Seal/waterproof comptip mast - seal track

We are going to try to seal around the various fittings on our newly acquired Hobie 16's comptip mast. Do we need to run a bead of silicone all the way down where the sail track (sorry - don't know the proper name) attaches to the comptip?
Picture:
http://imgur.com/1yRlIpr

No.

The fiberglass part of the Comptip is a sealed tube; the sail track just snaps on to the back and it's not necessary to "seal" it.

While we're talking comp tips, tracks, and sealing....

My boat (an '89) had a pinched luff track on the comp tip, where a previous owner had lashed it to the trailer too tightly. I never bothered to fix it, as I had another mast that had been retrofitted with a comp-tip that appeared to be newer (more shiny). I recently decided to clean up the spare mast and seal everything.

When I popped off the luff track I noticed several chips along the comp-tip, as well as some weird "pores."

Something to worry about? Should I think about replacing the entire comp tip?

https://plus.google.com/photos/11194090 ... 9?hl=en_US

Not sure about the pitting in that comp tip. I might paint some resin on it. If you want to bring the old one up to shiny status, I had good look rubbing small amount of Penetrol on mine - shined right up.

My comp tip is sealed at the top (the sheave is over the sealed top) and behind the luff track. Inside it appears filled with foam. My big problem was the comp tip was getting loose and would wiggle inside the aluminium bottom part. No matter how much silicone I put around the joint, it would tend to leak. Here's a picture from when I reset my comp tip this spring:

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1989 H16
2009 H16 squaretop

From my experience your comptip looks fine. those little chips where the luff track goes are minimal. The pitting is weird but i'm sure it is not structural, maybe fill it with a little bit of fiberglass resin or bondo?

When you say "it would tend to leak", are you talking about the lower section? Above or below the plug? If there is water above the plug, but below the comp tip, then drill a small hole to allow the water to drain. If it is leaking into the lower section, below the plug you can seal the plug with the comp tip out, then drill the small hole to allow water to drain and allow you to re-bed the comp tip with bond or epoxy filler. The drain hole allows air to escape as the comp tip is pushed into the lower section. If you don't drill the drain hole, then the comp tip acts as a piston and blows the plug out of the way, causing the lower section to leak. You don't need to capsize or even rain to "make it leak". Condensation is enough over time to put water into these areas if not sealed or allowed to drain. Occasionally, the hollow comp tip will also take on condensation water. You need to look at the seam on the leading edge, it can be the leak. Seal with resin and go sailing.

I reset the comp tip this spring to fix the leak. All fixed, no leaks now. Plus, I have a better mast bend under power. I was just responding to the OP who was "sealing around all the fittings."

Mine was tending to leak at the joint, and sealing the joint was a temporary fix. It would leak at the joint from rain or condensation and dribble down inside the mast. At one point I did drill a small hole at the bottom of the mast to drain it out. Sometimes would have maybe a half cup of water in there. I tapped the hole and put in a set screw wrapped in teflon to seal it - don't want a hole in the mast on capsize, even if it's above water. That would allow the mast to fill quickly.

For future readers, I pulled the comp tip out and found the plug in the metal part of the mast was akimbo and the metal plate askew, probably from vibration and settling over years. I put in a new metal plate on top of the shaped foam plug, then re-inserted the comp tip with epoxy and sprayed closed cell foam below the shaped foam plug to seal behind the factory hole in the mast, and re-plugged that hole.

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1989 H16
2009 H16 squaretop