[Public-List] Mast Beam Variation

[Jeffrey]

Thanks JA,

That is interesting. I must admit that perhaps the wood beam alone may
not be strong enough no matter what the lamination quality is.

-jeff

On Fri, Jul 18, 2008 at 11:54 AM, Jonathan Adams
<laughing_gull at verizon.net> wrote:
> My beam failed after this year's NOOD. It was a new (less than 20 yrs) laminated wood Beam, and I think the wood went not the glue. The problem was that due to the curve, the lamination has to be done correctly so that the strength of the wood is maximized if it is not, the beam will split along that portion of the lamination where the grain does not align well with the stress.
>
> The length of this thread may be due to the fact that some boats had laminations that were well formed - where the stresses were well aligned with the strongest points of the lamination; while others may not have been done so well.
>
> I have the alloy beams and big half inch bolts - I feel better :) this way. If I wanted to keep the wood, just replace a few internal layers of lamination with the alloy plates.
>
> JA
> Laughing Gull
> 197