Water drain in E28+ mast

I am a relatively new owner of a 1982 E28+ and have considerable water draining down the wires in the mast that has seeped into everything (sadly and destructively) before finally getting to the bilge. The mast is stepped on the cabin top. I plan to go up the mast to seal any openings but I am assuming that Kenyon had some system for managing water that invariably gets into a mast. Before I engage in more strenuous efforts to disassemble the base of the mast to search for drains I was wondering if anyone could describe whatever drainage systems there are for water from a mast. At present I have the wires pulled from the cabin top to allow the water to run directly into the head and then to the bilge but this is only a temporary fix. Thanks for any ideas or thoughts. My guess is that I am not the first, or the last, person with this problem.
Cheers, Steve (Lucky)

Hello Steve

On Trithena (E27) inside the mast foot has a short stand pipe (4ins high) that the wires pass through. On the rear facing wall of the foot there is a 1/4 ins hole in the side wall with a corresponding hole in the base of the mast which allows any water inside the mast to drain out before it reaches the level of the stand pipe. Each year when I drop the mast I make sure that its clear of any salt build up and so far so good. Might be worth checking if yours is the same and if there is none then perhaps drilling one out? Hope you manage to fix it.

Regards

Phil Adams

Trithena E27

I am installing a standpipe. This is a 6 inch piece of PVC pipe that is installed with sealant on top of the hole leading into the boat. A drip loop is installed in the wire before it enters the standpipe so that any rainwater coming down the wires drips into the mast step and not the boat. Then small drain holes are drilled through the bottom of the mast and step to drain the water before it reaches the height of the standpipe. Keep these holes cleared and most water should stay out of the boat. Thats the theory, anyways! The other method that i considered was to lead all the wires out of the mast about 6 inches up from the deck, then through the deck next to the mast through a waterproof connector. Then of course seal off the hole under the mast. I didn't want any more holes in my mast though so i decided on the standpipe method.

Doug

Looks like Phil beat me to it!