Adding stainless stops to the step casting is something I have seen, but to the base? Had not seen that.

In France they thickened the stops some time ago to help reduce wear. In the USA we did it before the 16 Worlds in Mexico last year. The step has a taller and thicker stop that matches the base stops better when using typical mast rake. We had use-hours on the boats there that were similar to sailing a full year of normal regattas. The new castings showed minimal wear. Makes me think they will last many more years than the original stuff.