water leak at the mast boot

H

HerbertFriedman

Member III
I have found a leak on my keel stepped mast on my E34. Seems like the rubber boot that the rigger at the yard installed three years ago when I had the mast unstepped (to change standing rigging) is leaking. Just to be clear, that boot is a cylindrical tube inserted on the mast bottom, then after the mast was stepped, a hose clamp tightened the boot around the mast just above the cabin hole. Then the boot was turned over on itself and then hose clamped to the small vertical flange where the mast entered the cabin top. Sounds fool proof but it appears to be leaking. I will remove the bottom hose clamp, straighten out the boot and see if the other hose clamp has loosened. But it that does not stop the leak, any suggestions as to which kind of tape to make a new seal? There are 4 inch wide mast boot tapes but this new kind of "Alien" tape which seals to itself sounds interesting.
 
Charlie B.

Charlie B.

Member II
The boot arrangement sounds pretty solid. Unless the inner hose clamp is really loose I would look for another leak source. Is the mast sail groove caulked? Are you seeing water drips on the mast inside the cabin?

I have tried the wide self amalgemating tapes and found them very difficult to work with for the same application. The tape needs to be stretched and smoothed at the same time. Unfortunately it doesn’t stick too well other surfaces making it impossible to stretch.

The storms we had last week on SF Bay really tested our “weather proofing “ first from the north and then from the south with gale force winds

Charlie
 
Loren Beach

Loren Beach

O34 - Portland, OR
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
jtsai said:
Caulk mast sail grove? You got may attention, please elaborate.
Click to expand...
FWIW, the sail track "groove" on our Kenyon spar is filled smooth with sealant. This gives the vinyl boot a solid surface all the way around to clamp against. I would advocate sealing that part where the folded-over boot is against the spar with some (just my choice) clear LifeSeal. Smooth it flush into the little recess so that little is visible.
As long as the boot has no cracks or tears it should keep the water out. To make that boot last against the ravages of UV, cover it with a Sunbrella cover; ours is pictured on the site, and others have posted up information.

Olson 34 Mast Boot

Does anyone know/have recommendation on a mast boot for my O34? I just bought the boat and had it trucked from NorCal to SoCal and when the sending yard took down the mast they discarded the old boot, so I don't have anything to work from. Also, this is my first boat with a keel stepped mast...
ericsonyachts.org ericsonyachts.org

Mast boot replacement

Mast Boot I need to replace teh mast boot on my '88 32-3 with Kenyon mast. According to Rig-Rite's website (the only source I know of for Kenyon parts) the part is out of stock and out of production. Has anyone replaced their mast boot lately? What did you use and where did you find it?
ericsonyachts.org ericsonyachts.org

Edit: I have never seen one of these, but it looks very interesting--
waterboot.com

Waterboot

Waterboot custom mast boot for keel stepped sailboats
waterboot.com
 
goldenstate

goldenstate

Sustaining Member
Blogs Author
It may be your mast boot. It could also be the metal mast collar to which your mast boot tightens.
The collar on my boat is screwed into the deck and bedded.
The hold-down point for the hull/mast connection cable was somewhat problematic during the re-bedding I did this summer.

ericsonyachts.org

E32-200 - Re-bedding Lewmar hatches and mast collar with Compass Marine Bed-It butyl tape

Total hours: 12-15 hours, on multiple days Cost, $50 for butyl tape. $40 for Debond cleaner (only a little used on this job) Early July, 2020 It took some detective work, but after a careful review of the evidence, I suspected I had a leak or...
ericsonyachts.org ericsonyachts.org

I tried to use the 4" amalgamating tape as a mast boot, and it was a disaster. The tape is stretchy, and sticks (amalgamates!) to itself easily. Working around the boom-vang swivel was the real challenge. A wrinkled mess. Maybe you would have better luck going over your existing mast boot. Let us know.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top