I've been thinking that it would be a good idea to replace the wooden spars with aluminum ones. It should be pretty easy to find decent aluminum masts and booms secondhand.
However, I have a couple of concerns. First, though it seems that reducing the weight aloft is a good idea with respect to righting moment, I've heard that this could cause the boat to roll more at anchor. Second, though my spars are painted, wood at least has the possibility of having that beautiful varnish look. I'm not sure that I'll ever do that though because it sounds like it could be a lot of maintenance.
Any opinions?
However, I have a couple of concerns. First, though it seems that reducing the weight aloft is a good idea with respect to righting moment, I've heard that this could cause the boat to roll more at anchor. Second, though my spars are painted, wood at least has the possibility of having that beautiful varnish look. I'm not sure that I'll ever do that though because it sounds like it could be a lot of maintenance.
Any opinions?