Water INSIDE the mast

[Chris Rau]

Whenever it rains, I get a pool of water INSIDE my keel stepped aluminum mast. There is no drain into the bildge so the water slowly seeps out and soaks my sole and carpet and some of it eventually finds its way into the bildge.

As I see it I have 3 options:
1. Climb the mast and attempt to seal all major entry points. Obviously it will never be watertight but I figure there is one BIG hole (at the top?) where most of the water is getting in.
2. Rig a drain into the bilge. I may be able to drill a hole into the bilge but this is tough, mostly because I don't know what the mast step is made of. It is not fiberglass. It looks like some kind of concrete, or maybe lead. Does anyone know what the stringers and mast step are made of on a 1978 Ericson 34t?
3. Re-route the electrics to exit the mast at the deck and seal the mast there. Not a very attractive option as it would require drilling large holes in the mast at the deck AND drilling holes in the overhead to re-route the cables.

Does anyone have any experience with this? I can't imagine that production boats today would let the mast leak all over the interior. What is the usual remedy? Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

 

[escapade]

water in mast

Welcome to the wet/rotten cabin sole club! This is a typical problem w/all keel stepped masts sections. There should be an opening at the aft surface of the spar where it rests on the mast step. The water should flow to the bilge here. Problem is when the hole/passage get pluged with guck. Then the water seeps out where ever it can. You can drill a small (1/4 to 3/8 dia.) hole thru the aft side of the spar HORIZONTALLY ONLY to give the water a place to drain if the recesses in the mast step are too corroeded to clean out w/o stepping the mast.
Don't drill a hole vertically into the stringers under the spar. They may have wooden structures glassed in (I believe your boat doesn't have the TAFG structure, Seth can clear that up) and allowing the water to get at them would lead to disaster!
The water actually enters through the halyard & shroud openings. Trying to seal all those hole up is a bit futile. Better to just give it a clear path to the bilge & pump it overboard.
I am replacing the cabin sole in my E34 this winter because the P.O. didn't do these things & our sole is rotted all around the spar. Not fun & T&H plywood runs $200.00+ a sheet. It's amazing how a little PM can save so much work & money down the road.
Have fun & sail fast
Bud E34 "Escapade"

 

[Seth]

Water in spar

All of the repsonses are correct, and I wanted to add that the likely entry point may simply be that the exit hole for your windex, instruments or masthead light may not have been sealed with silicone. There is usually a hole on the flat surface of the top of the mast of 1/2"-3/4" dia.. The wires go through it, and it should be filled with some kind of sealer. This is a good place to start!

 

[Chris Rau]

done

Thanks for all the great advice. I went ahead with the drain at the mast step solution and it seems to be working pretty well for now. I still need to get up the mast and figure out where the water is comming from in the first place.

 

[Geoff Johnson]

If your mast is like mine, you will also find a wiring chase built into the extrusion behind the sail track. This is terrific for doing away with the slapping of wires inside the mast, but provides a channel for water to follow the wiring into the boat. I don't think there is anyway to stop it.

As for the rotten sole I encountered on my boat due to the inattention of the PO, I found it much easier and aesthetically acceptable to fix the sole with Git Rot. Drill a pattern of 1/4" holes 2/3rds of the way through the sole (using a spur bit to give you a clean hole), patiently pour in the epoxy, and then seal each hole with a teak bung. You can shave the bung flush with a chisel and then varnish. The more rotten the sole, the better the fix and the end result is impervious to water.

 

[Masallah 04]

water in my mast....

thanks for all the good advice. This was my first posting on this website since buying my boat. Good to know this is an active forum....
sounds like my "issue" isn't unique.....again thanks...
Alan
Masallah..

 

[Christian Williams]

Weeping mast base (sad, very sad)

This thread describes the sort of slow weeping I have through the mast step on a 1985 32-3 after even a few days of light rain.

Is there a weep hole in the 32-3 of that era that is accessible without pulling the mast?

The step itself appears to be a male casting, probably with a drain hole in the bottom direct to the bilge. If so this must be gummed up--and how to get at it?

 

[Christian Williams]

Is there a weep hole in the 32-3 of that era that is accessible without pulling the mast?

Yes there is, located on the aft part of the step, a narrow horizontal channel. Cleaned it with a wire, a gallon of mast water poured out.

 

[tribute]

Building a Dam Inside the Mast

Protech built a dam inside the base of the Kenyon Mast on my 1989 E-34 and previous 1990 E-38. The dam is positioned one foot above the mast step (i.e. inside the mast below the deck, just above the cabin sole). Protech is a rigging specialist located at Lynnwood Marina, North Vancouver, B.C.

The dam traps water inside the mast where it can be conveniently emptied using a valve/hose. Combined with a dripless shaft seal, you get a dry bilge. You get a 'dry' boat and no chance of cabin sole rot.

The dam is made of sheet aluminum cut to match the inside mast profile and bonded using 3M 5200. The valve is a 1/4" vinyl ball valve tapped into the mast just above the dam. The E-38 Kenyon mast section did not have a built-in electrical conduit. The E-34 mast does. Both mast sections require sealing the sail track / electrical conduit just above the deck. A 1/4" drilled hole in the electrical conduit just above the deck seal ensures water drains from the conduit. The sail track on the E-38 mast required no hole of course.

I had the mast pulled, reconditioned, standing and running rigging replaced, new electrical lights and wiring installed, and VHF antenna and coax installed when they did the dam work.

Regards Tribute