My 1981 H16 has the comptip mast. There is evidence of silicone at the joint where the comptip meets the lower half of the mast. There is no sealant at the top of the mast. Is the comptip already water tight?
Thanks,
Greg H14, H16 (afraid to turtle)
The comptip is filled with foam, but the cap is not necessarily watertight. The aluminum/comptip seam should be sealed, though this is a difficult area due to the sail track. As a boat ages, the epoxy adhesive holding the two parts of the mast together can degrade and allow leakage. I don't know if the foam extends through the entire comptip. Someone else may. On my boat I went ahead and removed the cap and sealed with 3M 5200 just to be sure.
What about older pre-comptip masts? How do you test and/or seal these?
The comptip is hollow in the middle with foam on each end of the comptip section. Silicone the seams is of course a good idea and some people even add a little Vaseline once the Silicone is dried to help bead up the water.