Hey folks,
kicking this thread back up! I just pulled the mast on my F 40/40. It came up and out very nicely, but I expected the ring to come with the mast. Instead both the metal ring and the urethane ring at the partners/deck stayed in place and the mast slid up and out no problem.
The urethane ring (I have no idea what it is) seems to be in very good shape and I don’t see any reason to replace it. So I am wondering about re-instal. Do I just coat the inside of the urethane ring liberally with vaseline and have the yard try to slide it back in and line it up?
Restepping the Mast would be easier with the ring on the mast, not in the deck. If you had any leaks through the ring, consider casting a new one. Look in this thread for the correct material. It need not be Spar tight.
Sorry to hear about your challenges. I installed spartite about 3 years ago after the shims on my p35 seemed to shrink and the mast was moving. It’s been perfect to date, I’ve not noticed any movement indicating the durometer may have been too soft. This year the yard forced me to pull the mast (different topic). While they ultimately got the mast out, they had to lube the mast and slid it out of the boat while leaving the spartite mold in the partners. I’ve not examined this yet, the boat was pulled yesterday. The plan depends on if I can get the shim out without damage, install it back on the mast in the correct orientation and drop the mast back in come spring. Option 2 if I destroy the shim while getting it out is to re pour another spartite shim, I still have another bottle left over. I need to read up on the other firmer options. It seems there is some first hand experience with spartite being too some in their Freedoms though that was not my experience.
That sounds incredibly frustrating, Geoff. Having the yard cut a perfectly good Spartite ring and then having trouble reinstalling it is a nightmare scenario.
It sounds like your issue might not be the Spartite swelling, but rather that the removal and cutting process was imperfect and created the need for sanding.