Since this thread is locked in the archives

[Maine Sail]

Famous last words..

Quote: "Should it become necessary to replace the wiring, it would not be that difficult to break out the wires from the plug. Where there's a will, there's a way... -Paul"Please inject some foam in your mast 6.5 feet up from the bottom and let us all know how it works out for you.... It's easy to make comments like yours when you have a deck stepped mast..2" of foam? I'll believe that when I see it...

 

[Ross]

John, early in the other thread I suggested that

something on the order of a football bladder posibly could be stuffed into the cavity and inflated. That would be reversable. The foam is not readily removable and it is as tough as shoe leather. I pursued this line of effort just to see if I could reliably place a foam plug in a long hollow extrusion. I had no illusions as to the practicality of the idea.This stuff sticks to the tune of about 10 pounds per square inch or a bit more so even a 2 inch plug in a 6 inch diameter mast would give about 36 square inches of surface contact and a strong man couldn't knock it loose on the ground.

 

[ed]

great stuff is not so great,

I have tried it on many applications. Here is what i learned. The is foam then there is foam..the foam used to inject into boat parts is measured to controll the expansion, and to control the quality of the mix. It it is not mixed properly for the temperature and humidity your working in the foam will not create good foam.It can be brittle or it can be mushy or soft. It has to be just right to use it in marine use, because it will absorb water, are it will allow mildew, corrosion or many other problems, there are horror stories about boston walers that become water logged(foam filled with water). Makes the boat weigh a ton!Right stuff is fine for insulating a dry space in a wall, but its not so hot for long term exposure to moisture.If you have tubes running up and down in the mast they will transmit water anyway.

 

[Ross]

ED, I am not sure how you define long term exposure to moisture

But I have installed foam to fill cracks in foundation walls and after ten years of exposure to the weather the only degradation has been from the UV in sun light. Canned foam is a one component urethane compound that has considerable usefulness but is not duck tape and wd-40 rolled into one. Use it where it works and don't use it where something better will serve.

 

[Stu Jackson]

When all is said and done, what John was

originally trying to do was to stop water getting into his bilge from the in mast furling gear. He's posted on the C36 website that he's going to check it out with his spar manufacturer to see if there's a way to seal the opening where the water is coming in to avoid trying to fill up a girlie hose with hot, hard, expanding foam (which, if taken completely out of context, could be a fun thing!).