I tend to overbuild but I did put a couple coats of clear epoxy on my mast because I knew I would be hard on the mast banging it around a lot.  Four years now and some varnish has worn off where it bangs around on top of my car,  in the mast thwart, mast step, spar,  and boom but a couple quick wipes of varnish will solve that.  I also put a couple coats of eopxy on boom and spar, but like I said, I tend to overbuild.  I dont think the CLC guys epoxy their demo masts/spars and they take a beating.

Curt

   Thanks Curt!

My Faering Cruiser is stored outdoors. During the season, I leave the mast stepped so that rigging to launch is as quick as removing the cover, rolling the trailer down the hill to the ramp and hooking up the lazy jacks, parrell and downhaul.

Unfortunately, even with the various bits of hardware being restrained by bungees, the mast still takes a beating out in the sun and wind. So this week I'm starting the process of stripping the varnish, repairing the dings and glassing the mast.

The glass is absolutely not needed for strength. The mast has stood up to every wind it has faced with no issue. It'll be there, rather, for abrasion/impact protection and to maintain the unbroken epoxy shield that will let the mast stand up to the constant outdoor environment.

I'm using a lightweight biaxial "sock" for the glass. That will let me apply it in one continuous seamless piece. After the weave is filled, there'll be the usual sanding and 5 coats of varnish.

This will add some weight to the mast, but I should be able to keep it to no more than a couple of pounds spread out over the entire mast so the sailing characteristics shouldn't be impacted. I also only step/unstep the mast at the beginning and end of the season or when I move the boat somewhere other than the South River, so convenience shouldn't be impacted either.

If you'll be keeping your mast stored out of the elements this is overkill, but if it'll be up and outdoors all the time I'd recommend it.

Have fun,

Laszlo