Butyl tape under mast fittings?

[bgary]

Butyl tape seems to be the secret sauce for bedding a lot of deck gear, from stanchion bases to portlights and hatches.

Does anyone use it under mast fittings?

I have been remediating some corrosion under a variety of mast fittings, from a stainless sheave-guard and a halyard-restrainer the masthead to the gooseneck and boom-vang fitting closer to the deck. It occurs to me that it might be worth putting... "something"... in between the stainless hardware and the aluminum spar wall. Not to seal against leaks, but just to galvanically isolate the fittings from the mast, in a little more robust way than a layer of paint. I'll be using Duralac on the fasteners, but thinking about doing "something" under the fittings themselves.

Does it make sense to use butyl tape in those kinds of places?

 

[Afrakes]

Dielectric Tape

All of the stainless steel fittings that came off of the broken mast I got with my 87' 28 had dielectric tape on the mounting surfaces. When I transferred and added some fittings to the 81' mast I used the same type of tape for isolation.

 

[bgary]

dielectric tape on the mounting surfaces

That was actually my first thought (random firing of ancient brain-cells on my end)... but I can't seem to find any dielectric tape at the usual places (Defender, West, Fisheries, etc). Lots of dielectric goop in tubes or cans, but no tape.

Any sources?

 

[Glyn Judson]

Dielectric the source.

Dear friend, I've had great luck using 2" wide pipe wrap which is essentially electricians tape on steroids. Take a look at it at Home Depot as can be seen here: http://www.homedepot.com/p/2-in-x-50-ft-20-Mil-Pipe-Wrap-Tape-53550/100179778 Lay it on whatever you plan to attach and cut off the excess with a utility knife, it's as simple and fast as that. Cheers, Glyn Judson, E31 hull #55, Marina del Rey CA

 

[Tom Metzger]

Dear friend, I've had great luck using 2" wide pipe wrap which is essentially electricians tape on steroids.

Pipe wrap is designed for protecting buried pipe from corrosion. Great stuff. Utility companies used it by the carload to protect gas pipes. From a previous life.

 

[Afrakes]

Good Source

That's the stuff.

 

[bgary]

Awesome!

Thanks, guys!

 

[Mort Fligelman]

Tef Gel

While my boat was in Florida the rigger that put my spar back together after painting used a tape (have no idea what it is) and Tef Gel. Supposed to be used whenever disimilar metals are threaded (Fastened) together. Since the boat was put in fresh water immediatly after this was done I have no idea if it really works in salt water.....

I anyone does know it would be of interest to me, and I am sure some others.....

 

[Loren Beach]

I had some ss fittings at the mast base on my prior boat that I bedded with silicone sealant because it was what I had handy at the time. About 8 or 9 years later I took some of them off and they came off with shiny metal surfaces and no hint of corrosion.
My take-away is that something is way better than nothing.


YMMV.

We boat in a fresh water environment, so our corrosion issues are not as severe, I should also point out.

Loren

ps: if you use the butyl, remember that you may have to re-tighten the screws as it oozes out slowly.

 

[bgary]

While my boat was in Florida the rigger that put my spar back together after painting used ..Tef Gel.

Yes, TefGel is great stuff, very effective as a coating for fasteners to create a barrier against corrosion between dissimilar metals.

Duralac is a similar product - the difference is that TefGel remains a "gel", where Duralac "sets" - for things where the fitting is not going to be removed anytime soon, and/or is in a place where I can't readily check the fasteners (eg, masthead), I like to use Duralac.

https://www.silmid.com/MetaFiles/Silmid/65/65a3aac5-fd03-4015-9570-96cc3f9d8a6d.pdf

 

[Guy Stevens]

I use this

http://www.amazon.com/WILLIAM-HARVE...456778796&sr=8-31&keywords=gas+pipe+tape+wrap

or a local purchased version of it.

Most plumbing supply houses have it in stock for about this price or a little lower.

Works great. No issues with removal when you need to take the mast down for renewal and painting. (Remember you will have problems painting, or anodizing, any surface that has ever had silicone on it before).

This and Tef Gel, and 20 years from now it will all come apart as easily as it did the day you installed it.

If you need something to stay in place and are worried about it, use a good blue thread locker instead of the tef gel.

Guy