Sealing alu strut - still a no-no?

[jaros]

I did the same with strips out of XPS. It keeps 99% of the water out, it adds almost zero weight and you can always get them out, rinse the inside of the strut with fresh water and put them back in.
I really can not see why they are not doing it...
Greetings,
Jaros

I'd be interested to see some pics/vid of this mod if you have a chance!

Sorry for my late response, I did not see this question back than…
Here are the photos:

[merl]

Cool. No idea how you cut that stuff with such precision though...

In the end I used a few cm of that kind of foam, well oversized, and pushed it into the gaps to a depth of 5-6mm with a screwdriver. Then I filled with sikaflex marine filler. After a year there is no water ingress. I have bad experience with just plain silicone, but so far this approach has not leaked.

As a half way solution, if you are worried about getting water trapped I found (on another mast) that if you just seal the board end of the strut then you reduce water ingress by 75%. .

[codifilo]

Love the XPS solution. I'll do that to my Spitfire.

Gong foil masts have plugs installed to prevent water from coming in.
https://www.gong-galaxy.com/en/product/ ... -plug-set/

[Herman]

If you have loads of time and wanted to get really anal about it you could seal it and glue in a recessed Schrader valve. You could then gently pressurise it to keep the water out. It would also allow you to snoop out leaks and give you a drainage port with valve core removal. Used to be done on some hollow boards but not seen it for years!

Would not be worth it to me, particularly if the mast is not a single chamber!

[jaros]

No idea how you cut that stuff with such precision though...

Well, you just need to have a friend with a CNC hot wire xps cutter….