Hunter 260 - Big Problems - Water Ballast?

[flynhi4u]

Ah-ha! The Pogo syndrome ... "We have met the enemy, and he is us." I'm sure the shoes needed to be washed anyway

That was actually Cindy take on the whole situation. She handled it much better than I did. After a year in the making the trip just kind of unfolded in a unplanned way. We made the best of it but it was far from what I had hoped for. Darn boats

Sam

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

Sam;
I have made many mistakes over the years and learned all too well. A good example taking down a mast of a H 26 at night with everything tangled up. It came down and then headed to florida for a new mast. Two days later new mast on and a lot out of my pocket. Called the customer advising all is fixed which he was pleased. Customer called a few days later and liked some improvments when the beans were spilled. He was grateful I took care of it quickly. He purchased another boat knowing I took care of my children or boats.

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

@Tyler Rippel
Questions have been posed here and no response back. we are here to help and assist but cooperation on your part is needed.

 

[ArcticFarx]

I had the same issue with mine for the past 2 years. I did all the steps the guys have suggested and still was finding water in the bilge area and often on the sole of the cabin. Sealed compression post, check. Died the water in the ballast tank, check. (Water found after that had no color). Checked all the seals and rings for the potable water tank and hoses, check.

Then our boat was stored indoors for a year (transported from Alberta to Ontario). She was good and dry. We moved her out into the yard pending access to our marina (still on the trailer). We returned 2 weeks later to launch her and... WATER! The only source available at this point is rain. Turns out the sealant in the seam of the cockpit floor had decayed and every time it rained (or snowed), water was pouring into the boat and pooling under the sole.
A bit of cleanup to remove the old stuff with a putty knife, and a single tube of 5200 to reseal the seam from the stern scoop to the main sheet and we've been dry ever since.

Best of luck. /)

 

[Rick Macdonald]

AR...I can't picture what seam you sealed?

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

water from the companionway if boat not level dripping from the drip rail adjacent to the companionway or from that stopper piece of wood where the caulk has separated. Maybe that cover over the companionway with a throwable cushion underneath would resolve that

As for the wood underneath the cabin floor laminate, I hope the poster allowed that water to dry underneath or he eventually will be replacing it. I hope he did not use 5200 to seal around that floor wood laminate. I would hate to be the one cleaning that if the floor piece has to be removed.

 

[Doug J]

Don't keep us in suspense, man! What was the leak?

Talk about suspense! Tyler Rippel are you going to follow up with your original post and either give us more information or tell us what happened?

 

[flynhi4u]

Come on man, I came clean about my leak, Tylers turn now LOL!

Sam

 

[Doug J]

Maybe Tyler is too embarrassed to admit something.
It's okay we all have made mistakes - me probably more than average.

 

[Kermit]

He hasn’t been here since Sunday. He only posted once. I guess he’s a One Hit Wonder.

 

[flynhi4u]

He hasn’t been here since Sunday. He only posted once. I guess he’s a One Hit Wonder.

As long as he has a boat he will have problems and more questions. He will be back LOL

Sam

 

[Kermit]

As long as he has a boat he will have problems and more questions. He will be back LOL

Sam

Now there’s a sales pitch for boat ownership if I’ve ever seen one.

 

[flynhi4u]

Now there’s a sales pitch for boat ownership if I’ve ever seen one.

Well I was just being honest.

Sam

 

[Kermit]

Well I was just being honest.

Sam

The truth shall set you free!

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

Flynhi4u
You are correct that since we have not heard back from the O P, he may be embarrassed but to all, there are no dumb questions regarding sailboats and if there is, I can tell you all of us have asked a dumb question a time or two. Better to be safe than sorry. I believe we will hear back from him in the future and will be glad to help. Yes it is frustrating when a question is posed and there is no feed back from a O P as to what occurred some are reluctant not to respond to this fellow in the future. I will regardless.

 

[JimInPB]

@flynhi4u
Good morning young man but 5200 is a slow 7 day cure but permanent as some call it Satan's glue.
4200 is not permanent but cures much faster I think within 24 hours.

5200 actually comes in a few different flavors. The standard stuff takes a week to dry. The "fast dry" version takes a day, assuming 50% humidity & normal room temperature. It actually dries faster if the temperature & humidity are a little higher. Alcohol prevents it from drying for some reason.

http://multimedia.3m.com/mws/media/576967O/3mtm-marine-adhesive-sealant-fast-cure-5200.pdf

The OP said that he used the fast dry version, so that should be a 24 hour cure time under standard conditions.

Other variations of 5200 include different colors.

 

[Kermit]

Alcohol prevents lots of things from happening in my case.

 

[Tyler Rippel]

@Tyler Rippel
Questions have been posed here and no response back. we are here to help and assist but cooperation on your part is needed.

Sent a follow up personal message, thank you @Crazy Dave Condon for your offer to help.

Thanks to everyone else as well. I left on a flight to Paris the next day after posting and have just returned.

The boat didn't seem to take on any more water after it was cleared. It took a couple hours. We ran the bilge for a while until it got below the line where the bilge was effective, then bailed the water from the floor to the bilge to finish clearing it out. I left while my wife cleared the rest of the water to retrieve the trailer 30 minutes away, then came back and pulled the boat 6-8 hours later after needing to leave to coach a soccer game (once we knew we had a dock neighbor to check on the boat and report if more water entered or not). We didn't take on more water in that time at all. I did open up the valves earlier to ensure the ballast tank was full, and closed them, but maybe something blocked the seal? No idea. Will wait to hear from Dave and report back.

 

[Doug J]

Thanks for getting back to us and not keeping us in suspense. Sounds like good news. My guess is something was going on with the ballast tank valve. So, are you saying the boat is still in the water and was never pulled out on the trailer?

 

[Tyler Rippel]

Tyler,
How long was the boat in the water prior to midnight?
You said; "it seems to have stabilized/stopped for the time being". Did you pull the boat out of the water right after that? Or was it in the water for some considerable time after and no more water accumulation? Sounds like the boat is still in the water, is that correct?

Since you are new to the boat and maybe water ballasted boats, it seems likely the ballast tank valve and plug may not have been tight.

Tell us more about the "chemical toilet". Is it a fully self contained porta pottie? Is it MSD? Is there a thru hull valve?

I'm really curious to learn the explanation for what happened. That's a lot of water, 4-5 inches in the cabin

How long did it take for the bilge pump to pump out all that water. At least you know it works good!

It had been in the water the whole season. I did re-open the ballast tank/valve to ensure it was full, and most likely screwed something up from there. It didn't hit me right away but maybe some scum or stick was initially preventing it from fully tightening, no idea?

Fully independent porta potty, yes.

The bilge cleared what was in the bilge area quickly - maybe 5-10 minutes? Then the cabin water was bailed into the bilge for further clearing, albeit much more slowly.

I did crank on the ballast plug more and re-open and seal the ballast air valve, and then it seemed to have stopped. The thing that got me was how I swear a saw a stream of water shooting up from the floor insert while there was still water in the cabin (under water). My wife saw it as well. Maybe the water did drain to the bilge but "neatly" exited the bilge to the cabin along the base of the mattress without getting us wet, and then the floor was shooting AIR up into the water, which would likely be more noticeable when viewing the pin hole under water anyway.

It's likely my dumb mistake, but we'll confirm shortly, hopefully