Unknown water infiltration

[Urban Hermit]

Trailered a just-bought 16 home from Sarasota to Pensacola. Drove through a brief period of light rain. Put it in the carport then pulled it out onto an upward-slanting driveway to work on it. It's been there several days, slightly bow-up. We've had rain at night but I don't think of gully-washer intensity. Yesterday I sucked over a big shop-vac full of clean water out of it. I can see no infiltration point (hatch back, drop board and lazarette cover in place) unless the upward slant defeated the slight downward slant of the lazarette drain, allowing rainwater to flow inside over the back edge. Don't think this is the source because it would take days, maybe weeks, of heavy rain for that much water to leak in around the back of the lazarette hatch. No sign of wetness inside the cabin at all.

Anyone know of a rainwater vulnerability? I didn't have such a problem with my first Compac 16. Wondering if the seller washed the boat out and didn't get all the water out. I've contacted him twice since the sail about a couple of other issues and have not gotten replies.

 

[shemandr]

If your boat has a liner and there is space between the liner and the hull, water can accumulate in that space - by various reasons. When the boat is tilted the water will move accordingly and may then pool somewhere that can be seen by you. Is there a drain on the transom for the water between the hull and liner?
That's all I have.

 

[Urban Hermit]

If your boat has a liner and there is space between the liner and the hull, water can accumulate in that space - by various reasons. When the boat is tilted the water will move accordingly and may then pool somewhere that can be seen by you. Is there a drain on the transom for the water between the hull and liner?
That's all I have.

Thanx -- no liner aft of the cabin; no sign of wetness forward. No drain. I put a drain plug in my other Compac and will probably do the same here. Pretty sure at least some is coming in at the back of the lazarette hatch but so much ? ? ?

 

[jssailem]

It is a boat, and water wants to get into it. The primary purpose of a boat is to keep the water outside the hull. This is hard to do when water is attacking from the sky.

You can isolate the water ingress by putting a tarp over the boat. If the same amount of water is in the boat, then it has been there hidden by the interior liner.

You can peel back the tarp, revealing places for water to ingress, trying to reveal the place where you have a problem.

Despite my basic physics knowledge base, I am amazed to discover water flowing uphill into the boat at times.

 

[Benny17441]

Like you said the seller may have washed the boat and water may have collected under the sole of the cabin. The usual infiltrations of water in boats without through hull valves, tanks and plumbing are: washes, sea spray, rain, cooler leaks, drink spills and wet bathing suits. I used to have a 21' sailer that leaked like a sift through the keel trunk and installed a Transom Plug in it and used to store it with the front end of the trailer lifted and the plug removed.