Re: Mast foot rubber seal pad
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Hi Arno,
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Did the guys in Martinique actually tell you the pad was to dampen the load on the deck when pounding? I can not imagine that there will really be any give in it, after the rig is tensioned. The worst thing for a mast is for it to go slack and then tight again. If the pad really is for that purpose then that is what would happen, obviously to a very small degree. The compression load on that mast base must be immense. If we say that the rigging is tensioned to 50% of the wire strength and work out the angles, the downward vector of all the shroud tensions added together must be in the order of 50-100 tons. (very quick mental arithmetic) Although Amels are very well constructed there must be much more spring in the whole structure of the boat than that 5mm plate. All boats bend a little, which is most of the reason that when sailing in a stiff breeze there is much less tension on the leeward shrouds. That and the stretch the wire itself, which is actually quite a lot. I do not know for sure but I think the pad is to prevent the paint on the base of the mast from chipping. As you point out it is interesting to note that the mizzen plate lasts longer. Maybe that is not from less compression but because it is less exposed to sun and sea. It is interesting, and I would like to know for sure. Nick Amelia AML54-019
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