I'm making the mast for the Nederland from brass tubing, and I cant' figure out how many sections it should have. The Billings drawing shows three, and the better David Metcalf plans (My Hobby Store) show two. Also, I can't work out how the mast is attached to the cross-piece linking the two funnel casings. The Billings plan shows a thin shaft going right through the mast, and in the Metcalf plans a shaft in the same location stops short of the mast. It looks as though the mast should be hinged about that shaft, but it's not clear, and there's no detail of how to lock the mast in its vertical position. I intend to make the mast removable to facilitate wiring for the lighting. I've looked at pictures of models, and there are all sorts of interpretations - some with a plain tapered mast in one piece, others in two and three sections. I notice that photos of the real tug show some sort of substantial bearing BELOW the shaft shown in the model plans, and the real mast seems to be in two sections (but I can't find hi res pictures of the mast, so it might be three sections).
Thanks in advance for any advice.
Terence