Hi,
I notice that my lower mast, which is only nine months old, is showing quite a lot of wear at the bottom two inches at the front and the same on the back of the mast at just below deck level (same for the mast tube). Nothing really unusual here, caused by sand, grit etc.. and sailing with lots of vang/kicker. I've seen a few posts on TLF about Teflon wear stips to protect both the mast and mast step from this type of wear, here in the UK we can buy Teflon disks for the base, but not for the mast/mast tube. I'm thinking about buying some Teflon (PTFE) 1mm sheet to make my own. Before I go down this route does anyone have any comments or suggestions ? maybe they are not available in Europe for a reason ? Maybe they are not good for speed ? The rules state that you can use/make a sleeve using 1mm (max) thick material which must go no higher than 10mm above the top of the mast tube, but can you use two separate strips (one at the top and one at the bottom) ? It must affect mast rake a little, this coud be good or bad depending on your current mast rake. Any comments etc...are appreciated. Thanks.
This is the link I saw for the stips available in the US :- http://www.westcoastsailing.net/default/boat-parts/laser/accessories/mast-wear-strip.html
I notice that my lower mast, which is only nine months old, is showing quite a lot of wear at the bottom two inches at the front and the same on the back of the mast at just below deck level (same for the mast tube). Nothing really unusual here, caused by sand, grit etc.. and sailing with lots of vang/kicker. I've seen a few posts on TLF about Teflon wear stips to protect both the mast and mast step from this type of wear, here in the UK we can buy Teflon disks for the base, but not for the mast/mast tube. I'm thinking about buying some Teflon (PTFE) 1mm sheet to make my own. Before I go down this route does anyone have any comments or suggestions ? maybe they are not available in Europe for a reason ? Maybe they are not good for speed ? The rules state that you can use/make a sleeve using 1mm (max) thick material which must go no higher than 10mm above the top of the mast tube, but can you use two separate strips (one at the top and one at the bottom) ? It must affect mast rake a little, this coud be good or bad depending on your current mast rake. Any comments etc...are appreciated. Thanks.
This is the link I saw for the stips available in the US :- http://www.westcoastsailing.net/default/boat-parts/laser/accessories/mast-wear-strip.html