Dart 15 Forums

Phil wrote:

I had placed my mast under my boat with 5ft sticking out the back end.With the high wind a Dart15 was blown over and the mast had rested on my mast.This was not discoverd for sometime and with constant movement of the blown over boat it has scraped a 18in mark on my mast.It looks as if a file has been used.
How do I get rid of this mark other than tape it over,is it possible to get it out? HELP!. Phil.

George replied:

Phil,

The supplier of the Proctor Dart 15 mast is an agent called Selden. The guy who can answer your question is Robin Kenyon whose phone number is 01489 484017 and e-mail rk@seldenmast.co.uk

However from speaking to Robin on another issue I think it is unlikely that your mast could be repaired economically. He may, however be able to advise if the damage will have any structural significance.

Bob replied:

There is not much you can do to polish out heavy scatching of the mast. Once the anodising has been broken through the mast will blacken and oxidise locally. So long as the mast has not been kinked it's strength will not have been much effected. Your options are as follows:
1) try and get it replaced on insurance. It was after all accident damage.
2) cover it up with stickey label/or tape. The PVC material they make stick on names from is cheap and comes in all colours. You could buy a plain piece of this to totally cover the area. Silver might blend in quite well. Alternatively you could put a contrasting patch on (like blach or white) and then stick some other decals on it as a feature. This could work out OK depending on the location.
3) You could ignore the background scratching and put an advertising sticker across it. This will lessen the visual impact. We have "www.dart15.com" stickers in black or red (?1.30 each)which look good on masts but this depends on the location - better near the bottom than near the top.
4) ignore it and enjoy sailing the boat.
George's suggestion of contacting the makers is clearly a good idea.
Cheers, Bob

Phil replied:

Thanks Bob and George for your info.A new mast is a thought but maybe a little drastic.
Bob,Did you see my E-Mail ref: next year and novice?
Cheers Phil.

Bob replied:

Sorry I've not seen an EMail. I have this evening sent you one to reply to - just in case you have got the address wrong.
Cheers
Bob
PS on the mast - if it is bad you should try an insurance claim on the owner of the boat that fell over. It is effectively his fault as his boat was not securely tied down.