My boat is 14 years old. 2003 386 with all of the toys. I have had a very small drip at the mast post for years. It progressively got worse this year having sailed multiple events of 3 to 6 foot waves and 25 to 30 knotts of wind. I suspect that the bedding of the mast plates on deck are in need of maintenance (redo). I have ruled out everything else, and with water tests. I have a few questions to those that have had to do this type of work. Are the original mast plates done with 5200? How much work is required to lift them to reset? and is 4200 sufficient or should I use 5200? I am taking the opportunity to replace VHF antenna, TV digital antenna, installing a loud hailer to my new Horizon AIS system, new LED light at the top of the mast Windex and Anomometer are new, no need to go there. Any advice would be appreciated. I have done all of the worked needed on this boat for the last 11 years. Mast removal and replacement by others. I do own a cable tension measurement device for fine tuning when the time comes.
Leak at Mast Post
- Thread starter Bill OHanley
- Start date
On the base of the mast has a plate with drain holes for water that gets inside the mast.
My guess is those drain holes are plugged.
Jim...
My guess is those drain holes are plugged.
Jim...
I rebedded my plate with butyl tape. It was easy to lift the plate off the deck.
I also made sure the drain slots were clear as Jim mentions. I went a step further and replaced the riser tube with a slightly taller one and sealed it to the deck.
I also made sure the drain slots were clear as Jim mentions. I went a step further and replaced the riser tube with a slightly taller one and sealed it to the deck.
Yes, check the drain holes. If you re-bed make sure those drain holes don't get plugged with sealant. Actually I don't think you need to seal the tabernacle but do need to put drip loops on all the wiring and seal the thru-deck tube. The thru-deck tube should also have a stand up of about 1" above the deck so water will not go down the tube and exit through the drain holes.
Bought a 2003 Hunter 356 in Massachusetts with an advanced leak at the stainless mast compression post. The mast came down for transport so it was a simple repair. The compression post is an ingenious advance since it transfers the load directly to the keel so the deck is not really part; therefore, no crushed leaking core/etc. The reason it is leaking is that Hunter used 3M5200 and did not prep the stainless and fiberglass parts by sanding and then cleaning before applying the 5200. So it doesn't stick and then the leak. Removing the step expecting a lot of trouble I was amazed when it just popped off. I called around to most of the caulking manufacturers and the only one that was willing to say if you do it the way we say we will stand behind our product was Sika Flex. It's a 4 part process of sanding the stainless and the glass with strong sandpaper to get the gloss off both, clean with acetone. Then application of an activator Sika Aktivator 900-980 followed by application of a primer Sika 206 G&P Primer and finally the caulking itself Sika 295UV. About $80 for the products plus a couple of small brushes. A year so far and no leaks. Once the mast is off it is not a big job. The Hunter website has a lot of great information. The 356 is extremely well documented as to construction with many files covering all aspects. Also had to rebuild the condiment tray on the 356. Here are some
pictures. For the files go to http://www.marlow-hunter.com/wp-content/themes/marlowhunter-custom-theme/export/Owners-Manuals/ then find your model and bingo.
pictures. For the files go to http://www.marlow-hunter.com/wp-content/themes/marlowhunter-custom-theme/export/Owners-Manuals/ then find your model and bingo.
Whoops, here are pictures of the condiment tray before and after and the table which was also damaged .
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Legend-era interior teak oil
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