[quote=Edchris177]Personally 1" longer on the rod wouldn't bother me, though as Jeff says, it does give slightly more leverage, but the difference is very small. I have 4,(five counting the one I bent) DS rods from Nacra 5.0, 5.2, & 5.7 they are all slightly different lengths. I also have, I think 5, of the V brace straps the DS rod sits on, they range from 70" to 73". What this means is that when you bend them to line up with the 3 bolt holes at each end of the beam, the depth of the "V" is different depths, thereby using different length DS rods, or having the same rod sit higher or lower.
Regarding Issue #2 Here is a thread on the different bases used, & the holes left exposed;
[url]http://www.thebeachcats.com/forums/viewtopic/topic/12662[/url]
Disregard my first post, I was confused as to what bh3700 was talking about.
I'm not sure the different bases correspond to certain years. My 5.7 (1984) the base covers all holes in the mast extrusion. The newer 5.0 (1988) shows those two little triangles,(possibly the base was changed?). They have been filled with sealant, & I have seen this done on other mast bases, squirt some marine sealant in there & start sailing.
[quote]if I end up turtled, isn't this going to let a lot of water down into my mast?
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7241/7267469510_b5d5411ac4_m.jpg[/quote]
YES! seal them, if you turtle & get even a gallon of water at the end of a 30' stick, that is huge moment to try & move past horizontal.[/quote]
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