MacGregorSailors.com

I found that my 26m leaks at the base of the pedestal. Last year I used silicone to seal the area but because the pedestal is free to move the fix didn't last. Anyone have a recommendation on how to better stop the leak.

I am about to remove the pedestal to get the BWY new-and-improved steering cable in. Apart from the fear of having pieces everywhere and uncertainty about how it should all go back together, the seal at the bottom of the pedestal has been on my mind too since I will very likely be breaking the original.

Looking forward to helpful responses to your post.

Forget the Silicone crud. It won’t last and will end up like Fido’s chew toy in addition to leaking while being hard to remove.

On our Mac26X pedestal penetrations we made tight fit raised through collars from PVC fittings and then sealed up with 3M 5200 sealant.
I don’t see why that wouldn’t work on your M.

For what it’s worth here’s the process of what we did….
As with any sealant surface, absolute cleanliness is the key!!!
I used solvent and a stiff nylon brush to get ALL the gunk off.
I split the PVC (that fit the OD somewhat like you have) fitting in half with a razor cutter to make a clam shell.
With the clam shells held in place I then traced the OD on the deck.
Removed the clam shells and trimmed through the top deck surface with a carbide Drexel bit.
Then carefully slipped the clam shells to penetrate the top deck surface and a bit more.
Sealed up all the surfaces with 5200 as I went and clamped the shells together with a good SST HD band clamp.
Made a nice smooth fillet radii with a wide popsicle stick end at deck to clamshells and at the top of the clamshells to pipe.

Best Regards,
Over Easy

My 26M has the electric toothbrush type pedestal. I removed it to allow the feeding of the new BWY steering cable (there's another story around all that...). The pedestal is held down with 4 bolts that run through brackets at the bottom of the pedestal and then through the deck. The bolts seemed to have been run through sealant and each had a little rubber o-ring tucked up under their heads. I had no problem with leaks from this area. However, being a mechanical type, I wanted to be able to get back into the pedestal as need be so gluing/sealing it down was not a o preferred option. Instead I cut some 1/16th sheet rubber material found in the plumbing isle at our local hardware store to match the bottom of the brackets the bolts run through, added some holes for the bolts and then bolted it all down to the deck. It has a bit more flex than the original installation (not much more though) and through a number of heavy rain storms since, it has held tight and dry. I guess we will see how it holds up over time. The only thing I forgot to do was add washers and rubber washers above the pedestal brackets in case the bolt holes leaked. Thus far, no problems though.