Mast full of water Thoughts?

So I tipped the 21SE this weekend, totally my fault. light winds at about 4mph, I locked the sheet and was raising the rudder going downwind when a gust came out of the clear blue and knocked me over. I wasn't alone, the 18 behind me with two on board went over as well. So a power boat stopped to help and as the boat started to come up I yelled "Woah" he heard "GO!". Yeah, poor choice of words. Anyhoo, he hit the throttle and as the righting line slid up the hull he pulled me into turtle. Sigh. No righting that no matter how many people helped. I didn't want to drag the boat into the shallows with my one year old sails on it. The mast was filled with water. I got a ride in to grab my scuba gear so I could attach dry bags to the tip of the mast. I filled the Hobie dry bags with air from my reg, and up popped the mast in a hurry. It worked far better than I had hoped. The problem is that I still have a LOT of water in the mast. It weighs a ton. Some came out the bottom when I righted the boat, but there is a lot still in there. I left the boat mast up for the night then dropped the mast with the winch and put it tip down for another night. Still full of water. Where should I drill the hole to release the water? I figure I will fill the hole with a rivet and sleeve to seal it back up. I don't know where the water got in, but 30 feet provides a fair bit of pressure to force water in. Thoughts?

How she came up:


Rolling her over:

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Todd
Hobie 21SE
Bellingham, WA

Excellent pictures and a great description of a real problem.
Whoa vs Go = a challenge.

Love the scuba gear and dry bag concept.

Well, the water got in somehow, so yes, if you cannot locate in the 'in' holes,
why not drill a hole below the comptip, drain the mast, then silicone the rivet and rivet cap and you should be good.

Years ago, we rescued a turtled H16, mast full of water, and no one checked to see if it drained.
That winter, at -20C, the frozen water cracked the bottom 8" of the mast. goodbye H16.
Yikes.

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2015 H16, with spin,
SOLD 1989 Hobie SX18 Sail # 1947 "In Theory..."
'Only two things are infinite, the universe, and human stupidity. But I'm not sure about the former.'

Thanks John, I'll give that a try. I don't know where the foam plugs are in the 21SE. Is there one below the comp. tip?

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Todd
Hobie 21SE
Bellingham, WA

Id like to see a picture of the mast, taken from the top looking towards the base....
or the top 1/3 of the mast.

I suspect there will be a foam plug below the bottom of the comp tip.
So why not drill 18" below the junction?

Bill 404, Big Whoop, SRM, what are your opinions?

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2015 H16, with spin,
SOLD 1989 Hobie SX18 Sail # 1947 "In Theory..."
'Only two things are infinite, the universe, and human stupidity. But I'm not sure about the former.'

Yeah, that sounds good. I'll take a few snaps tonight and post them.
I'll drill 18" below the comp. if no one else chimes in.

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Todd
Hobie 21SE
Bellingham, WA

There is a foam plug about 4 inches deep starting about 2" below the end of the comptip, The mast tang is riveted through the comptip so it's below that. All the Hobies I'm familiar with have the same thing, including the Wave (snuck that in). Also the same deal at the bottom to seal the mast above the mast base. If I were going to drill a hole I'd drill it at the bottom of the mast above where I figured the plug ended. That way the mast is self draining while sitting on the beach. Once you have the hole you could do the vacuum cleaner trick and squirt some soapy water, but all you're going to find is that the sealant that the factory put around the foam plug 25 years ago has dried a bit and leaks if you put 32 feet of water pressure on it.

It doesn't take much water in the mast at the end of a 32 foot lever, well maybe less than that 'cause of the comptip, to make the boat unrightable.

The fix is to remove the comptip and reseal the plug. I guess maybe the same thing with the mast base. Too much thrash. Lots of silicon around the tang, and comptip to mast joint, and the mast base joint and don't turtle the boat any more.

Have a Hobie day.

When in doubt, ask a guru.

thanks Charles

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2015 H16, with spin,
SOLD 1989 Hobie SX18 Sail # 1947 "In Theory..."
'Only two things are infinite, the universe, and human stupidity. But I'm not sure about the former.'

Drill a small hole 6 1/4" above the mast base pin and tap 8-32 threads, elevate comptip and let the mast drain...

Install an 8-32 X 1/2" long truss screw with rubber washer into new drain hole.

Go get a beer and chill

Now you can drain or simply vent that space.

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Bill 404 21SE

Thanks guys!
I think I will try the threaded screw idea. I didn't think there was enough material to tap.

I think Whoop has it right, the mast won't even drip now that it is out of the water no matter which end I elevate.
There is a LOT of water still in the mast. The foam must have re-seated itself with the water pressure.

As to the not going turtle, I do indeed plan to avoid it in the future!

-Todd

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Todd
Hobie 21SE
Bellingham, WA

I have shroud extenders that I engage as soon as the boat goes on it's side....this way no turtle too.

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Bill 404 21SE

With a Nacra from our sailing club we removed the top of the mast and put some flexibeam pool noodles inside the mast
then replace the endcap and seal the rivets and endcap with siliconekit

http://www.swiminn.com/simning/golfinho ... le/33815/p

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F18 Hobie Wildcat sail nr NED 066 & NED 1111
F18 Hobie Tiger sail nr 973 sold
Hobie 16 sail nr 104195 sold
470 sailnr NED 560 sold

Nice pictures!
I am using a 40 liter self inflatable cushion from Secumar that works very well preventing the 21SE to turtle. Just remember to take it down after sailing since it works nicely in heavy rain too...

[/img]http://www.secumar.com/products.e.401.77.html

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Lars Lundman
Hobie 21SE