Hello Jill

Is the mast solid or hollow and does it fix on the deck or pass through the deck?

As Tim says some photos would be a great help.

Paul

The purpose of the deck fitting is partly to stop the mast pressing through the deck, partly to stop the mast sliding about. The rigging does the needed holding upright, and passes the driving forces down to the keel.

Depending on relative sizes, the mast can either sit in a socket,or sit over a stub. If sitting over, a bit of brass tube to fit over the mast and the stub, or if the stub is smaller diameter, to fit that and sand the mast down to fit (wood mast assumed).

For some brass and copper fittings, I have found that a visit to the plumbling department of a DIY store can yield good results. Pipe diameter adaptors, compression fitting rings to name a couple of items where somebody else has done the difficult bits.

It looks like quite a nice model so all of the above but another suggestion would be do away with the deck fitting which as Paul says is unlikely to be the original and make a new brass plate to fit the recess in the deck. That would improve the appearance. The mast could then be easily located with a hole in the brass plate to take a brass pin fitted into the heel of the mast which is simple and secure.

A collar or band would also look good at the bottom of the mast and my choice would either be a suitable piece of brass tube or a piece of thin sheet brass rolled into a hoop and soldered or pinned at the join. Depends on how far you want to go and availability of materials. I suspect you could be visiting a model shop sooner rather than later and you are likely to find what you need.

Tim