Spartite

[Fulvio]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by John Gardner, 1988, #695, Seventh Heaven:
Fulvio,
Let us know how difficult/easy it is to use the Spartite?  Did you have any sealant in the mast track groove to clean out?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Using Spartite is very easy!

The only laborious part of the procedure is creating the "floor" of the mold with the putty provided in the kit.  It probably helps being in warm climates, and/or pre-warming the putty somehow, rather than kneading it in your hands for a while, like I did.  
Basically, the kit contains two sticks of putty, that you must use to seal off the cavity between the mast and the deck collar, and which provides a floor for the mold in which you will pour the liquid Spartite.  This floor should be as even as possible, and obviously the seal to the mast and to the collar must be perfect.  However it proved quite difficult to smoothen out the top surface of this putty seal, due to the narrow space between the mast and the collar.  I think the best instrument is a finger, but even the little finger of a grown male is too big for some corners - it might help getting assistance from a small woman or a young person ;).
Also, the seal must extend into the mast track groove, but if the putty is soft enough it will squeeze in there quite nicely.  In the end though, you don't need to be too concerned about smoothness of the floor, because you will never see the bottom of the Spartite, except when  you unstep the mast.
The level of the floor, according to the instructions and specifically for our decks, should be at or slightly above the seam between the deck and deck collar.  <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>  "If SPARTITE flows and cures between the deck and deck collar it would make it difficult to remove".<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
One more thing about this floor construction:  the two sticks of putty will not be enough to make a floor so thick that you can just push down on it to mold it.  At some points it will unavoidably be so thin that it will collapse when you try to shape it from above.  That's where the supplied closed cell foam comes in handy:  start creating a rough bottom at the desired level, then push the foam up between the mast and deck with some blunt sticks.  Now the putty will have enough support from below.

Another issue I had was that my mast used to have a slight tendency to either bend or lean to port.  When you install the Spartite, you must take out all the wedges, and then your mast is free to settle in its "natural" position, which is most likely not exactly centered in the collar.  The way I solved this was by wrapping three webbing straps around the mast and each of the three port shroud rods, the kind of straps used to tie stuff on my car's roof rack.  I was amazed to see it work, given how much effort it took me to push the mast to the center just stemming myself against it, yet it did.  Tightening each of the three straps progressively until I had the mast right in the center, it was easy, and it stayed there for the three or four days until the Spartite was cured.

The rest is a piece of cake:  make a dam around the collar with masking tape; coat the collar and floor (not the mast!) with Vaseline, so the Spartite will come out with the mast when unstepping; mix and pour.  After a couple of hours it will be untacky, and after 2 or 3 days it will be cured.

I have had no problem unstepping the mast and restepping it.

The instructions also say to install setscrews through the collar and into the Spartite.  I have not done this and have not had any problems.  It would require drilling and tapping two holes through the collar.

Fulvio Casali
Seattle WA
Soliton
#929 (1989)

[Fulvio]

Oh, and to answer the other original question:  No, I did not have any sealant in the mast track groove to clean out.  At least not at the level where the Spartite went.  I did (and still do) have some above it, where the mast boot is, but the Spartite goes under it, and there the groove was clean.

Fulvio Casali
Seattle WA
Soliton
#929 (1989)

[Kirk Garner]

I applied Spartite over the weekend and am very pleased with the results (so far). Have had no rain since but cannot imagine leaking will ever again be an issue! I found the most difficult part of the process was getting the vaseline applied on the Partners without also getting it on the mast because there is very little space to work in. What I came up with which worked well was using a small putty knife wrapped in a napkin with vaseline spread evenly on only one side and applied it around the partners from down below and then again from topside. The product was pretty easy to use, just take your time and follow the directions.

Thanks, Kirk

[Clay Greene]

We also did Spartite this spring and agree it was easy to use.  The challenge with our boats, as has been mentioned, is that there is not a large space between the mast and the partners.  Fortunately, my wife has small hands and was able to create a nice mold at the bottom.  However, we never did end up getting the clay mold off the bottom of the Spartite from below - we figured that will be a simple matter when the stick is pulled in the fall.  We did have to put some sealant around the lip between the mast collar and the Spartite but after that was done we have had no leaking whatsoever.  The boat also seems quieter as well.