Hi Deena and Harvey, On my M15 I had to build a new wooden aft mast support which fits into the gudgeons. The one that came with the boat was an old tired 2 x 4 that was fine for a delivery trip (Panama City, FL to Connecticut), but was much too scruffy for me to use with my lovely new toy. So, I built a new one that was made out of a nice piece of pine with a marine plywood mast holder at the top, and is varnished. - an artistic creation, if I do say so myself. It is held in the gudgeons and supports the aft end of the mast in storage and while on the road. (with winter cover; snow loads; etc.) The forward end of the mast is held by the steel tube on the trailer that also holds the winch. You don't have to worry about the weight of the mast on the gudgeons. Assume the mast weighs 30 lbs. One half the weight is carried by the forward mount; the rest by the aft mount; i.e., all the aft mount is holding is 15 lbs. (and with winter cover and snow loads, mine held a lot more) That is about what the rudder/tiller weighs. So, you really have a non-worry. Connie ________________________________________________________________ GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO! Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less! Join Juno today! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/web/.