Hunter 376 1998. Leaking around salon lights

[Greg Mott]

Hello Hunter friends,
I have had my 376 for 3 sessions now. I have made several improvements and we love the boat. I do have a nemesis however. When ever it rains out my 3 lights in the salon leak. I have spent several hours bedding hardware and even watching the direction the water comes from. (Which is from the aft sides.) It is not wet around the mast. I have also pulled the windshield and re-bed the halyard roller bar. Any ideas or solutions would be greatly appreciated!

 

[shemandr]

Those lights remind me of a blender with a removable blade on the bottom. The well will fill with water and come out the bottom. On a boat I was on the window wiper washing tube had become disconnected from the tube on the blade. We awoke to a big bulge in the headliner centered at the light. Removal of the light promptly put gallons of water on the salon sole. I know that story doesn't answer your problem but it keeps the thread from slipping away.
Assuming water doesn't run uphill, water's leaking in that well from somewhere higher. How about those skylights? The seal with the liner may be in tact but the one of the deck may not.
Search threads for a technique to find leaks. The short version is to seal the cabin with plastic, pressurize it, and paint soapy water around suspicious areas.

 

[Greg Mott]

Hi Shemandr,
Thanks for the quick response and not letting this thread get lost. I like you idea of re bedding the hatches. I will pull one this summer and see if they could be the culprit.

 

[rgranger]

WWater can get in just about anywhere on top and then travel along the surface of that headliner for quite some time before finds a way out

you’ll either need to re-bed everything on top.


Or you can try placing different colors of food coloring at suspected places and then water it with a hose and see what color ends up in the light

 

[Greg Mott]

Rgranger
Food coloring is probably what it’s going to take. I was hoping someone has had this problem and would lead me right to the source, but I knew this was going to be a difficult find. Thanks for your reply!

 

[Ed.S]

Rgranger
Food coloring is probably what it’s going to take. I was hoping someone has had this problem and would lead me right to the source, but I knew this was going to be a difficult find. Thanks for your reply!

 

[Ed.S]

I had the same problem on my 376. I found it was leaking around the screws which hold the cover to the halyard roller bar. I sealed the holes with silicon and reinstalled the screws and the problem went away. The screw holes can let a large amount of water in. i would try this first before going crazy with other solutions.
Ed.S
SV/ Privateer

 

[Greg Mott]

Hi Ed.s
I am not sure what you mean about a cover over the halyard roller bar? My bar was cover by the windshield. I re bed the roller bar bracket screws when i removed the windshield. I would love to reseal those screws but it does not seem they are accessible without removing the windshield. And I am never doing that again!!! please look at attached picture and let me know what you think. Do you have a picture of the cover you sealed by chance?

Thanks

 

[rgranger]

. The short version is to seal the cabin with plastic, pressurize it, and paint soapy water around suspicious areas.

@Crazy Dave Condon has recommended this in the past

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

An old marina yard trick is to pressurizing the cabin and look for air bubbling out from anything screwed, bolted or sealed onto the deck by brushing soapy water with a brush out of a bucket of soapy water. You may have to tape the forward hatch, close all ports tightly and cover the entire companionway with a piece of plastic. Cut a hole just big enough for a leaf blower and insert a leaf blower tube into the plastic and tape around that too. Then turn it on to pressurizing the cabin. A second person will have to brush down the fittings, rubrail, and anything else going thru the deck. I used to teach that at Beneteau, Catalina and Hunter too.

did not catch the bar issue so a further explanation is needed.

However, there is a discussion of screws and screw holes for holding the windows. First, industry use of Dow 795 sealant is used with screws in place temporarily holding the windows in place until the sealant has sufficiently dried. The screws are then removed. All screw holes are then filled with Dow 795. Remember that opening ports and windows are plastics that will shrink or expand with change of temperatures and screws left in place can and will crack those opening ports and windows.

 

[Ed.S]

Hi Ed.s
I am not sure what you mean about a cover over the halyard roller bar? My bar was cover by the windshield. I re bed the roller bar bracket screws when i removed the windshield. I would love to reseal those screws but it does not seem they are accessible without removing the windshield. And I am never doing that again!!! please look at attached picture and let me know what you think. Do you have a picture of the cover you sealed by chance?

ThanksView attachment 212266View attachment 212266

Actually, I should have been more specific. It is the two panels aft of the windscreen. Take the panels off, dab the screw holes with caulk then replace the panels. The caulk will seal the screw holes as they are replaced. Fixed my leak problem.
Thanks and good luck.
Ed.S
S/V Privateer

 

[Greg Mott]

An old marina yard trick is to pressurizing the cabin and look for air bubbling out from anything screwed, bolted or sealed onto the deck by brushing soapy water with a brush out of a bucket of soapy water. You may have to tape the forward hatch, close all ports tightly and cover the entire companionway with a piece of plastic. Cut a hole just big enough for a leaf blower and insert a leaf blower tube into the plastic and tape around that too. Then turn it on to pressurizing the cabin. A second person will have to brush down the fittings, rubrail, and anything else going thru the deck. I used to teach that at Beneteau, Catalina and Hunter too.

did not catch the bar issue so a further explanation is needed.

However, there is a discussion of screws and screw holes for holding the windows. First, industry use of Dow 795 sealant is used with screws in place temporarily holding the windows in place until the sealant has sufficiently dried. The screws are then removed. All screw holes are then filled with Dow 795. Remember that opening ports and windows are plastics that will shrink or expand with change of temperatures and screws left in place can and will crack those opening ports and windows.


Thanks Dave, I have never heard of pressurizing the hull before. I will give this a try!

 

[Greg Mott]

Thanks Dave, I have never heard of pressurizing the hull before. I will give this a try!

 

[DSqr]

I also have leaking through the lights on my H376. We had it fixed by sealing the screw holes on the deck panel just aft of the large port, but it started leaking again in the late fall. We'll be pulling the panel and resealing the screw holes once I can shovel the snow off of the deck.

 

[BroncoJohn]

I had the same leak on our 386. For me the water was coming in the screw holes on the solar panel deck plate that covers my lines.