Advice for leaky mast tube

nickzup

Member
Last summer, I bought a 1965 hull and had a great time sailing it. It's been drying out all winter, and I'm starting to spend some time preparing to do some maintenance this spring and getting back on the water. There are some cosmetic things, but my primary goal is keeping the boat dry this time around.

The boat stays bone dry during a day of sailing, which is great. The bottom is in great shape for its age, and the daggerboard trunk is fine as well. The issue I run into is during storage. For a while, I was keeping the boat in the garage when not in use (a few hundred feet uphill of the water), which kept it dry but was a pain. So I decided to try to leave it outside on a dolly. I have a cover that goes over everything wonderfully, and ties pretty tightly around the mast. The boat was full of water when I bought it, and this was how the previous owners stored it, but I want to see if it would be an issue for short term.

Well, a few weeks passed before I was able to sail again, and the boat was completely full of water. I haven't had the chance to do a full diagnosis (going to be one of the first things I do this spring), but my suspicion is that water is running down the mast and leaking in through the mast tube. Everywhere else is well-protected by the cover.

I'm trying to get an idea of what I'm in for in trying to stop this leak. Guessing I'll have to add another inspection port, which I'm not thrilled about but will do what I have to do. I've read through a few threads from people that have done this, was wondering if there was any other recommended reading or guides on how to handle this. Any advice is appreciated!
 
The mast tube is a common leak site but the fix can be fairly simple. First, inspect the inside of the tube visually for obvious cracks or holes. If you see any, get the tube completely dry and paint on a thick coat of thickened epoxy resin with small paintbrush taped to a piece of scrap wood. Pour enough resin into the bottom of thew tube to seal the bottom, the most common site for leaking, especially if the boat was ever sailed with a mast that was missing the bottom end cap - without the end cap, tbe bare mast end will cut through fiberrglass like a cookie cutter. Let the thickened epoxy cure completely and then fill the hole with water eight to deck level. If the water drains out, you still have a leak and may have to repeat the fix along with adding some fiberglass cloth to the job.

If your visual inspection shows a large, possibly structual crack, you will need to install a deck port and make the repair with epoxy resin and fibeglass cloth.

Hope this is helpful.

Alan Glos
Cazenovia, NY
 
The mast tube is a common leak site but the fix can be fairly simple. First, inspect the inside of the tube visually for obvious cracks or holes. If you see any, get the tube completely dry and paint on a thick coat of thickened epoxy resin with small paintbrush taped to a piece of scrap wood. Pour enough resin into the bottom of thew tube to seal the bottom, the most common site for leaking, especially if the boat was ever sailed with a mast that was missing the bottom end cap - without the end cap, tbe bare mast end will cut through fiberrglass like a cookie cutter. Let the thickened epoxy cure completely and then fill the hole with water eight to deck level. If the water drains out, you still have a leak and may have to repeat the fix along with adding some fiberglass cloth to the job.

If your visual inspection shows a large, possibly structual crack, you will need to install a deck port and make the repair with epoxy resin and fibeglass cloth.

Hope this is helpful.

Alan Glos
Cazenovia, NY
Thanks! I'll definitely be giving this a try before adding another port. My guess is a leak at the bottom now that you mention it, I don't believe my mast has a bottom cap. Will definitely have to remedy that! Any guidelines for type of resin/brand to use?
 
A tip for outdoor storage with water accumulating in the mast well…
Even with a sunbrella cover, I have experienced water eventually finding its way through and collecting in the mast well. I found placing a frisbee over the mast well, under the cover, to be a simple and effective solution to keep the well dry in storage.
 
drains out, you still have a leak and may have to repeat the fix along with adding some fiberglass cloth to the job.

If your visual inspection shows a large, possibly structual crack, you will need to install a deck port and make the repair with epoxy resin and fibeglass cloth.

Hope this is helpful.

Alan Glos
Cazenovia, NY

then fill the hole with water right to deck level.
If you are patient, water will drain down to the exact level of the leak.
 
Gotta' have a bottom cap. The mast is constantly rotating and without the plastic end cap, it will eat a hole in the bottom of the mast hole assembly.

Any good epoxy like WEST with their brand of thickener will work fine. A lot of folks like Total Boat THIXO: THIXO - Google Search

Alan Glos

Added a bottom cap and some THIXO to my shopping list. Thanks again!

A tip for outdoor storage with water accumulating in the mast well…
Even with a sunbrella cover, I have experienced water eventually finding its way through and collecting in the mast well. I found placing a frisbee over the mast well, under the cover, to be a simple and effective solution to keep the well dry in storage.

My cover is designed for mast-up, but this seems like it would be effective. I'll have to try mast-down and to seal the hole somehow.

If you are patient, water will drain down to the exact level of the leak.

I'll be sure to give this a try. Based on the amount of water in the hull, it should be a pretty fast leak :D
 
A tip for outdoor storage with water accumulating in the mast well…
Even with a sunbrella cover, I have experienced water eventually finding its way through and collecting in the mast well. I found placing a frisbee over the mast well, under the cover, to be a simple and effective solution to keep the well dry in storage.
a tube of tennis balls is a great cheap buy for the fish. i use one for the mast hole and one on the end of the gaff/boom to keep the bolts from scratching the deck. then i have a spare to chase around the river for fun.
 

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