My starboard supercriuser aluminium mast has water trapped inside, quite a bit by the sound of it and I'm wondering if this is a problem and is it possible to remove it and prevent it happening again by sealing some part of it.

Have the same with my alu mast and open it every few sessions to get rid of it. Some leaks out when holding it upside down. In my case the base and mast parts don't accurately align, resulting in some water ingress. Guess that's what you get with cheap stuff but I'd expect slightly better from a brand like NP.

The torx screw at the top is probably holding the mast. Bit surprised it's only one screw in your case but I'd loosen that to separate the parts once every so often. I wouldn't seal it.

When tightening, you might want to apply some lubricant like Tef Gel to prevent parts from corroding.

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ptsf1111 said..
Have the same with my alu mast and open it every few sessions to get rid of it. Some leaks out when holding it upside down. In my case the base and mast parts don't accurately align, resulting in some water ingress. Guess that's what you get with cheap stuff but I'd expect slightly better from a brand like NP.

The torx screw at the top is probably holding the mast. Bit surprised it's only one screw in your case but I'd loosen that to separate the parts once every so often. I wouldn't seal it.

When tightening, you might want to apply some lubricant like Tef Gel to prevent parts from corroding.

Yes I did remove that screw but the tuttle head does not come off, I don't think that is how it is attached

Tried leaving it in the sun?

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thedoor said..
Tried leaving it in the sun?

No I have not tried that yet, it sounds like there is a large amount in there, I was hoping to take the top and bottom of and drain it and see if i can see how its getting in there and stop it entering inside

I would consider drilling a hole to drain it and just except that it will be full of water during your foiling sessions.
The old NP Ali masts took water during the session and it didn't seem to matter from what I could tell.

I thought that the top and bottom sections might be removable somehow

Update: The top and bottom plastic sections are just held on by the barrel nuts, just punch them out and it comes apart, the centre sections of the mast are sealed with some type of resin, drilled 2 small holes in that and water drained straight away, but that is the least of my problems now, after removing the tutle adaptor I found a crack where the rear barrel nut inserterts through the aluminium

Be glad you found it before it failed when foiling! That's an interesting way to hold the mast with one bolt and 2 barrel nuts.

Starboard rubbish, same as the barrel nut failures in the carbon masts

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ptsf1111 said..
Be glad you found it before it failed when foiling! That's an interesting way to hold the mast with one bolt and 2 barrel nuts.

Yes I'm glad I investigated the water ingress problem or I would not have discovered this issue. Now I am left with a useless foil. At least it won't have the chance to leave me stranded out there.

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Mark _australia said..
Starboard rubbish, same as the barrel nut failures in the carbon masts

Only question now mark, is do I replace it with a new mast of the same type or ditch the whole foil altogether due to the risk of this happening again?

I had a similar issue with my 2020 model Alloy Race mast some years ago. Started to crack at the rear barrel nut but also had a horizontal crack at the top of the mast just under the plastic Tuttle fitting. Noticed the mast flexing and after a bit of wobbling back and forth it broke, I suspect that as the crack developed it was letting the water in. Have a good look for hairline cracks???
Anyway I was able to salvage the mast by recutting the top shape under the plastic head cap with a hacksaw , then drilling new holes for the barrel nuts. The mast will about 50-60mm shorter but mine was quite usable at around 90cm.
Note. this shortened mast is still in use by one of our local light weight sailors who bought it from me 2.5 years ago.

I bought my iQfoil foil with the alu mast back in 2020. Within a year the mast had hairline cracks where the barrel nut goes. I called the shop where I bought it from and was told that it was a known issue and I had two options: replace it for free with the at the time newer and reinforced alu mast or get carbon (paying the difference). I went with the carbon. In your case, you might want to get the new/reinforced alu mast because it will be WAY cheaper than switching brands. Depending on where you are, can also find extremely good deals on used carbon masts.

I dunno..... as the carbon mast cracks sometimes where the fillet / curve bit is from the bottom of the mast to the fuse end. Its hard to spot though and opens up under load. I think they have fixed that as I haven't seen one for a while.
And the fixings failing in the carbon masts too, I guess its been a while.
I guess just don't get an older carbon mast, or ally...?

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Ian85 said..
I had a similar issue with my 2020 model Alloy Race mast some years ago. Started to crack at the rear barrel nut but also had a horizontal crack at the top of the mast just under the plastic Tuttle fitting. Noticed the mast flexing and after a bit of wobbling back and forth it broke, I suspect that as the crack developed it was letting the water in. Have a good look for hairline cracks???
Anyway I was able to salvage the mast by recutting the top shape under the plastic head cap with a hacksaw , then drilling new holes for the barrel nuts. The mast will about 50-60mm shorter but mine was quite usable at around 90cm.
Note. this shortened mast is still in use by one of our local light weight sailors who bought it from me 2.5 years ago.

Problem solved. Former 85cm mast is now 81cm.
It is short but it may be still useful for riding low in flatwater or helping my breach control, less room for error.

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mob dog said..

Ian85 said..
I had a similar issue with my 2020 model Alloy Race mast some years ago. Started to crack at the rear barrel nut but also had a horizontal crack at the top of the mast just under the plastic Tuttle fitting. Noticed the mast flexing and after a bit of wobbling back and forth it broke, I suspect that as the crack developed it was letting the water in. Have a good look for hairline cracks???
Anyway I was able to salvage the mast by recutting the top shape under the plastic head cap with a hacksaw , then drilling new holes for the barrel nuts. The mast will about 50-60mm shorter but mine was quite usable at around 90cm.
Note. this shortened mast is still in use by one of our local light weight sailors who bought it from me 2.5 years ago.

Problem solved. Former 85cm mast is now 81cm.
It is short but it may be still useful for riding low in flatwater or helping my breach control, less room for error.

legend

Well done! Guess you'll inspect that regularly going forward