[C320-list] Mast Leak?

[Jeffrey Hare]

Hi,

  I'll take a stab at the water/mast leak since I had and fixed a similar
problem.

In my case, water was leaking through the bolt holes in the mast step and
dripping on the floor next to the compression post.  I rebedded my mast step
that year when the mast was down for the winter and it's been dry as a bone
now for 3 years.

Look at the nuts near where the compression post meets the ceiling and see
if any of those nuts are rusted or show rust marks.  If you lay some paper
on the floor around the mast, you'll be able to tell if water's leaking from
above.

At the aft side of the mast step (on deck) there's a U-shaped bracket for
attaching a block or something.  The place where it hooks into the mast step
is also the DRAIN where water coming into the mast from the rain drains out.


The Mast step has a raised tube where wiring feeds down through the
compression post.  This raised tube keeps water that enters the mast from
running down inside the compression post and into the bilge.

If you get debris inside the mast, that can clog the drain path out past
that "U" bracket and the water can rise up inside the mast and run down the
compression post.  Each fall, when I have my compresser at the boat, I blow
compressed air into that spot to make sure the drain is open.
 

I wish I'd taken pics of the project but the Mast step/compression post
consists of two pieces.  From the Deck, there's a dark annodized aluminum
plate that the actual mast step sits on.  The annodized plate is actually
welded to the compression post, so the compression post looks like a tube
with a flat rectangular plate welded to it.  The compression post is not
attached to anything in the bilge.  The mast step is the silver cast
aluminum unit.  The bolts can be safely removed a few at a time and resealed
which should stop the leak.

What I found, however was that not enough bedding compound was used and
there were channels for water to run between the plates and seep down the
bolt holes.

-Jeff



-----Original Message-----
From: Sweetwater Yacht Charters [mailto:sail at sweetwater-charters.net] 
Sent: Wednesday, June 07, 2006 7:27 PM
To: C320-List
Subject: [C320-list] Mast Leak?

I'm submitting this question on behalf of my new slip neighbor (I changed
slips this year). He also has a C320, I will get his hull number next time I
talk to him. His is a more recent vintage than mine. He asked me if I had
any problems with water getting in through the mast when it rains. He has
been having problems with water collecting under the floorboards around the
base of the compression post. Over the winter he had quite a bit collect in
there and he now has to refinish the floorboard because of the dampness. I
don't seem to have this problem on Persistence. Does anyone have any ideas?

Also, we came to a conclusion on why I lost the holding tank vent cap last
year. When I mentioned it to him, he said that he lost 2 last year! We
couldn't figure it out until I took a good look at our boats and realized
that he had put a bridle in his slip, just as I did last year. His bridle
was running just below his vent cap. It was easy to see that with any
significant wave motion in the slip, the bridle could snag the cap and pull
it off. He is going to readjust. Fortunately, I don't need a bridle on the
SB side now that I have moved.

Joan
C320 #90 Persistence