Guest Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 Brilliant with the multiple gloves Booboo, I'll be trying that with epoxy. Link to post Share on other sites
sealegs 0 Posted May 26, 2011 Author Share Posted May 26, 2011 Hi Guys I have the boat at the marina for the time being & I was on board yesterday during that massive rain deluge checking for leaks. One bad leak of great concern I found was coming from the bottom of the mast into the cabin! Where the mast rests on the deck there is a T beam under it. I can see the VHF coax cable coming from under the mast thru the +/-1cm hole in the beam into the cabin. Right there its leaking like a fast drip onto the floor. I noted it does not always happen while I was observing and I presume its because the wind direction may have changed. With the boat tied up it cannot turn to face the wind. I remember coming on board a few months ago too and finding about 2 cups of water on the floor and just could not figure out how it got there. There was no evidence of any leaks elsewhere. I believe now that this is the leak. Question: Can I just plug up this hole with silicone and the water coming down the mast will find another outlet? ( I have not yet checked but I am hoping there is one already at the foot of the mast for this very reason . Should there be one?) any ideas please... Ps: @ ADMIN. are you guys aware that this site is still on daylight saving time? Link to post Share on other sites
Murky 1 Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 I have come to a Confucian kind of view on mast leaks: - if you have a mast, you will always have a leak - you will always try to fix the leak - you will always have the leak. Worth a crack though assuming you are talking about sealing the VHF cable from the top (deck) side. I wouldn't suggest sealing it from below because of the possibility of the water accumulating within the hole or diverting to some unknown/worse location. Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 Yes we know, in a few months it will come right. Link to post Share on other sites
Marshy 30 Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 Even a riggers mast leaks! Mine does Isnt the H28 Deck Stepped? i.e the mast stops at the deck and doesnt go below? That being the case you could try to sika it from below, but you run the risk of the water pooling at the part where the sika stops and then it will find other places to go. You could try a piece of hose on the end of a sika gun, put through one of the halyard slots (Normally H28's have one near the bottom for the boom topping lift?) and attacking it from above deck... Either that or pump sika in from below, but make sure you get enough in the hole that you see it come out at deck level so the sika level isnt the lowest point and will puddle water if ya get what i mean. Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 you will have to lift the mast and re seal the bolts and the cable intrusion. Only way, sorry. if you don't fix it you will end up with water stains or worse rot in the bulk head as that is where the water tracks to. Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted May 27, 2011 Share Posted May 27, 2011 I also have a deck stepped mast. When it was out the first time I drilled the cable penetration out to 25mm. I then glued a piece of 20mm electrical conduit in. I have a 180 degree bend on the top to stop water dripping down the cables. It does mean I cannot pull more cables through it while the mast is up, but I get no leaks. Link to post Share on other sites
Marshy 30 Posted May 27, 2011 Share Posted May 27, 2011 Yeah that is definately the way to do it. The H28 Standard mast base simply has a hole drilled in it. No upstand etc so when the mast base fills up with water the lowest point is the hole for the cables and it runs down there, rather than out the bottom of the mast. It needs a good 50mm upstand really to get the opening away from the water. Easily done by drilling it bigger and sika'ing a tube in. Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted May 27, 2011 Share Posted May 27, 2011 Mine only leaks when the rain comes from a certain direction.....it really has been infrequent and a very small amount, so I have left it alone. Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 You should attend to this fairly soon as the water can delaminate the support beam and cause the cabin top to sag which is an expensive thing to fix. My H also had this problem and I removed mast and found drains blocked at bottom of mast with rope fluff and muck accumulated over 30 yrs it had a 50mm upstand tube, but that did not help with drains blocked. Hope that helps Link to post Share on other sites
sealegs 0 Posted June 4, 2011 Author Share Posted June 4, 2011 Thanx guys for all your input. Today I saw the leak occur again and having confirmed before that there are no drainage holes below the mast I decided to drill 3 new holes 25mm from the base.( port , starboard and forward. Out came the water and using a drill bit in the holes afterwards I could feel that I was exactly on top of the base plate. Lots of wet dust & muck came oozing out till it all cleared up and down came the rain again.... thnx. again Link to post Share on other sites
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