[C38] Bedding Shrouds and leaks

Fri May 9 00:15:12 EDT 2008

Phil,
On the Mighty Quinn, the collar does not extend through to the cabin 
(there is a collar on deck and a mating collar in the cabin, with a gap 
between them).  This allows water to flow down the mast and into the 
cabin/deck interface.  I was told during my last survey this is a common 
problem that leads to voids around the mast, which was certainly true in 
my case!  When I put in the Spartite (that was the product I could not 
remember), I had to build the dam below the deck collar and this was 
well into the ceiling.  Indeed, I was not able to completely remove the 
clay dam until I removed the mast last fall as it was too far up the 
mast hole and I could not get to the port side.
By the way, I highly recommend Spartite.  My mast and collar had taken a 
beating over the years with perhaps a too zealous application of mast 
shims.  Spartite solved this problem and I no longer get any water 
coming in the cabin from the mast.  Even better, mast stress on the deck 
is evenly distributed which can never happen with shims.

Charles Finn
Mighty Quinn #114

Phil Gay wrote:
> Charles,
>
> I am confused about how the water got into the deck laminate around the
> mast.  From what I remember, the mast hole (partners) has a ring fitting
> screwed into the top of the deck.  I thought the fiberglass deck was
> connected to the hull liner on the underside by a fiberglass collar that
> sits inside the hole.  How does water get to the plywood laminate?
>
> Phil Gay
> C38 049 Que Linda
> Everett, WA
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: listserve-bounces at catalina38.org
> [mailto:listserve-bounces at catalina38.org] On Behalf Of Charles
> Sent: Thursday, May 08, 2008 10:52 AM
> To: hlhowell at pacbell.net; Catalina 38 Listserve
> Subject: Re: [C38] Bedding Shrouds and leaks
>
> I have carefully rebedded my chainplates several times thinking that was 
> where the leak(s) were coming from.  What I found was the leaks (most) 
> actually originated around the mast.  With the mast out, I used a 
> clothes hanger wire, pressurized air and a lot of patience to pull out 
> the rotted plywood.  I also drilled a couple holes in the deck at the 
> lower end of the voids and used pressurized air and alcohol to dry them 
> out.  I then made a clay dam in the mast hole and pumped West Epoxy in 
> through the lower holes.  I used the empty caulking tubes available from 
> West to pump the mixture in.  I was able to do the port side first and 
> then the starboard side separately.  Once things had cooled down, I took 
> the clay dam out and filled in the few voids left.  I used about a 
> gallon of epoxy on this, so there was quite a bit of heat generated and 
> you need to be careful.  This got rid of the majority of my leaking and 
> "sounding" with a mallet around the mast now suggests the voids are 
> filled. 
> I then used the epoxy (don't remember the name) to fill in around the 
> mast, which really stops the leaking that gets through the mast boot.
>
> Regarding using epoxy on the chainplates.  I am with Les on this.  There 
> is a lot of flex under loads and I would be worried the epoxy will not 
> give, which suggests the give will have to be in the deck surrounding 
> the area...  I also have spent way too much time getting rid of silicone 
> spots on the boat, which defy any attempts to paint.  I know about 
> sikaflex, but now only use life caulk.
>
> Charles Finn
> Mighty Quinn  #114
> Leaving for my westward trip through the Great Lakes on May 15
>
>
> Les wrote:
>   
>> On Wed, 2008-05-07 at 11:54 -0700, Rick Swensson wrote:
>>   
>>     
>>> A while back someone mentioned re-bedding the chain plates.  Was there
>>> a consensus on what to use?  I seem to recall it was marine epoxy but
>>> don't remember which one.  Any thoughts?
>>>  
>>> Rascal has stains on the bulkheads from water leaks but no structural
>>> problems.  Also some of the bolts through the cabin top leak as well.
>>> Fortunately in SoCal we don't get much rain but the moisture from fog
>>> drips through as well.
>>>  
>>> Rick  Swensson
>>>     
>>>       
>> If you are discussing the mounting of the chainplates, then you need to
>> look at the loads, and you will see that they require substantial
>> backing.  On our boats the mids and uppers tie to a bar which is
>> fastened via stainless rods (in the hanging locker on starboar) to
>> spread the load.  On the port they tie inot the head bulkhead.  And
>> epoxying the areas to prevent rot and to help ensure the strain is
>> handled is OK. 
>>
>> At the deck pass through, though, the chain plate ends are unsupported,
>> and shrouds alternately receive the heavy load on the windward side and
>> release on the leeward so they tend to flex.  Using expoy is doomed to
>> fail, because of this flexing.  Use silicon caulk, such as Sikaflex or
>> Life caulk around the deck plates to prevent leakage and allow flex
>> without cracking.
>>
>> Regards,
>> Les H
>>
>>
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>
>
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