Mast and Mast step

[jack59]

I recently purchased a DS1 and was looking at the mast step and the mast hole in the deck. I would have expected the mast step to be directly under the hole, but its not. The mast step appears to be a few inches closer to the bow of the boat is this normal?

I noticed that a fiberglass repair was made to the mast hole on the deck, I'm wondering if they didnt check the alignment.

Any help would be appreciated.

Jack

[Phill]

Jack59, Welcome to the DS family.

Yes, it is normal for the mast to be stepped slightly forward of the deck opening. This creates what is called "mast rake". Many of us actually have a track or slot with spacers to move the mast butt forward and back to change this to fine tune the mast pre-bend for racing preformance. It is also helpful to create a 'balanced helm'.

My DS came to me with a mast deck opening repair also. No big deal. Hopefully they did a good job on the repair. If you get into racing, there is a rule about not modifiying that hole, but repairs are ok.

Again, Welcome to the wonderful world of Day Sailing.

phill

[jack59]

Hi Phil,
Thanks for the feedback and insight. I'm looking forward to the good weather finally getting here in New England and getting out on the water.
Thanks Again
Jack