leaking in mast pocket

Cavi

Cavi

Member
My new sunfish appears to take on water in the mast pocket, how do I solve this? Also I am thinking of adding a drain on the stern. Are there any negatives of this? Will this prohibit it from bieng raced?
Same question on a inspection port, is that allowed in racing?
 
Use the search feature of the forum, there are easy ways to repair the mast step with epoxy.

A drain plug is also another hole that lets water in, but sometimes they are helpful. The obvious solution is to find and fix leaks and keep rainwater off of them as best possible.

Good luck
 
Cavi said:
my new sunfish appears to take on water in the mast pocket, how do I solve this? Also I am thinking of adding a drain on the stern. Are there any negatives of this? Will this prohibit it from bieng raced?
Same question on a inspection port, is that allowed in racing?
Click to expand...

Inspection ports are allowed. Personally, I would never put a stern drain plug in a Sunfish, though some apparently do. It just screams 'problem', and one that wasn't addressed fully, at that. I'd try to find and fix the leak. I would install an inspection port centered directly behind the splats guard and attempt to fix the leak from inside th hull, probably wrapping the step and adjoining area with fiberglass cloth. Are you able to pinpoint the leak specifically?
 
Yes, try filling the mast step with water and let it sit for a while. If it leaks, the water level will go down.

I also see no reason to put a drain plug in the stern. It is asking for trouble. It is also not legal for racing if you go to a regatta where the rules are strictly enforced.

BB
 
Okay, i cleaned out the mast port, the inside is just fiberglass no gelcoat past the first inch down. Also. The point where the mast bottoms out is nice and smooth but there is still a small resavouir in the center below the bottom of the mast. Normal? One of the stores sells a sort of nylon puck which would go at the bottom to minimize wear and let the mast spin easier. Is this a good thing to use?
 
Your mast step is completely normal. I have never put anything at the bottom of the mast step and have never had a problem. It is a problem on Lasers, but not on Sunfish to my knowledge. BB
 
Cavi said:
my new sunfish appears to take on water in the mast pocket, how do I solve this? Also I am thinking of adding a drain on the stern. Are there any negatives of this? Will this prohibit it from bieng raced?
Same question on a inspection port, is that allowed in racing?
Click to expand...

It is a good idea to install an inspection port. I would not install a drain plug as the inspection port is all you need. Water will drain to the center of the boat and you can just mop it out. As far as the mast step is concerned, I had a similar problem and found that the base of the mast step (the one with the reservior in it) was cast out of some material and in my case very porous which allowed it to leak. To fix it I vacuumed out all the crude in the bottom, solvent wiped it then sanded it as best I could. I then mixed up some Marine Tex, taped a piece of wood to act like a spatula on the end of a paint stirring stick and filled all the holes I could see. It worked just fine. If the issue is a crack in the fiberglass above the base you will need to use epoxy impregnated glass to fix it (the glass will give you the strength you need in the mast step). This is best done from the inside so you are back to needing an inspection port again! Wrapping the outside of the mast step with glass reinforced epoxy is the best way to go. Also, if you put a light source down through the inspection port you can look down the mast step and probably see any cracks fairly quickly.
You could try cleaning and sanding the fiberglass on the inside of the step and using some West Marine epoxy to paint the inside. This would probably stop the leak but may not last as epoxy is brittle and the mast step takes a lot of pressure.
 
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