What's at the bottom of the Mast Hole?

[Stache]

So in flipping my fish for storage for the winter I actually looked down the mast hole. Couldn't see much so I used my iPhone camera to illuminate and zoom in on what's at the bottom. Looking at the photos blown up on my monitor I see it appears stepped. Anybody know why or what for??

 

[beldar boathead]

Maybe for less friction as the mast rotates while sailing?

 

[Alan S. Glos]

I am pretty sure Beldar is right - the "step" at the bottom of the mast hole reduces the contact area between the bottom of the mast and the bottom of the mast hole. The bad news is that over time this raised step wears faster especially if you sail in a sandy area where sand gets in the mast hole and the fix is to fill the bottom of the mast hole with thickened epoxy slightly above the raised step.

In any event, what is shown in Stache's photos is perfectly normal.

Alan Glos
Cazenovia, NY