Couldn't comment on boats, although a valid question, but it is all to do with the make up of the composite product, i.e the number of fibers to resin as to its strength and how the water affects it.
But it is also the surface treatment, if you lay water on a finished surface it is unlikely to do any damage to the structure, however leave water on a cracked or unfinished end and due to osmosis you will find water making its way around the structure.
(it has been a few years since I was at uni, I have to admit!)
The thing with CF is that it is designed to use, i.e the lay up process is very specific to the end product, so the process for a boat will be different to a plane wing or tripod leg. Also my understanding is that it is mainly Glass reinforced plastic rather than the more expensive and harder to manufacture CFRP (Carbon based composite).
After a bit of digging apparently blistering of the GRP in boats is also a problem! So there you go....something new everyday. However as boats are made of a lot more layers than your average tripod I don't think it would be a problem!