Straw in mast?

[Tim]

I purchased a 1971 Ericson 29 last year and am in the process of getting it ready for the summer. I found the mast has straw in it at the base, not sure how far up it goes. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? My only guess is it was put in to silence the slap of internal halyards and wiring. My concern that any moisture that gets in will be held by the straw.Thoughts?

 

[Bob]

Critters

Maybe its an Ericson thing. When I bought mine, it had been stored in a barn for 11 years and there was straw, feathers, and other evidences of animal occupation for about 15 feet up from the open base. They probably would have kept the halyards quieter, but I decided to lose the weight. Took me quite a while to get it all out, though.

 

[Jonathan]

Straw's for the birds

Any natural fiber like straw will absorb moisture, support insect life and eventually rot. I can't imagine any sailor stuffing their mast with straw, no matter how annoying the halyards became.Your more likely culprit is either a bird, entering through a cut-out high on the mast, or a small furry critter getting in through a cut-out near the step. Was your boat sitting unused for a season or two before you bought it? Either way, clean it out before it leads to corrosion, and a nasty smell!

 

[Tim]

Thanks

Thanks guys, I kind of figured it was critters, it was sitting for a season unused. Thought the idea of putting it there on purpose was a bit stretched.

 

[Rob]

Critters is right!

Its not just an erickson thing but a nature thing...we winter our boat in the water and last spring I noticed an increase of bird droppings in two spots on our deck...low and behold there was the start of 2 nests in our boom...there is an opening at the goose neck and one aft...mainly to get to the pullys..... Well the birds thought it was a great place to nest...luckily we caught it before they had a chance to deposit their spring eggs.....we pulled the nests and placed a rag in the whole...wala...no more nests.This year we bought a new sail cover that hopefully will deter the spring nestings.