[VIEXILE]

Like I said, secure against water intrusion. If you''ve got a boat that''ll give you "a free take down on a blustery spring day" you might consider something with stronger rigging. Winds don''t average any higher in summer than in winter. That argument won''t fly. I used to drop the mast annually, but recall a well-considered article somewhere - Cruising World, Soundings or somewhere - that argued and convinced me that leaving the stick up presented virtually no issues. Of course, folks with an extra $500 or whatever to burn would call us lesser beings lazy or stupid, but hey, me, the yard, my surveyor friend and hundreds of other people that store mast up in Maine must be idiots. ''Course, we ain''t as sharp as some flatlanders.....