430 mast leak

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George Kornreich

I'm hoping someone has found a solution to my problem of a persistant mast leak that does not involve pulling the mast. Rainwater finding its way into the mast seems to be coming in along the wiring that penetrates the mast base. Obvioiusly, the original installation was wrong... there should be a drip loop on all the wiring to divert the water away from the base-plate perforation. The hole was sealed from below using "Tough Stuff foam insulation, as my dealer said that had always worked. (He said a lot of other stuff that was equally wrong...maybe that's why he's out of business). Anyway, the hole is jammed to the max with wiring, and I assume it was so tight that the foam cound not adequately penetrate along the wiring. I pulled the shroud fittings that attach to the mast about a foot above the base, and shot some more foam in through that hole, trying to cover all the wiring there from above, but it has not worked. I can't find any other source of the leak, such as the mast base bedding, etc. Any thoughts will e greatly appreciated. Otherwise I think I'll have to pull the stick :(
 
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Dick McKee

George..I dont know but...

if you go back in the rechives thare are other threads from folks who have installed a Kilian prop and claim it works as he said. Thats where I got the info on Kilian. Good thing about it is the money back guarantee,,,I'll know more in two weeks when I receive the prop . I can post the results here or e-mail you...If you want an e mail let me know at McKee119@hotmail.com. Dick McKee
 
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Dick McKee

George you know some days...

my response was obivously for your questions on the prop,...I have no idea how I managed to get to your mast leak with the response... Fortunately I'v not had any mast leak on our 430, and unfortunately cant remember any in other postings about 430 mast leaks Dick McKee
 
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Rod Leonard

George

If your 430 is like my 31' was and like my 45' pull the mast. You can't seal the conduit by foam filling. There is a lot of dirt there between conduit & deck. Both of mine leaked around the outside not through the wire chase. The prevouis owner tried to seal it like you, it didn't work. But did do damage to head liner & started rotting the deck around the base of the mast. There is also a drain hole in the front of the mast. By foam filling you my have plugged it. Filling the base of the mast with water. Do you live where it freezes?
 
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Pete Burger

George, when I first took delivery of my 430, I had a mast leak, but dealer was able to fix it quickly from the outside. Don't know what he did, but it didn't involve foam. I agree with one of the other postings, that filling the bottom of the mast with foam probably isn't a good idea.
 
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Bill Jones

Pulling the mast

I recently had the mast removed to repair a similar problem with my 40.5. The yard found the PVC leading the wiring into the deck was barely above the level of the step. It didn't take much water build up to flood over the top of the PVC. They also used a great deal of sealant, but didn't interfere with any drains. I haven't been back to the boat since the repair work was done, so I do not know if it was successful. Good luck, Bill Jones s/v Bardi Sea
 
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George Kornreich

Thanks or the input

I think the vote is clear... I'll have to bite the bullet and pull the mast to cure the leak (What a pain, though!). It's not a bad leak, but I believe there is some wood in there somewhere between headliner and the deck and I don't want that to rot out!
 
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dave jones

I had a mast leak..finally re calked the base fitting and it solved the problem. Water pools up on the deck around the base and seeps in..that was 2 years ago and the mast has been dry ever since
 
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