[quote=cezo823][quote=ericweller]How waterproof is the sail tube? I would think a seam that long would be tough to make waterproof especially when driving down the road in a rainstorm.[/quote]
It definitely isn't submersible, but the rear cap is sealed with silicone and bulb seal so that if I were to back in too far at a boat launch it SHOULD only allow small amounts of water in.
I haven't driven during a storm with it yet, but I've checked it after the 4-5 rain storms that we've had and it has been dry.
All large seams have some type of overlapping flange, as well as vinyl and silicone for sealing, if you care enough for additional details read on, it might get lengthy though:
There are three sections to this sail tube the aft section is just straight pipe no cuts
The middle section was cut down in diameter and length to act like a inside coupler and both joints are sealed with silicone (after screwing the sections together) I thought about even using pvc glue on these but didn't have any handy so I decided that I might do that if I have issues down the road. The seam from cutting down the diameter of the middle section is facing up and there is about a 1/2" gap, so what I did was I took the remaining section of diameter/circumference about 14" wide and laid it over the gap about a material thickness above the gap, this acts like a "roof vent" and allows air out and should only allow awater in under some pretty extreme circumstances, highway driving in a monsoon may qualify.
The hinged/front section took a lot more work to make weather resistant,
The aft section is sealed on the bottom where it meets the "coupler" the top as some adhesive back foam sealant tape that seals against the coupler when it closes.
The port side as the boat sits on the trailer has the hinges, what I did was I took a flexible material, (which in this case was the vinyl floor trim that is used in commercial buildings like schools the lightest most flexible that I could find) and ran it on the cut hinge seam underneath the hinges. This hides my cut line and gives me some weather resistance, I "glued" the top of the vinyl to the sail tube using silicone sealant which glues it and prevents water from coming in through the top. I didn't glue the bottom to allow for the movement of me opening and closing it, another air vent, and it was sitting pretty well against the sail tube.
The starboard side has the circumference cutout acting as a flange to cover the seam. Also sealed with silicone.
The end caps were both installed with liquid nails and screws then also sealed with silicone. The front end cap (cut in half because it is hinged) has a piece of aluminum as a flange seam to help for weather resistance, also silicone.
Some of the materials were leftovers from when I worked in an Recreational Vehicle factory and a lot of other stuff came from the habitat for humanity restore, like the hinges and vinyl trim. Cheap and "green". Don't get me wrong though, I get new and good stuff when I know that I need to.
There are also "doughnuts" on the insides of the tubes (wood cut to the id of the tube and a circle cut inside of that at about a 2" offset), 3 of them, they double as structural members that help the tube maintain its shape and they also act as cradles to keep things like the boom with sails from sitting in any water that may puddle up in the bottom.
I'll take more pictures and add them to the album after I paint it, close up she still looks a little "raw".[/quote]
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