help boat leaking

Paul Brinkley · Aug 30, 2009

Dennis, there should be two holes there: one with the wing nut adjustment and another 1" diameter hole that should be closed with a regular boat drain plug. If the wing nut is screwed down tight and the drain plug is in place there should be no water coming in. Actually, if you're sitting in a slip, there should be no water coming in even with those holes open unless your boat is very heavily loaded. You may want to check the flexible hose under the galley where your centerboard cable comes through to see if you are leaking there. If so, you could be filling the bilge until water comes out the cover over the water ballast controls. Those should be the only places water can enter the boat below the waterline. Good luck. Let us know what happened. -Paul

beamreach · Aug 31, 2009

I have the same year model as yours. You have 2 circular plates screwed into the top of your ballast tank. One is located under and a bit forward of the sink. The other is accessible by removing the black plastic cover plate in the floor on the way to the head. If the caulk has failed on one or both of these plates, it could cause your problem. BWY has the seals for your tank in the area Paul is talking about or you can make some from mouse pads for a quick fix. The big one under the wing nut gets hard as a rock over time and will not seal properly. Glue your piece of mouse pad to the botom of it with GOOP. You've got one below on the bottom too. It gets cracked with age and continues to let water in. You'll have to pull the whole thing out to replace that one. Not a lot of work, but you need the boat out of the water.

MrBill_FLL · Aug 31, 2009

need more info please.

-I was not aware of any holes in the ballast except the bottom (plug) top wing nut screw (top of plug), and the vent (typical rubber boat plug).

none of these should leak into the cabin, unless the boat is overloaded, and sits below the normal water line (boot stripe).

however, if the boat leaks from rain water, and is allowed to accumulate for weeks or months that added water could put the water line lower and then water could enter from the vent or the screw fitting.

-does Beamreach describe ALL S models? (I have a D,) w/ inspection plates...

Sumner · Aug 31, 2009

beamreach said:
I have the same year model as yours. You have 2 circular plates screwed into the top of your ballast tank. One is located under and a bit forward of the sink. The other is accessible by removing the black plastic cover plate in the floor on the way to the head..............

Do you have a picture of these by any chance? I can't find anything like that on our '90 S. Like Bill I was only aware of the vent and the control rod hole for the bottom valve.

Thanks,

Sum

beamreach · Aug 31, 2009

I think sometime in '93 the setup for the bolt the centerboard pivots on was changed from a bracket accessible from the boat's bottom, like yours Sum and Mr.B, to an internal bolt accessible only through two, about 6" diameter, holes covered by fberglass plates caulked and screwed over these holes. The holes, one located under the sink, giving access to one side of the bolt, the other under the floor, there's a black plastic cover that covers the access hole to that plate, which gives access to the other end of the bolt. The bolt of course goes through the centerboard case and provides a pivot point for the centerboard. I believe there are rubber washers on each side to seal the bolt. I have never pulled mine but have removed the plate under the sink because I had a leak there. I shined a flashlight in there directly into the ballast tank and could see one end of the bolt and what looked like a rubber washer under a flat washer. It would take two people to remove this bolt, one outside the sink area in that hole and one under the sink area in the opposing hole. I don't look forward to this job if I ever have to do it and I probably will someday. I like the setup you guys have much better and can't understand why Macgregor changed except that it probably cost them more to make that nice stainless bracket. Sorry, can't post pictures except in my album. Never understood why.

Sumner · Aug 31, 2009

beamreach said:
I think sometime in '93 the setup for the bolt the centerboard pivots on was changed from a bracket accessible from the boat's bottom, like yours Sum and Mr.B, to an internal bolt accessible only through two, about 6" diameter, holes covered by fberglass plates caulked and screwed over these holes. The holes, one located under the sink, giving access to one side of the bolt, the other under the floor, there's a black plastic cover that covers the access hole to that plate, which gives access to the other end of the bolt. The bolt of course goes through the centerboard case and provides a pivot point for the centerboard. I believe there are rubber washers on each side to seal the bolt. I have never pulled mine but have removed the plate under the sink because I had a leak there. I shined a flashlight in there directly into the ballast tank and could see one end of the bolt and what looked like a rubber washer under a flat washer. It would take two people to remove this bolt, one outside the sink area in that hole and one under the sink area in the opposing hole. I don't look forward to this job if I ever have to do it and I probably will someday. I like the setup you guys have much better and can't understand why Macgregor changed except that it probably cost them more to make that nice stainless bracket. Sorry, can't post pictures except in my album. Never understood why.

Thanks that explaines it fine and I'll quit looking. I do have that bracket,

Sum

Paul Brinkley · Sep 2, 2009

Okay, so what's happening? What was the source of the leak? -Paul

Paul Brinkley · Sep 7, 2009

Dennis - Those of us who have 26S boats are very curious as to what happened and what fixed it. Give us a word, will you? -Paul

Tab · Sep 9, 2009

More on my 1990 26S leak. At launch I discovered that my ballast filled higher than it usually does. All I could do about that was say "Noted". Then overnight, the bilge started filling with water. After bailing it out, I noticed that the ballast was now very low. So I assume the water ballast is leaking into the bilge. I understand that the centerboard pivot bolt is not involved with the ballast tank and therefore not an issue. Is this true or not?
-Tab

beamreach · Sep 11, 2009

Which year is it?

Tab said:
More on my 1990 26S leak. At launch I discovered that my ballast filled higher than it usually does. All I could do about that was say "Noted". Then overnight, the bilge started filling with water. After bailing it out, I noticed that the ballast was now very low. So I assume the water ballast is leaking into the bilge. I understand that the centerboard pivot bolt is not involved with the ballast tank and therefore not an issue. Is this true or not?
-Tab

In your first post you stated you have a '93 Mac, now you say it's a '90. There is a big difference in the way the board mounts in each. I have a '93 and yes water can leake into the ballast tank around the centerboard bolt in a '93 if your seals are cracked or gone but then your tank would remain full. What is the definite year of your boat?

help boat leaking

dglindaman

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