masts that have sat for a few years

[CliveHJones]

has anyone split their mast ... cleaned and re-epoxied it back together ... renewed the fittings/clamps ... then re-oiled or varnished?
(and yes, after applying epoxy the mast will be clamped all along and left to cure for a few days)

ps:: I have decided to go down the oil route for all woodwork ... using Owatrol marine products ... my engineer head figures this better than the varnish route (with annual dressing)

[Chris Wicks]

I had some minor splits along the laminates of my mast in the early years. 6 months of Mediterranean sunshine probably encouraged it. A local carpenter boat builder cleaned out the splits and filled them with epoxy before I revarnished. That was years ago and it has been fine ever since. Occasionally I see signs of a minor split forming and I clean mix and fill with Araldite. Perfect results ( but you can tell my background is not engineering) I only varnish the mast these day, other woodwork with a house water based wood treatment. Aqua Clou.... (German) I like it because it is water based dries in minutes looks good and is easy to tidy up each year.

Good luck

Chris