J/30 Class Association Forums J/30 Forum The Boat, Sails and Equipment Mast drainage

Hi All
I was able to scope the inside of my mast and discovered standing water. It appears that the drainage for the mast is blocked. Is there a way to access the underneath of the mast to unblock /clean this without having to yank the mast?

Cheers

Sean

Unfortunately there is no access underneath. Drill a small hole (1/4 inch) in the mast about 1/2 inch above the mast base to drain it.

Thanks Bill. Always good to have a resident expert on the forums!

I have a vacuum pump attached to a 1 gallon can that is intended for extracting oil from the crank. During boating season I use it for extracting residual water from the bilge, engine compartment, etc. If you have a wire exit hole near the base of your mast, you could run the small vacuum pump tube into the mast to pull the water out

If the mast is unstepped as in my case, can I drill a small hole all the way through the cast base vertically and to let water move to the bilge? Or similarly a horizontal hole through the base casting that could be mated with a similar size hole in the base of the mast?

I just sanded the entire sole in front of the bulkhead yesterday and any steps I can take now to keep water off this area in the future would be a good thing. I see a drain hole between the mast base and the bulkhead, but it looks like water could just as easily drain forward onto the sole into a hole there, so I was thinking of adding a block in front of the base to effectively dam this water coming off the mast and forcing it to drain through the hole at the rear.

The image I've attached is older, but it shows what I'm thinking about. There is a hole through the sole just in front of the mast base. What I would want to do is confine that water from the mast to the fiberglass area next to the base by sealing the edge of the teak and placing a block in front of the mast.

After sanding all of this down to bare wood yesterday I was pleasantly surprised that about 90% of the sole in this area is OK. The problem areas are just some rotted Holly that I think I can figure out how to replace. I'm quite sure that water coming off the mast is responsible for this rot.

Don't know why you couldn't drill thru the mast plate. You might want to check what's below it as I suspect it might be solid. My boat has a drain hole in the teak/fiberglass directly in front of the mast (about where your arrow is, though at the bottom of the raised step where the mast plate is located). The hole is large enough that I can stick a tooth brush in it to unclog debris. In your photo, the hole behind the mast near the bulkhead was possibly put there for running wires and not necessarily intended as a drain hole. I cannot image that it functions well as a drain
Question, what is the purpose of the turnbuckle shown in your picture?

My boat also has the drain hole in the sole forward of the mast apparently similar to yours. It seems to me that getting the water out of the mast and as directly as possible to the bilge would be an advantage. So drilling though the casting might be the best. The damage to the sole in this forward area of the sole happens on both sides of that drain hole. I know there are multiple other sources of water here besides the mast, but that is likely a very big contributor. Once I repair the Holly I think I will use some CPES on this area in an effort to slow down the decay.

As to the turnbuckle I will defer to anyone else that may have an idea about that. I can only say it was there when I bought the boat.

Some boats may have been modified with a mast hold down required for some off-shore certifications to restrain the mast.

Drilling straight down through the mast step will not work as it is solid FRP and aluminum. If the step has no debris in it, it should drain aft through the low area in the step. See the link below for a picture. It would be in this area where it would be best to drill a small hole in the aft section of the mast. A right angle adapter and a short bit would work with the mast up.

Re: mast bolted to step? [Re: Conundrum]

-Chris

Oh boy, now I get to clean up the mast step and make it all pretty too? Checking the screws and their condition makes sense to do now too. My step is really nasty looking now, but if it can be removed then I can drill it all pretty in the drill press and clean it and paint it and then reinstall it. I will also check to see if that small hole to the rear of the mast could be enlarged to act as a better drain.

I don't recall seeing the adjustment slots, is that what they were talking about in the Conundrum thread? I can only be thinking about getting my boat back to work, the concept of making go fast is for a whole other day.