: Hi Mike, The spring buttons on my AKA's stick out 1/4 inch but I would be
: afraid to file a button down. To be safe keeping an AKA outrigger bar
: together that use spring buttons, most have a tie rope running along the
: bar just incase a section comes loose. So a spring button wouldn't be a
: solution for the mast that uses sail ring slides. I would build a mast out
: of wood but I have no idea how to make one out of wood that breaks down
: but yet would be strong at the joints. I once built an 18- foot mast out
: of wood laminated together with contact cement and it held up through 10
: years of hard sailing.
: John

Hi John,
I wouldn't do anything to the buttons on the aka and the line along it is a good idea, but if the mast used them it may have been a workable idea as gravity and the uphaul line would keep the parts together. As Bill points out that the buttons are hollow, filing them won't work.

A wooden mast that small that also breaks down would be heavier that any alu mast. Traditionally, to extend a wooden mast, a form of topmast is used. A tad awkward on a kayak.

I think the easiest method for a smaller folding mast is the system used in tent poles where bungie lines run inside the poles if you want it seperate to the running rig. Something less stretchy would be better in a mast.

Mike Savage
South West Cork