Water inside the mast

[johnc]

I had an interesting experience this morning.

While cleaning up all the 5200 that had been applied to the base of the mast to get access to the electrical wiring, water started coming out the hole where the wires entered the mast. This didn't really get my attention until several MINUTES later when the water was still flowing.

I cleared the hole some more and the water still kept on coming. After about 5 minutes I started to collect the water in a plastic container to get a feel for the quantity. It was filling a one pint container every 15 seconds.

Apparently the base of the mast was sealed very well but not the top.

This is the first time I've dealt with the mast at this level and am not real familiar with its construction.

The CD28 doesn't have a keel stepped mast so it would seem to me that there isn't a large opening that needs to be massively attacked with sealer as would a mast that passes through a large opening in the deck on its way to the keel.

Clearly, you want to prevent water from coming into the boat from any gaps that may be present but shouldn't there also be an exit point for letting out any water that does find its way into the mast, some kind of a "weep hole".

How do other CD28 owners seal the base of their mast?

John

[Tom in Cambria]

I don't think there is any way to seal the top of the mast because the halyards have to enter there so there are openings at the sheaves. If there is any wind with the rain, it's inevitable that some blows inside and runs down the mast. When I pulled the keel stepped mast on my 31, I estimated there must have been 4 or 5 feet of water standing inside. I drilled a weep hole at the base of the mast below the level of the wires before I re-installed it.

[Steve Laume]

I also have a deck stepped mast and it is not sealed in any way. I do not see any advantage to sealing the mast base. Luckily you are not in a freezing climate as water trapped in the mast could easily deform or split the mast extrusion.

I would clean everything up and let the water flow out of the base at the mast step, Steve.

[mattlydon]

there's a weep hole in the mast step on -my- cd28, which lets water from the main section exit out to the slot (rear) of the mast. Yours might have one too, which is simply blocked up.

Definitely let it out - just imagine how much weight you were carrying up high........

Matt

[johnc]

On inspection, there is no weep hole on my mast.

I would like to drill a weep hole but have a couple of questions first.

The mast extrusion appears to have a cast aluminum "plug" at the bottom of the mast which sits on the deck. Any hole that is drilled needs to be drilled above the plug which means I need to first determine how high the plug reaches into the mast extrusion.

Once I know how high the plug reaches, how large should the weep hole be? I don't want to drill it any bigger than it needs to be but I also don't want it clogging all the time either.

Do I need to "dress" the hole in any special way other than insuring there are no sharp edges that could encourage a crack to form?

John

[tartansailor]

I would not drill a hole in the mast, especially that close
to the base.
I would drill a hole in the aft end of the base, and machine
a groove athwart ships where the hole meets the bottom
of the base; a lot like the drain arrangement on most
stanchion bases.
IMHO
Dick

[Steve Laume]

Why is there a need to drill any holes? I do have holes in my mast near the base for wire exits. If water were ever to get up the foot or so to that level it would drain. The fact is there is plenty of drainage created by the crack between the mast step and the extrusion of the mast. The only problem I see is that someone felt the need to caulk up this natural drainage. Cape Dory seems to have been a pretty savvy builder and saw no need for weep holes. You could drill all you want but the caulk is want is casing the problem, Steve.

[johnc]

>> I would drill a hole in the aft end of the base, and machine a groove athwart ships where the hole meets the bottom of the base

This would be the best solution but will have to wait until the mast is unstepped, which is not going to be happening any time soon.

>> Why is there a need to drill any holes? I do have holes in my mast near the base for wire exits. If water were ever to get up the foot or so to that level it would drain. The fact is there is plenty of drainage created by the crack between the mast step and the extrusion of the mast. The only problem I see is that someone felt the need to caulk up this natural drainage.

I too have holes for wires that are about 6-8 inches from the bottom of the mast. I don't plan on replacing all the caulking that had been in place so water will now drain down to the wire holes. It's this last 6-8 inches of water that I'm trying to drain.

There is no longer any sealant on the mast or the base. The mast and the base plus some inevitable corrosion between the two is making for a pretty good barrier preventing the last 6-8 inches of water from going anywhere.

I haven't really thought it through but ...

If I filled the void below the wire exit holes with expanding foam, displacing the water, the wire holes would then be the lowest point the water could ever go to and the wire holes would provide double duty as drains. The worst part of this solution is that the foam may actually trap a small amount of water under the foam but how is that any worse than the standing water that is there now?

I guess I'll probably leave it alone until I have an opportunity to take the mast down.

John

[The Patriot]

... I too have holes for wires that are about 6-8 inches from the bottom of the mast. I don't plan on replacing all the caulking that had been in place so water will now drain down to the wire holes. It's this last 6-8 inches of water that I'm trying to drain ...

Several previous writers have already addressed some of the following issues, but at the risk of beating this thing to death, their comments are worth repeating. It's likely that a previous owner attempted to fix a problem with the base of the mast that actually never existed. Water will get inside the extrusion via the masthead fitting. This cannot be avoided, since the sheave box has several fairly large openings that allow the halyards to run. Since this is the case, any means that allows the water to drain freely and quickly is preferred.

You should remove any caulking, filler, extraneous fittings, etc., from the base of the mast, and mount the extrusion directly on the mast step on deck. If you prefer, you may add grooves or holes in the base to speed up drainage, but I have not encountered a CD28 that really requires this. The worst situation is one that allows water to accumulate in the mast base. This leads to corrosion and eventual problems with wiring and the extrusion itself. Do not add caulking, 5200, or any material at the base of the mast. You may however want to add some sort of chafe protection where the wiring enters the mast, but do not block openings that already exist.

[Boyd]

When I pulled the mast on Tern for the first time, I found a surprising quantity of dirt filling up the cast aluminum deck shoe and blocking the drain hole. I suspect it was a 15 year accumulation. This probabaly caused water to sit in the shoe and keep the bolt heads continously submerged. Good thing you live in Florida. If that much water froze it would split the mast.

I hope your problem is just dirt and not because some fool caulked it in place.

I have 3 holes in the lower 2 inches of my mast that pass wires and would limit the amount of water it holds should the normal drain hole fill again. Adding a small hole near the bottom would not affect the strength substantially and could relieve the situation till you pull the mast.

Boyd
s/v Tern
CD30 MkII
Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

[Matt Cawthorne]

For those with larger boats and keel stepped masts, I found some interesting details when I pulled my mast for inspections this winter. The base was really scuzzy so out it came for sand blasting and painting. There is a hole in the center of the base and a channel that runs out under the base from the hole. The channel ran to the starboard side where there was a large lip in the fiberglass step that blocked the channel. I think that it originally would allow water to seep out quickly, but as dirt built up in it it became a muddy mess in the base.

The base was corroded and when I sand blasted it for painting a large crack was discovered. After casting a new base I ground off part of the lip on the step that blocked the water exit. Now I can clean out the channel with the mast up.

Matt