changing the rope of the retriever line might be the best option... we all use here the standard godall taipan spi (so no silikon) and all sailors have problems with holes, to certain degrees...

in singapore i saw the same...

didn't really had this problem wit the carbon snuffer and F18 spis on my A (ex. the green one) but on the taipan it really raises questions. one crew last weekend burned a 10 cm hole in the spi, you could really see where the rope was running... of course they are still learning how to get the spi down smooth and fast, but still... there setup is right, so quite annoying if your spi looks like **** after a few times. so what is the magic D12 wouter is talking about? any site you can order it online with worldwide shipping?