White-painted masthead on an otherwise varnished stick. Any idea why? Do you do it on your boats? About how much white is appropriate? I might have some white paint left over after n+1 coats on the hull (as n goes to infinity…), and am wondering if this is a place to put it.
Painting the masthead with white lead was common practice on work boats to keep rain from soaking into the end grain on a more or less permanently stepped mast. There's not much practical reason to do it on a daysailer that is unstepped after use, especially if the mast is varnished. But if you like the looks of it, go for it.