What is the deal with the Mast Step Compression found on S20 page?
A7: The first couple of hundred Santanas were made with an air gap under the stringer that supports the mast post inside the boat. It was intially assumed that the system would support the loads just fine. Then two things happened. The cutout of the stringer to allow the forward keelbolts to be tightened was not sealed. This doesn’t cause any problems in dry cliamtes, but in a wet climate it can start to rot the marine plywood stringers. The second factor is that the loads on the mast step increased tremendously when the top Class sailors started going with a 12:1 backstay. This increased load and a wet, soggy stringer caused the mast post to start to sag. In older boats the problem is obvious if you remove the wooden keepers around the mast post. If the fiberglas is cracked around the mast post you have a problem. Once the problem was discovered a change was made in production to remove the air gap and make that area solid to prevent sagging. Retrofitting an older boat with this probl
