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leaking deck stepped mast

steven

Sustaining Member
I know there have been posts that addressed this but I can't find them.
Apologies if I am going over old ground.

E35-2 with deck stepped mast.

Water drips from the electrical wire that goes up through the cabin liner (next to the compression post) into the mast.
I'm concerned about where else the water might be going - for example into the mast step.

How is the water in the mast supposed to get out of the mast ?
For sure not down the wire into the cabin.

thanks for help.

--Steve
 

toddster

Curator of Broken Parts
Blogs Author
There should be a weep hole in the mast shoe. It may be small, may be plugged, but it should be there. FWIW, I thought that the electrical passage needed a little protection, so I glued a pvc nipple into the hole to act as a dam. Also - though I'm sure there was plywood in there somewhere, when I hogged out the hole to allow passage of the VHF and Radar cables, it appeared to go through about five inches of solid fiberglass on an E29.

Electrical dam is covered with blue tape in this photo - I now forget which of the several problems this was taken to illustrate...
IMG_2143.jpeg
Edit - I think this was supposed to document corrosion - had to "tap" it convincingly with a hammer to get the boot to let go of the mast during haul-out. The crane was actually lifting the boat out of the water by the spreaders... o_O Weep-hole maybe probably should have been enlarged...
 

garryh

Member III
best idea is to get the wires out of the mast near the base and then into cabin via a gland or a gooseneck... will fix the problem permanently. Seal off the holes in the mast base
 

Attachments

  • gooseneck mast wiring.jpg
    gooseneck mast wiring.jpg
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wynkoop

Member III
Silver Maiden suffered from this issue. Last time the mast was down I sealed the hell out of the hole where the wires passed through and as far as I know no more issue, but the damage was already done and the cabin needs it's dead balsa dealt with.

I also had to drill weep holes in the mast and shoe on Silver Maiden. She had none.
 

garryh

Member III
btw, Ancor maks a round jacketed five conductor mast cable which makes it a whole lot easier to achieve a leak proof seal passing through a compressible gland vs a bunch of individual wires and a whole lot of goop. If you are confident in your connections and existing wire is good, you could use 5-6' of this from inside the cabin up into the mast and connect to existing wires. The next challenge would be to extricate two of the conductors part way up for the steaming and spreader lights... a bit of a tester but doable.
 

garryh

Member III
(the other benefit of the 5 conductor cable is that, although it does need to be fixed inside the mast or conduit at the top, it provides its own strain relief vs hanging individual wires)
 

toddster

Curator of Broken Parts
Blogs Author
The problem I had with the 5-conductor cable was that some of the conductors had to stop at the spreaders and others had to go all the way to the top.
Of course the real solution (some day!) there is to have a proper junction box at the base, another at the spreaders, and perhaps one up top.
 

garryh

Member III
I have a steaming light/deck light combo just below the spreaders... will dispense with the spreader lights as redundant. My 'plan' is to cut into the jacket at that point and free up say 2-3' above it of two of the conductors and run a separate ground wire down for those two fixtures. That will leave me with two positive conductors for the anchor light and trilight plus ground at the top of the mast... will seal up the slit cable with adhesive shrink tubing and goop.
 

garryh

Member III
"would you pot the hole with epoxy (from inside the cabin) ? "
I would fashion a plug of hardwood dowel or broom handle or whatever fits and use goop (4200, LifeCaulk etc) to seal it into place.
Next time mast is down, seal from above as well with some kind of plate over the hole with goop (or another plug if an extended tube).
 

steven

Sustaining Member
Cannot find water exit holes. But does anyone know what this plate is for ? Original Kenyon mast section.


plate at base of mast (closeup).jpgplate at base of mast (closeup).jpg
 

Loren Beach

O34 - Portland, OR
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
I have seen similar plates on other boats with deck stepped spar, to give access to wiring connections. There is usually enough slack in the wiring runs to allow the mast to be initially lifted about a foot so that the waterproof connectors can be separated and the lift can continue.
 

kapnkd

kapnkd
I know there have been posts that addressed this but I can't find them.
Apologies if I am going over old ground.

E35-2 with deck stepped mast.

Water drips from the electrical wire that goes up through the cabin liner (next to the compression post) into the mast.
I'm concerned about where else the water might be going - for example into the mast step.

How is the water in the mast supposed to get out of the mast ?
For sure not down the wire into the cabin.

thanks for help.

--Steve

Our deck stepped E32-II is very similar to your E35-2.

As mentioned below, there is a weep hole in the deck plate for water to drain out of and the wiring has a tube it passes through to keep water from running down through it.

Here’s a couple photos of ours as a visual for you. I actually slightly increased the size of our weep hole to facilitate better drainage.

(The wiring has enough extra that as the mast is lifted off one can easily undo the connection.)

06BB65C7-BA58-43BB-BAC5-E6C4F9561143.jpegAE3D12CB-4F4C-4534-923F-AB073B91BDBE.jpeg
 

steven

Sustaining Member
Opened the plate at the bottom of the mast. Found this inside.
1976 Liberty Silver Dollar
Eisenhower on one side and the Liberty Bell against a full moon on the other side.

1976 is the year the boat was commissioned.
Was the coin placed there on purpose for luck (or tribute to the sea gods or something) ?

silver dollar 1976 found in mast (small).jpg




.
 

Loren Beach

O34 - Portland, OR
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
Opened the plate at the bottom of the mast. Found this inside.
1976 Liberty Silver Dollar
Eisenhower on one side and the Liberty Bell against a full moon on the other side.

1976 is the year the boat was commissioned.
Was the coin placed there on purpose for luck (or tribute to the sea gods or something) ?

View attachment 35030




.
Last time I stepped our spar I used a new quarter. Your prior owner wanted to be sure of placating the Gods!
When we step the spar this fall, we need to also find a dollar... When it comes to invoking 'luck' it's best to err on the side of caution.
:)
 

kapnkd

kapnkd
Opened the plate at the bottom of the mast. Found this inside.
1976 Liberty Silver Dollar
Eisenhower on one side and the Liberty Bell against a full moon on the other side.

1976 is the year the boat was commissioned.
Was the coin placed there on purpose for luck (or tribute to the sea gods or something) ?

View attachment 35030




.

You’re right! The coin is placed under the mast when stepped for good luck. From what I’ve heard and read it is an old tradition.

First I read about it was in a book by Joe Richards “Princess” about his buying and fixing up a Friendship sloop and sailing down the coast from NEW York to Florida in the late 40’s.

A GREAT read about classic wooden boats!!
 

steven

Sustaining Member
thanks for background. will return coin back under mast.
wondering if I should shine it up to appease whomever/whatever is oversees this.

Have traced the leak to an unprofessional installation of wind meter sensor cable, 5 wires each 18-guage in an ~ 1/8" sheath through a hole with silicone caulking. Have attempted to re-sealed by working 4200 through the earlier pictured mast inspection plate. Also left the bottom screws off the plate so water can leak out of the mast. I have not sealed from the inside, since if the repair does not work I want to see the drip. I view this as a temporary fix.

Also inside I am re-routing through the head where the factory wires are.
Why drop a wire through the main cabin when there are already verticle wires from cabin top liner to sole in the head just a few inches away - and covered very nicely with mahogany molding, and over a drain in the floor in case of leak.

thanks everyone for very useful advice.

--Steve
 

kapnkd

kapnkd
thanks for background. will return coin back under mast.
wondering if I should shine it up to appease whomever/whatever is oversees this.

Have traced the leak to an unprofessional installation of wind meter sensor cable, 5 wires each 18-guage in an ~ 1/8" sheath through a hole with silicone caulking. Have attempted to re-sealed by working 4200 through the earlier pictured mast inspection plate. Also left the bottom screws off the plate so water can leak out of the mast. I have not sealed from the inside, since if the repair does not work I want to see the drip. I view this as a temporary fix.

Also inside I am re-routing through the head where the factory wires are.
Why drop a wire through the main cabin when there are already verticle wires from cabin top liner to sole in the head just a few inches away - and covered very nicely with mahogany molding, and over a drain in the floor in case of leak.

thanks everyone for very useful advice.

--Steve

Best to simply first offer him the coin as a memento without cleaning it up. The condition of it perhaps preserves all his sailing memories for him.

Most likely he will tell you to keep it and replace it back where it was to continue the tradition/superstition of bringing YOU continued good luck and blessings.

...Fair Winds!
 
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