Okay, got another question for y'all... as long as I'm gonna be at my boat with a big tube of silicone this weekend to seal my mast better, I may as well try to re-seal my hulls.

Like a lot of people I guess, when I'm flying a hull for any amount of time, water gets in (from where I dunno) so that I have to drain quite a bit out when I'm done sailing.

Where does this water come in and where can I put silicone to prevent it? Should I put a bead all the way along under the lip of each hull? Or scrape around the pilons and put fresh silicone there? Or what?

Thanks in advance! 8D

Hi Jim
I had a heap if water getting into my hulls, tried sealing everywhere and it was still coming in. Then finally worked out it was getting in through the top of my pylon. When i was flying a hull the other was well down in the water and the water was pushing up under the cap. I have sealed around the cap and i dont have a drop in my hulls after a full days sailing. The water may be getting in there.
Good Luck!!

Rat

Thanks man. I'll put that on my list.

The best way is to put the hulls under low positive pressure (e.g. from a vacuum cleaner exhaust or bike pump, etc.), soap up the likely leakage points to find the leaks and then go crazy with the sealant. Do a search for "hull leaks", etc. on the forums here as this is a topic that is often discussed.

The top of the pylons are sealed with plugs of closed-cell foam, with something like silicon sealant around the edges. The foam plugs deteriorate in time and begin to leak badly. Sections of pool noodles can be cut off and fitted into the pylons quite nicely. A little silicon around the edges makes them completely waterproof. The front pylons have a small vent tube to relieve pressure on the hull. Work around them and don't plug them accidentally.

So do I need to remove the crossbar to get at these plugs then? That's good info. Thanks!