[Anonymous]

I had to remove the hatch garage to install the liferaft cradle (I will try to write about that project another time), and as many of you will know, it was necessary to remove the Rutgerson mast track. I found all of the bolts and screws were extremely difficult to remove, and I sheared one of the end plate screws in the process, necessitating a very difficult drilling out job. Electrolytic action had occured between the aluminium track and fittings and the stainless screws and bolts, seizing them into the alloy.
I doubt that the mast track had been removed since original installation, so it is probable that there was no barrier compound used in the factory.
So I would recommend that you add to your already lengthy list of Winter jobs, ‘remove all bolts and screws and use a suitable compound on the threads’. This applies not only to the mast track, but other items such as genoa cars, which of course suffer from the same problem.

Michael.

[Author]

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