Some masts are spliced not because there is a limit to extrusion length, but
there was a limit to the length of the anodising vat. Only other option is
to paint the mast.

wrote in message
...
When I noticed a pop rivetted butt join on the mast of a new boat I
suspected a mast repair job? When asking the US mast manufacturing company
as to why a pop rivetted butt joint was present on a 45 feet long new
mast, they replied that the longest aluminium extrusion available was 40
feet long. They also stated that it was standard practice in the industry
to butt joint the length of a mast after 40 feet. They said that their
masts were elongated by inserting an internal sleeve and securing the
joint with pop rivets. They also mentioned that other manufacturers were
using butt welding technique instead of pop rivets.

Maybe this is standard practice but it was an eye opener for me. As anyone
notices that before?