Water in Mast

[Windwalker]

Hi fellow Sailers I am new to this Forum , and new to Sailing a Sunfish which seems to be a great little boat , I have sailed many different Boats and this Sunfish seems to be the ticket for me. I have had it out only twice, The Mast is brand new fresh out of the wrapper, I sailed it the first day, and a week later installed a 4" horn cleat on the mast . After drilling and tapping the holes I heard water in the Mast, about a Half cup full which I sucked out with a turkey Baster. It was fresh water not Salt possibly from Condensation? I live and Sail in Florida and noticed that the mast was hot to the touch from traveling to the launch site,. It was in a Spar bag tied on top of the Boat. Has anyone ever heard of this? I would appreciate any infor Thank you. Windwalker

 

[supercub]

Water may be entering thru the Pop Rivets holding the mast top and bottom caps on. You may be able to stop the ingress of water with a little sealant applied over the rivets. This would only be a temporary fix. A more permanent fix would be to remove the caps, apply sealant (3M Marine Silicon), rotate the cap slightly and secure with tapered groove pins (P/N 79513). I would have suggested 3M 4200/5200 which would seal better and stronger, but after having to replace a cap that was sealed with 5200, I can't. I had to cut the cap off and then cut the remaining inside the mast and peel it out, a real PITA. The silicon will make things easier in the future.

 

[Windwalker]

Thanks Supercub I Appreciate the input. I will check out the pins and try to seal them and see what happens. The only puzzel is that the water seemed to be fresh water and I sail in salt water leading me to believe it may be some kind of condensation.