How to Install PVC Pipe in a Sailboat Mast

The mast of a sailboat must be strong enough to support the sail and the force of the wind that is exerted on the sail. Therefore it is necessary for the mast to be made from a strong material. Commonly, metal or pressure treated wood is used. However, PVC piping is also a lightweight and strong choice. Installing PVC piping in a boat to create a mast involves connecting the piping with the portion of the boat that accepts the mast. It's a project that almost an sailing enthusiast can do.

Things You'll Need

  • PVC (schedule-80, 2 inches in diameter)
  • Hacksaw
  • Power drill
  • PVC pipe cap (2-inches in diameter)
  • Pulley with eye-mount
  • Eye bolt
  • Washer
  • Nut
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Instructions

    • 1

      Cut the PVC pipe to your desired length with a hacksaw. A common height for a recreational sailboat mast is 16 feet.

    • 2

      Cut two 4-inch slots on opposite sides of the PVC piping with a hacksaw approximately two inches from the top.

    • 3

      Drill a hole in the PVC pipe cap with a power drill. The hole should be at the exact center point of the cap and wide enough in diameter to accept the eye bolt.

    • 4

      Insert the eye bolt into the hole you previously drilled in the center of the eye cap from the bottom to the top of the cap. The eye of the bolt should be on the top of the cap and the point should be protruding from the bottom of the cap.

    • 5

      Slide the eye mount of the pulley through the eye of the eye bolt.

    • 6

      Run your "mainsheet," the line that will pull your sail up and down the mast, over the pulley.

    • 7

      Place the PVC cap on the top of the PVC piping. Let one end of the mainsheet drape over either side of the mast.

    • 8

      Run your shrouds, the lines that will keep the mast from swaying side to side, through the 4-inch slots at the top of the mast. This line can be rope or wire with loops on either end. It must be long enough to reach from the port (left) shroud connection, up through the slots in the mast, to the starboard (right) shroud connection on the body of the boat.

    • 9

      Tie the forestay, the line that will keep the mast from falling to the back of the boat, to the eye of the eye bolt. This line can be made of rope or wire with a loop on both ends and must reach from the eye of the eyebolt on the top of the mast to the forestay connection on the bow (front) of the boat.

    • 10

      Insert the bottom end of the PVC piping into the mast hole on the body of your sailboat. You may have to make some modifications to secure the mast in place. Wedging blocks of wood or wood shims around the base of the mast and the inner perimeter of the mast hole can hold the mast upright and tightly in place.

    • 11

      Tie the rope shroud and forestays to their corresponding connections on the body of the boat. If they are wire, slide the loops on the ends of the wire over their corresponding connections on the body of the boat. Each line must be tight enough to hold the mast steady.

    • 12

      Connect a hook that is compatible with your boat's boom. The boom is the metal bar that runs from the mast parallel to the surface of the boat. It has a slot along its top side to accept the bottom of the sail. Insert screws through the holes of the hook and into the PVC piping to secure the hook in place. The hook should be installed where the bottom of your sail will reach when the top of the sail is pulled to the top of the mast. Repeat this process for a hook at the same height from the bottom of the boat but on the front of the mast. This hook will hold the main sheet once the sail is hoisted keeping the sail up.

    • 13

      Connect the line running off the back of the pulley to the top of your sail. Slide the line through the hole of the sail. Tie a knot in the line to secure it in place.

    • 14

      Slide the bottom of your sail through the slot in the boom. Tie the outhaul, the line at the back end, or clue, of your sail to the end of the boom. Hoist the top of your sail up the mast by pulling the rope on the front end of the pulley. Tie the mainsheet to the hook on the front of the mast. The mainsheet should be tight and holding the top of the sail to the highest point on the mast.