Beneteau First 29 - Mast

[Eventyret]

Hi,

I I am an owner of a Beneteau First 29 (built in 1985), and I’ve got some questions regards to my mast.

The previous owner of the boat broke the original mast and had it replaced by a Sparcraft S180. Ever since I bought the boat, I’ve had trouble hoisting the main sail.

The wheels of the batcars (Rutgerson sliders) are not touching the mast. There is a gap between the wheels and the mast. (See attached img_2)
The friction between the sliders and the mast makes it impossible to hoist the sail by hand, and sometimes even by winch.

I personally visited the Rutgerson Factory in Sweden and were assured I use the correct sliders for an Sparcraft S180 mast.

Does anyone know what mast which is the standard for a First 29?
And is a Sparcraft S180 preferred at all for this sailboat?

 

[Jackdaw]

Almost certainly a Z-spars Z251

but the two sections are close.


dim thickness kg/meter
sparcraft
104x159 175-405 2.6 3.47

zspars
105x160 174-389 2.2 3.43

 

[Eventyret]

Thanks for your reply!
Ive also been told that the type of spar may depend on weather it is a French or a US built Beneteau. Have you got any opinion about this, or do you think a Z-Spar is the default mast regardless of where the boat was constructed?