My HC 37 leaks between the mast and the deck. There is s neoprene gasket there. The water seems to be between the gasket and the deck laterally when I pry with a screwdriver. I have sealed everything I can think of to no avail. Any suggestions? Thanks!
Leaking around Mast
- Thread starter DanMaine
- Start date
The mast wiring on the H37C exits below deck, in the bilge. The gasket/hard rubber that is installed at deck level is not a watertight seal - it is only there to support the mast in the partners. The only sure way to seal where the mast goes through the deck is with a mast boot or self-amalgamating mast boot tape.
I have pretty good sealing around the mast.
I'm wondering if water is traveling transversely through the deck Center, perhaps from something else if anybody else has had that issue.
I'm wondering if water is traveling transversely through the deck Center, perhaps from something else if anybody else has had that issue.
The Dorade boxes are a known source of leaks if they are still in original 'factory' condition. The fix is to remove the wood tops and re-glass the bottom surface of the box. There used to a great website (no longer up) by Gene Gruender where he detailed his restoration of an H37C called Rainbow Chaser. I was able to locate the page about the Dorade boxes on WaybackMachine: dorade. Other than those, leaks at the cabintop hand rails, or anywhere hardware has been added around the mast partners is a possibility. I also recall that the Kenyon mast extrusion had a removable slot cover on the back from the gooseneck to the mast step that covers the wiring and also, maybe, a tiny little extrusion line on the forward side (my memory is hazy here) where a few drips of rainwater could find their way in past the mast boot. That's all I got!
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2002 310 with in mast furling stepped on deck. After every rain fall the forward bilge area receives some rain water, despite having enlarged drainslots at the mast foot. Not a PITA but ensures the bilge pump works and it is fresh water.
Dan is not talking about water entering at the masthead sheaves and travelling down the keel-stepped mast to the bilge. His leak is in the area around the partners, where the mast penetrates the deck:
if the water is running down the internal wiring through the deck step because there isn't a drip loop, that could defiantly be the issue. It was with mine.
The mast on an H37 Cutter is keel-stepped. No drip loop required. Rainwater travelling down inside the mast exits in the bilge. Also, the wiring is all contained in a channel in the mast extrusion behind the sail track.
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Try a Waterboot. They work well.
I'm in the same process. Cleaning this up, maybe a little lifeseal and then mast boot wrap. Does anyone know what the two metal tabs with holes on either side are for?
Also I will find pictures but I reglassed inside the dorade boxes with thickened epoxy and some watertite epoxy filler in the forward corners that are hard to get to. The old ply was mush so clean it out well first. Mind the weep holes.
That area down the sidewall is likely pretty bad as well.
I have a good amount of deck and sidewall that need repaired. I have coosa board on the way, need to get somewhere warmer soon!
Believe it or not, there's supposed to be a SS bolt that goes through the mast from one tab to the one on the other side. As I recall, it can be a bugger to get in there.
Mine had an oval stainless plate that sat on the deck around the mast opening. I had a 1 inch flange welded to the inner edge to keep water from pouring down. Helped a lot along with a custom made boot, but keeping all the water out seems to be an exercise in futility.