rain water inside mast base

Hi all,
I store my AI in my backyard and mast base collects water from the rain. Do you guys ignore this or have an easy way to keep it dry. Just afraid the bolts inside starts to rust if i keep it wet. For now ill use my garage vacuum to keep ot dry. Just wanted to hear what others think about this mast base with water.

All the metal in there is stainless, I do vacuum out any salt water when we put the boat away, (just like you do it sounds with my shop vac), but I don’t worry much about rain water when stored outside, didn’t seem to hurt anything in the 8 yrs or so we’ve been using these boats.
The only downside for us storing outside is the local squirrels store their nuts in there, or inside the hull if I leave the hatches open.
Hope this helps
FE

Thank you FE.
Im planning to buy this one to hold the other end of the mast when transporting the kayak. Maybe use it also to hold something to cover the hole when sitting in my bavkyard.

https://www.westcoastsailing.net/defaul ... vSEALw_wcB

I believe Hobie recommends you store the kayak upside down, which will also fix the rainwater problem. If you keep it on a trailer, maybe a tarp treated with scotch guard.

It’s very difficult to keep water out of the mast receiver and as FE Bob said it doesn’t seem to be a problem. Keep an eye on the tightness of the screws that hold the pin base plate to the receiver. They can work loose. You’ll need a long Phillips screwdriver.
I did have a broken pin on the base plate after many years of use which Hobie replaced free:
https://www.hobie.com/au/en/forums/view ... 75&t=53375
Whether it was caused by water/corrosion over time or a manufacturing defect is unknown.
I did see an ingenious solution for draining the mast receiver by another user. He drilled the receiver and fitted a small tube with a tap. At the end of the days sailing he would just open the tap and drain the receiver water into the hull, then mop it up.
You can also use a kayak pump to drain the receiver but there is always some water that remains.
[/img]

Considering the lack of receiver problems posted here it doesn’t seem to be an issue.

Thanks for the warning Stringy. Will add that to my checklist.