wood spars vs aluminium

[IanD]

I was looking at an older fiberglass boat that seemed to have almost everything i was looking for in a cruising boat ... however on closer inspection i found it had a wooden mast - I had expected aluminium - ... I also found it would cost about 10-15k to replace the wood mast and boom with aluminium ... now the simple fact that almost all new boats have aluminium masts speaks volumes to its superiorty, but ... assuming the spars are in good shape ... I was wondering whether the conversion should be a high priority? Has anybody here had to choose between wood vs. aluminium spars? and what has been your experience? Thanks

[Jeff_H]

Wooden spars usually result in greater weight aloft and so more heeling. The wooden spars generally give the boat a slower motion but causes the boat to roll and pitch through a greater angle. The aluminum spars should result in a little better performance especially upwind and a lot more reliable spars.

Jeff

[IanD]

Thanks for your comments, reliability is probably the key in my mind ... hey maybe i can add a cutter rig and get extra support from the baby stay and runners, heheh

[dancamp]

Sounds like a great idea. think I'll do that with mine too.