on external mainsail track; it had an internal track for slugs.
The teardrop shape of the mast looked the same to my eye as the original Ariel extrusion, but where the teardrop narrows to a flat spot on our masts, this had an extension on the back. It wasn't bolted on, or added later; it looked like a slightly different extrusion, but only in the sail track area.

They also had a boom if I remember correctly.

But they had at least a dozen other masts and two or three dozen booms to choose from.

Bacon's info is:
Bacon & Associates, Inc.
116 Legion Ave.
Annapolis, MD 21401
410-263-4880
shop hours:
mon-fri 10am-5:30pm EST

(Saturday's are optional for them, but mostly they are open 8am-12pm on sat)

Good Luck!

There is a spar and boom for an Ariel (#248 - remember her? :( ) at a local yard here in Socastee, SC. The guy here sounds a lot like Andy - not much of a marina, more of a boat junkyard. I only wish #248 had had stanchions and a stern pulpit...

I got the impression that he wanted to sell #248 for a grand or so or maybe more (certainly not worth it). The spar does have a tabernacle foot on it, and the bottom half is still on the boat. You could probably haggle him a bit to get his price down.