Masts and spars

 Wherever possible wooden lower masts were made from a single tree which was first squared down to the maximum square possible and then into the round, leaving only the head and possibly the heel square. The mizzen mast, being relatively small, was usually a single tree. Its smooth surface was also convenient for the hoops of the spanker sail to ride up and down on, as also the gaff jaws if so rigged.

  If the fore and main masts could not be taken out of a single tree, owing to their size, it was necessary to build up each mast to its required diameter by joining or splicing a number of smaller timbers longitudinally. The minimum number was known as a five-piece mast, which meant that a central spindle was made out of one piece in a square taper extending for part of the upper length, and then each face built up with separate lengths, rounded on their outer surface and long enough to make up the full required length, as shown.

  The central spindle extended above the level of the trestle trees to form the masthead, with two of the side pieces reduced in size to strengthen it. To provide rigidity to the whole mast it was necessary to prevent the longitudinal abutting surfaces from sliding against each other, which would happen if the whole mast was allowed to bend. To stop this, each of these surfaces was carved out (tabled) in alternating raised lips and sunken mortices (coaks) which interlocked when bound tightly together.

  The binding was done by iron hoops put on hot while they were in an expanded condition, shrinking tight when cooled. A very large mast could be made up by this process, using as many as fourteen pieces for the whole. In the five-piece mast the side pieces were known as 'side trees' and the fore and aft pieces respectively as 'fore side fish' and 'after side fish'.

  British ships' masts made this way, with five or more pieces, had the appearance of a plain round mast hooped at regular intervals, the hoops usually distinctively painted black or white (yellow in the Royal Navy after Trafalgar). Many of the American masts elaborated the process by not making up a full circular section. Instead the edges of the outer pieces were chamfered off, leaving four vee-shaped grooves running up the mast, and in order to make a solid bed on which to tighten up the iron bands a small wedge piece was fitted in each groove under the band. The ends of these wedge pieces were sloped to prevent water lodging against them. The idea of the grooves was to eliminate feather edges on the side timbers and allow air circulation nearer the heart of the mast, thus reducing the possibility of rot, which is alwa ys a danger when timbers are buried inside other timbers.

  These grooved masts looked quite handsome, especially when the grooves were picked out in a different colour, say black or white, or sometimes red. Some of the masts on the steamship Great Britain were made in  this manner, and possibly on some sailing vessels too, but usually it was an American characteristic.