Hi,

last season the mast rubbed against the forward bulkhead and ground the varnish and epoxy down to the plywood, probably because of some sand getting stuck in between the foot of the mast and the boat.  I've patched it up with fiberglass and epoxy, but I'm wondering if I should do more to protect this part of the boat.  Does anybody have any tricks they use to minimize wear?

I've used in the past an old mouse pad under the mast just to cushion it a bit. Other options I've thought of include putting some graphite-epoxy coating within the mast step (rumors have it it's quite a sturdy and slippery concoction), though I'm concerned about the mess the little bits that rub off will make in the sail bag.  Another thought is to use some of the rubber compound you can buy to dip tools in as additional protection, though I'm not at all sure how well it would stick to epoxy, and may make a bigger mess than what I'm trying to fix. 

And of course the "lazy" option is to simply do nothing more than what I've done and expect to repatch the mast step every few years.

Any thoughts/suggestions?

Mihai