I trailer my H216 so I raise/lower the mast a lot. My hands always get filthy which spreads to the sails and anything else I touch (like my lunch!). I was thinking about this while detailing my boat this weekend. I always presumed that the black was from Aluminum Oxide. Then I had the epiphany...the silly mast is anodized which means no Aluminum Oxide. What the heck! Then I realized the mast could simply be dirty as I have never washed it. So I washed it. Duh! I worked a lot with the mast this week as I installed my electric winch and worked on replacing the jib tang and my hands stayed clean the whole time.