mast boot replacement/mast up

[stevewitt1]

Launched the Forget-Me-Knot last Sat and friends at the club really wanted to get my mast up then too for some reason. Didn't want to turn down the help so up she went. Problem turned out that my mast boot was in worse shape than I thought. (brittle)  The rains that night confirmed my suspicions. Ordered a new boot from Catalina Direct and searched the forum for help.  A couple did talk of cutting the new boot, then gluing it back together.  The new boot is LDPE and my research shows it next to impossible to successfully glue.
Has anyone had success gluing this materiel?  If not I think I'll just get one of the generic boots that states it can be cut and glued to fit.

Any help of suggestions are appreciated.

Steve

visit us at www.ocontoyachtclub.com and www.warbirdsix.com

[Mark Sutherland]

I did the "glue-to-fit" boot, which I believe I got from Cat Direct.  The glue, to my surprise, worked well and his still holding tight.  No complaints.

[Stephen Butler]

We had a very brittle mast boot when we purchased our C34, but did not want to drop the mast to replace it.   Ordered  a new boot and ss bands from Catalina Direct, cut the boot, and mounted.  Had the same question about which adhesive to use and asked the foreman in the yard we were at the time.   He suggested 3M 5200, so we went with this.  The boot had no leaks for 5 years, until we dropped the mast and then replaced the boot properly.  Hope this helps.

[Phil Spicer]

 Steve, You may want to think about using silicone self fusing tape. A 2" tape would seal the mast to the deck fitting with one wrap...sticks well, stands up to the weather & comes off completely clean. Put the new boot on next year. Just checked wed, a lot of places to get a roll.