Dart 15 Forums

I was in the boat part this morning and with the strong winds stood and looked at just about every cat' mast wobbling around in the winds.

I always put my mast pins in to stop the ball/socket wearing out on both my 15's and 18. When I bought 1989 which had hardly ever been sailed, the ball/socket is reasonably worn simply due to the boat park wear.

Just thought I'd mention it as it may not be an obvious thing to do.

Thanks Mark it is obvious but I didn't think of it. I replaced my mast ball this year before the nationals so will be doing this from now. Looks windy for the weekend
Thanks to John Poss for fixing my track on Monday I can now sail again.

Don't forget to grease your ball Sir!

Good advice Mark..pinned and fully greased !!!
John 1805 (trafalgar)

Does this mean you're planning to come sailing then?

Presumably your traveller is now sorted and the thought of taking away a bottle from the Cat Open has got you all motivated..

I'll test out the traveller in a blow to see if it holds together ! Next time I'll order the bolts to fit rather than drilling out to fit the original bolts which are obviously bigger than the new ones. John

Hi Mark

I used the mast pin for many years on various 15s as I thought it was an obvious way to save wear on the ball. However, I was told that the steel pin reacts with the mast foot alloy and can cause damage. I then used a 6 inch nail with insulating tape on it, but now just tie off the mast firmly to the trolley. (The pin would not fit with the tape on it.)

The mast pin it the most effective way, but has anyone any views on the steel/alloy reaction?

Regards

Duncan Ford 1973

You mean Galvanic or Bimetallic Corrosion.

Technically if you permanently fix two dissimilar materials together such as Al & Steel, there is the opportunity for galvanic corrosion, particularly if there is salt present.

There is little contact area between the mast pin and the mast ball and mine's lightly greased.