"WaIIy" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 15 Jan 2005 14:47:58 GMT, "Jim," wrote:

BillP wrote:
When we bought the boat there were only a few wedges in place, not
enough
for proper support. I understand how the SparTite system works but is
there another system that would work? Say just filling the partner with
silicon, would this allow to much flexing? How firm is the SparTite
after
it sets?, does it allow some movement or does it harden as a solid
rubber?

Bill, http://www.billangiep2.blinkz.com/

One of the guys in my YC seals the mast opening with a piece of line
jammed into place (ater adjusting the stays to give him proper rake),
then coats it with silicone. Since we have to drop the mast every year
for haulout, it seems to work well for him

Which brings me to a question. I know next to nothing about sailboats
and I notice in a marina near me (Cleveland) that some of the sailboats
take down the mast for winter and some don't.

There seems to be no pattern to this as their are saiboats from 20 ft to
40ft +.

Is there a particular reason to take the mast down?

It is strange. Some marinas require that you take the mast down when the
boat
is on the hard, some don't. Where I live (Baltimore/Annapolis area), I know
of no marina that requires it. I am in a boat related business and visit
dozens of marinas. None have any policy regarding masts during storage.
I have heard that marinas further north sometimes have such a policy,
but in the Watertown, NY area up into Kingston, ONT I came across
dozens of marinas with boats on the hard with masts up. I can think
of no substantive reason to require masts be unstepped during storage.
Perhaps in hurricane prone areas to the south it may be a good idea.
We have gone through 2 hurricanes up here in the last 5 years with no
boats toppled. In fairness, the winds didn't get much above 60 MPH.
We stayed in the water for both with no damage. The marina was more
concerned about the stands beong eroded due to runoff rather than
wind load on masts.

Doug
s/v Callista