What lurks under your mast?

[Guest]

When I first unstepped my masts I found under the mainmast a 1972 US silver dollar, under the mizzen I found two more identical coins together with a Colombian coin and a strange medallion which appeared to represent a religious group or perhaps the AA. ( Not RAC's competitor, the other one). I wondered if anyone else had any tales of things that lurked under their masts.

 

[Mirelle]

Under mine at the moment is a brand new mast step; made of teak and bolted together with bronze, because careful inspection of the old, oak, one, after 64 years, revealed that it had split and started to rot, due to years and years of a drip getting under the mast coat at the end of the season. And a gold sovereign....

 

[AndrewB]

A lot of rot ...

... caused by the aluminium heel of the mast in contact with the stainless steel deck cup fitting. With a steel boat to complete the circuit, and plenty of salt water trapped in the cup, that meant major electrolysis. Caveat Emptor - and check your mast heel regularly.

 

[jamesjermain]

Wow! Gold...

I had high hopes that the original owner of Sweet Lucy had, perhaps, followed the tradition of putting a suitable coin of the realm under the mast on commissioning but sadly not - or if he did, one of his two successors half-inched it.

I must admit I have not done the deed either but then, I have had the mast in and out more often than...

JJ

 

[billmacfarlane]

I had a bird's nest under mine - not a crow's one, but one a bit smaller. I was utterly stumped as to how it could have got there until it dawned on me that the year before instead of being lauched early April, due to a boat yard inflicted keel problem I wasn't launched until the first week of June. Meanwhile of course the mast was lashed to the boat with the hollow end at the bottom pointing towards the field opposite the car park where the boat was standing. I'll leave the rest to your imagination.

 

[Adrian_Morgan]

Copper penny (of the year the boat was built) is probably best as it inhibits rot, they say. Gold is posh, but copper is smarter.

 

[Guest]

You are looking at the oldest marine tradition of them all. Always on the old sailing ship even going back to Roman times a coin was always placed under the mast presumably to pay old Neptune for your safety. My advice is - leave it there.