Sailmaker ships final huge sailboat mast

Ten-year Southern Spars employee Lee Bender watched as the last 173-foot sailboat mast made at the business off Johnson Lane was lifted by crane onto a trailer for shipment early Sunday morning.

The mast was packed in chip-board and spray-painted with an American flag. On the end, an employee had written "Made in America."

The factory, which made masts for America's Cup boats and around-the-world racers, is closing because the cost of doing business is cheaper at its sister plant in Auckland, New Zealand.

"Disappointment would be the right word, I guess," said Bender as cables took the weight of the 8,000-pound package. "But it's a business decision, and you have to respect that. They're in the business to make money -- not support people."

The last day of work for most Southern Spars employees will be April 28, though construction of some 30- to 40-foot masts may continue through May, Bender said. Southern Spars' assembly lead man said his wife, Bonnie, was laid off in October.

The final big mast will be trucked to New Orleans before it is shipped to a customer in Finland. who will install it on a 140-foot sailboat built by Baltic Yachts.

The trailer on which the mast was placed Sunday --owned by San Diego Boat Movers -- was designed especially for the big masts made at the Minden plant.

"That's the sole reason this trailer was built," said San Diego Boat Movers owner Larry Wood.

Now that the big masts will no longer be made, Wood said he is trying to find work moving windmill blades with the 155-foot rig.

His team will drive the huge mast through Carson City at dawn this morning on the Stewart Street truck route then heading east on Highway 50.

"We'll be pulling out with the roosters," said driver Vic Alexander. He said the toughest turn will be from Stewart onto Williams.

"Once we make that turn, we got it about whupped, until we get to the next turn anyway," he said.

They may have to use the truck's special steerable rear wheels to maneuver the turn.

"There's so much overhang you have to watch for all the street signs and light posts," Alexander said.

The mast-making company was established in January 1994 by Tom Omohundro. Windway Capital purchased the company in July that year. It merged with Southern Spars of New Zealand in June 2000.

Bender said the company has tried to help laid-off workers find employment, offering them positions at the Auckland plant and accepting applications at Southern Spar's sister company North Sails next door.

"There's plenty of opportunity to find work, if you can leave the area," he said. "But the people with families can't afford to pick up and move everything."