The plywood mast step on my boat was a bit delaminated so I figured I would replace it
I had one milled out of solid teak following the plan in the Manual (p. 166). The factory drawing is for a step 1" thick at the front, tapering to 13/16" at the back. It's basically flat.
The project didn't turn out as hoped for two reasons:
a) I probably should have used plywood since the solid teak developed a crack;
b) The old mast step was about 3/4" thicker in the front than the new one. This small difference meant that my furler adjustment had to be lengthened. But, even with the furler and backstay maxed out, my furler is still a little loose.
I'm starting to think the Ariel and Commander had different mast steps. The few pictures I've seen of other boats show an Ariel with a flat mast step and the Commander with one that is thicker (about 1 3/4" in the front tapering to 3/4" in the back)
Perhaps the Commander mast was supposed to be raked back a little to account for some difference in weight distribution on the boats.
I'm thinking of going back to the old mast step, coating it with epoxy and cloth and then painting it.
Can anyone tell me what their mast step looks like? Flat or thick in the front?
I have some pictures but I'm having trouble posting them (file too large)
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