Leaking in the yard

Dave Schenck · Dec 16, 2014

gsherwood said:
I am a new Sirius 21 owner. 1981 #441. I have noticed water in the compartment under the sink. I haven't been able to figure out where is was coming from till today.
We were having rain showers so I took a good look and discovered where the water was coming from.
It seems to be coming in under the fitting for the sink drain. If the boat was in the water I can understand it but it is on the trailer in the yard!
Please see the enclosed pictures and share your knowledge with me. I am temporarily baffled.
Gary

I also had a mysterious accumulation of water in the same area. I ultimately tracked it down to a leaking chainplate fitting. Is it possible that the water could be working its way down the drain pipe to the throughhull? It's worth checking.

Kermit · Dec 16, 2014

gsherwood said:
I am temporarily baffled. Gary

I feel like I'm permanently baffled with all things sailboat. Good luck!

shanester · Dec 17, 2014

I second the chain plate. Have someone spray the chain plate with the garden hose while you are under there looking and feeling for water. Remove the wood cover from the chain plate and check there. Mine would start leaking shortly after sealing because the side deck flexed a tad bit when walking on it. I ended up putting a wood support under the deck behind the chain plate resting on the counter top to stop the flexing. It might be possible that rain water is coming in around the through hull fitting. That little block of wood can shrink some leaving a small gap between the outside of the hull and fitting if the caulking has failed. This happened with my boat once when we launched once but the little wood spacer "took up" and stopped leaking. It seems like this could happen with rain coming down the side of the hull and maybe the bunk boards are collecting or funneling it. My drain is directly over the bunk board.

srust58 · Dec 18, 2014

Like some others have said it's obviously leaking in from above. Looks to me like it was running down the hose onto the "thru hull" fitting. And there we have the real problem. You should get rid of those cheap plumbing fittings....looks like pvc and plain old steel pipe fittings and get a proper bronze or marelon shut off/ sea cock valve. Hopefully under all that you still have the threaded bronze thru hull. The backing plate looks a bit dodgy too. If it were me I would rip it all out and do a proper job of it. No fun going to the marina and finding your boat sitting on the bottom.

RIVERCRUISER · Dec 18, 2014

FWIW

http://www.ebay.com/itm/161522485481?_trksid=p2060778.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

shanester · Dec 19, 2014

Check the the quarter berth and the V-berth lockers for water. There are small holes at the bottom of all the bulkheads allowing for easy water migration between them. If your boat is in storage and you can't get a garden hose to it then bring some buckets of water the next time you visit. Have someone pour it on the deck and windows while you are down below inspecting. You could try this by yourself if you had to. Bring a small but powerful flashlight and one of those mechanic's mirrors. The mirror I like to use has about a 2 inch round mirror on a flexible 18 inch shaft/handle. You can bend the shaft somewhat and the mirror will stay at that angle. I have found that it works better if you shine the flashlight up into the cavity or area instead of reflecting the light off the mirror.

srust58 · Dec 20, 2014

gsherwood said:
Good point srust58. I just purchased the boat a few weeks ago and am working through the issues. After a good cleanup inside I noticed this problem. The PO didn't use the sink very often and probably didn't give it much attention.
Guess I am going to have to bite the bullet and put it on the hard and do the repair correctly as you suggested.
Thanks to all for your comments and help!

here is a photo of the OEM installation on my 1985 Sirius 22 #16. Not a real seacock as I believe those have the mounting flange where they bolt to the backing plate which is then bonded to the hull and then the thru hull threaded in from outside. The seacock being more robust with the idea that a heavy object could shift and break off a shut off type valve like this. With only pots and pans in this compartment I don't worry about it and am fine with the shut off style valve. An easier installation than a seacock.

shanester · Dec 25, 2014

I have used just about everything with varying results. The next time I re-bed something I will try Maine Sail's butyl tape and his techniques.

srust58 · Dec 29, 2014

gsherwood said:
Found the tape at Hamiltom Marine and since I only need one roll I bought it from them.
http://store.hamiltonmarine.com/browse.cfm/butyl-tape-bed-it-1-2-x-50-roll-755207-/4,59595.html

Looking forward to getting the leaks stopped. Thanks for the help.

Another question. The gudgeon on the rubber is worn and I would like to get one of my buddies with a heliarc rig to build it back up. I didn't see a way to see if there were nuts on the back of the bolts securing the gudgeon to the transom. Is there a threaded plate fiberglassed inside the hull? If not how are the nuts reached to remove them?
Hope I am not asking stupid questions but I am not going to learn any younger.
Thanks for your help.
Gary

I installed an round inspection port that has a screw on cover in the aft wall of the cockpit. It's about 8 inch diameter I think. Came in handy when I mounted a support pole for my solar panel and it does give access to the nuts on the rudder fittings. You can see the top of it behind the gas tank and above my wife's leg in this photo. I would get you a better photo but it's dark and 4 below here tonite....I don't know if I like you THAT much.