Weeping mast

[Lawrence B. Lee]

For some time now I have been trying to stop water running into my headliner where the mast comes through the deck on its way to the keel. In my efforts I noticed that the bilge always seems to hold about an inch or so of water. I can bail it out and a day or two later I find another inch or so of water. It tastes salty. But, I have noticed that the mast ends at a fiberglass pulpit just below the cabin sole. Since the mast is hollow, as we all know, I figure it fits over a hollow plug on the pulpit to keep it stable. This would seem to allow the water to flow on down to the bilge. However, I have now realized that the mast is weeping water at its base. I dry it off ...water comes back in an hour or two. My conclusion is that the mast is holding water. (and it is not going on into the bilge) As I said the bilge water is salty but I can't find any other source of leaks but the mast. So I figure the bilge is salty from past ages. Is there any way to drain the mast? Can I drill a weep hole somewhere? I don't want to pull the mast $$$$ If I don't have to and really the boat is not sinking but it is awfully frustrating to be carrying water in my mast and bilge. Any thoughts?

Lawrence B. Lee
Annabel Lee E32-200

 

[Loren Beach]

Tooooo much H 2 O...

Your spar is likely a stock Kenyon section sitting on a cast aluminum Kenyon base. There should be a little U shaped "notch" on the spar base at the rear to allow rain water to quickly drain out and thence into the bilge. During winter storms we can collect a couple of quarts during a stormy day.
Water coming in above the headliner tells me that you either have ingress around the partners/wedges OR it runs out following the wiring harness that emerges just above the headliner. You have 12 volt wiring there for the anchor light, steaming light, and bow/deck light. Also VHF coax and the multi-wire cable for the wind transducer if you have one. I used silicon sealant around that wiring bundle to keep water from flowing down the wiring and out. One thing that happens, besides mold and mildew in the headliner is that the zipper pulls on both sides of the area corrode to gooey grit...

So check for water coming in directly between the spar and the old vinyl seal/boot. Then check that wiring exit. Worst case would be the base drain plugging up and the spar holding a six foot column of water!

Good Luck and fair winds,
LB

ps: things could be worse -- the late musician George Harrison once wrote a whole song about his "guitar gently weeping."

 

[Lawrence B. Lee]

Loren,
Yes, you are right about the wiring in the headliner. I am working to correct that now. I do not, however, see a u shaped drain where the mast rests on the base. I wish I did. There is a small screw there which I assume is holding the mast on the base although the screw is small (less than 1/4) and wouldn't do much if there were real stress on it. I am tempted to drill a small hole in the mast to drain water off but I am not sure how high off the base I should drill.

Lawrence B. Lee

 

[Loren Beach]

Loren,
I am tempted to drill a small hole in the mast to drain water off but I am not sure how high off the base I should drill.
Lawrence B. Lee

Consider yielding to temptation and drilling a 1/4" hole as close to the base as you can reasonably get. Of course that's the sort of advice you expect from some stranger on the internet...


In any case there should be a drain hole of some sort at the base.

Loren

 

[clayton]

The "hole" will be a slot at the back of the mast, at the very bottom of the grey filler strip that would be the sail track above deck. It's 1/8" + by 1". I keep a large finish nail next to the step plate to sweep out any accumulating crud.
Clayton
'89 32-200

 

[Cory B]

Mast Collar

If you are getting water in the headliner around the mast it may have nothing to do with the mast or the partners. On our boat, as well as a friends boat, the problem turned out to be the "mast collar". Over the years the sealant around the through-bolted screws gives up. We resealed ours when the mast was out of the boat, but our friends managed to remove and reseal it with the mast in place.

 

[Lawrence B. Lee]

Eureka!

I found it. The elusive hole at back of the mast was so covered up with crud, gra-doo and muck that I couldn't see it until I started cleaning with soap and Scotch Brite pads. I always do repair work with coat hangers and duct tape close at hand so I stuck the coat hanger in and POW a river started flowing. I had to keep poking the coat hanger in the hole as it kept stopping up thanks the gook, gra-doo and a 12" piece of string that found it's way into the mast. I measured 2 1/2 gallons of fresh...well at least not salty water flowing out of the mast.

Math majors will want to determine how high the column of water was in my mast. The mast is the stock Kenyon oval about 4" wide and 7" inches or so deep. I will carry a nail along with my coat hangers and duct tape from now on in my tool kit.

The boot comes off Wed. (we are having a rash of tornadoes right now in Savannah (no fooling) so I will flush the bilge again when I get back to the boat (assuming it is still there) and then go after the headliner problem.

Thanks everyone for your advice.

Larry Lee
Annabel Lee
Savannah, GA

 

[EGregerson]

worried

I'm still worried...where is the salty water coming from? maybe fresh rainwater washing salt residue off the mast might make it taste a little salty; but if it's really salty, I'd check the stuffing box to see how much is coming in there; and the keel bolts.

 

[Lawrence B. Lee]

Salty water

EGregerson

It is raining like Hell in GA tonight. No tornadoes but lots of rain. I am going to the boat in the morning to check the bilge. I left it dry so the water that will be in it should be rain. I checked the packing gland earlier. While there is a drip or two when we come in from sailing it is not leaking. I will let you know about the bilge. Thanks for your concern.

Larry Lee
Annabel Lee

 

[daynardi]

Weepy mast and other leaks

This message thread sounds like the story of my life. We've always had that inch of water in the bilge, and the weepy mast. I assumed the mast should drain directly into the bilge, never knew about the drain slot in the back. I'll look for it next time I'm on board.

Regarding saltwater. On our boat, the packing gland on the rudderstock is above water level when the boat is at rest (doesn't leak when you are looking for it) but below water when under way (and can be caught in the act if someone squirms into the lazerette while the boat is moving). Since replacing packing is difficult or impossible without dropping the rudder it hasn't been done since the boat left the factory. (There is no clearance above the gland to allow it to be opened. I've had some luck with keeping the rudder tube pumped full of grease by means of the grease fitting on the side of the tube. I'm thinking of inventing a collar and drain hose to redirect the leak into a bucket that can be dumped overboard.

I can't get past the thought of all of those leaky head hoses. I'll never know if my bilge tastes salty.

 

[Loren Beach]

This message thread sounds like the story of my life. We've always had that inch of water in the bilge, and the weepy mast. I assumed the mast should drain directly into the bilge, never knew about the drain slot in the back. I'll look for it next time I'm on board.

Regarding saltwater. On our boat, the packing gland on the rudderstock is above water level when the boat is at rest (doesn't leak when you are looking for it) but below water when under way (and can be caught in the act if someone squirms into the lazerette while the boat is moving). Since replacing packing is difficult or impossible without dropping the rudder it hasn't been done since the boat left the factory. (There is no clearance above the gland to allow it to be opened. I've had some luck with keeping the rudder tube pumped full of grease by means of the grease fitting on the side of the tube. I'm thinking of inventing a collar and drain hose to redirect the leak into a bucket that can be dumped overboard.

I can't get past the thought of all of those leaky head hoses. I'll never know if my bilge tastes salty.

Nefarious Plan B: At the rendezvous you just keep plying your visitors with rum until someone offers to taste it for you.... Try the double-dog-dare challenge on 'em!


Loren

 

[Lawrence B. Lee]

Victory! We took Cory's advice and re-sealed the hole in the mast where the wires exit the mast. First we tried to push the wires in the mast down lower than hole thinking most of the water would drop off there and not be able to come back up the wire to the hole and then the headliner. Not a lot of wire to push down. Then we gooked up the hole with silicon over two days and carfully resealed the boot. We did not lift the mast. Next we waited three weeks for rain in south Georgia and finally got a frog strangler last night. Today, on inspection, the headliner was dry, the bucket that usually catches the run off was dry and the bilge had a respectable amount of fresh water in it.

Now it's off to the next thing. I appreciate everone's advice.

Larry Lee

 

[stuartm80127]

Sealing the wires through the mast boot

I got tired of silicon and went for a good coat of 3M 101 which remains flexible and yet doesn't come un-done like silicone does.

 

[Lawrence B. Lee]

I like 101. I have used it to reseal two windows and one port hole. If and when the silicon gives up the ghost I will try 101. Thanks for the tip.

Larry Lee
Annabel Lee
E-32-300