Leak from deck - Two Questions

[John]

I have just recently noticed that I have a significant leak from the deck. When it rains, lot of water gathers in the very forward part of the "v" of the V berth. I also had water coming in through the hatch over the main salon area. I stopped this by jamming something inbetween the latch and the hatch itself, thus forcing the hatch down tighter. (This did not stop the water coming in at the v berth, though.) These are Lewmar hatches, and according to the worker who was billed to me as the "Lewmar expert" at a nearby boatyard, this must show that the hatch is twisted in some way.

About a month ago I hit a rock at the bottom of the keel. The boat bounced up and over it. (I have since had the boat hauled and that damage has been taken care of.) I am not certain, but it seems to me that the leak problem only started after that. I have two questions:

1)Is it possible that when I hit the rock that the force was transferred up to the deck and in some way distorted the hatches?

2)Once I find the source of the water and fix that problem, what will happen to the moisture that is in the core of the deck? Assuming that this is fairly recent, will this moisture still remain trapped in the core and cause damage? And if so, is there any way to dry this core out without peeling the top off, etc.?

 

[philwsailz]

What boat do you have?

Several Catalinas have had issues with the anchor locker drain being compromised and allowing water to come in under the anchor locker at the v-berth. You might check that. If you determine that as a cause, regardless of brand, a piece of tube can be used to affect a repair. On L.L.attitudes, I used a piece of spare water line from a residential ice maker plumbing kit. I cut it way long, bedded it in thoroughly with 3M 4000 so that I basically had totally filled the old drain hole with tubing and 4000. I took special care to make sure I had a nice fillet all the way around in the locker so that no water could seep between the new tube and the old drain wall. I let the compound cure for several days, and then I trimmed both ends of the tube flush. No more wet v-berth! If this is your culprit, you probably have no wet core to worry about.

I have serious personal doubt that your grounding had an effect. This is just my opinion, but I believe that our fiberglass boats routinely flex and move around a little. I seriously doubt that you somehow have introduced any kind of permanent "set" to the boat that would have skewed the hatch to a point it was not operating properly. Again though, this is just my opinion, and crazier things have happened....

 

[Alan]

Finding the leak is a relatively easy project. Seal up the V berth area with duct tape and using a shop vac in reverse you force air into that area. On the outside of the boat you spray soapy water everywhere. The bubbles will indicate the leaks.
If the deck is cored? and if it is wet (a moisture meter will tell you) the core will need to be dried out before repairs begin. A heat lamp well placed will do the job of drying.

 

[John]

photo:

What boat do you have?

Several Catalinas have had issues with the anchor locker drain being compromised and allowing water to come in under the anchor locker at the v-berth. You might check that. If you determine that as a cause, regardless of brand, a piece of tube can be used to affect a repair. On L.L.attitudes, I used a piece of spare water line from a residential ice maker plumbing kit. I cut it way long, bedded it in thoroughly with 3M 4000 so that I basically had totally filled the old drain hole with tubing and 4000. I took special care to make sure I had a nice fillet all the way around in the locker so that no water could seep between the new tube and the old drain wall. I let the compound cure for several days, and then I trimmed both ends of the tube flush. No more wet v-berth! If this is your culprit, you probably have no wet core to worry about.
quote]

Alan, are you saying that you put the tubing down the old drain hole, thus sealing it from the inside? If that's what you did, then the drawback would be that the drain hole is smaller, in effect.

by the way, I have a C 36 Mark II (1998).

 

[philwsailz]

What boat do you have?

Several Catalinas have had issues with the anchor locker drain being compromised and allowing water to come in under the anchor locker at the v-berth. You might check that. If you determine that as a cause, regardless of brand, a piece of tube can be used to affect a repair. On L.L.attitudes, I used a piece of spare water line from a residential ice maker plumbing kit. I cut it way long, bedded it in thoroughly with 3M 4000 so that I basically had totally filled the old drain hole with tubing and 4000. I took special care to make sure I had a nice fillet all the way around in the locker so that no water could seep between the new tube and the old drain wall. I let the compound cure for several days, and then I trimmed both ends of the tube flush. No more wet v-berth! If this is your culprit, you probably have no wet core to worry about.
quote]

Alan, are you saying that you put the tubing down the old drain hole, thus sealing it from the inside? If that's what you did, then the drawback would be that the drain hole is smaller, in effect.

by the way, I have a C 36 Mark II (1998).

You are correct in understanding that the drain will be smaller with the remedy I implemented. I have also seen a similar repair done with a short length of copper tubing, flared on one end to be captured in the anchor locker, and similarly bedded. The copper tube's thinner wall section leave a larger opening.

My decision to use plastic hose was based on its flexibility. Had I found a thinner-walled tube, I would have preferred to go with it for the larger opening. To date though, I am experiencing no issues with the smaller drain.

 

[John]

I think I found the leak. I had installed a "down" foot switch for the windless and it seemed to be leaking from there. I should have checked it for leads when I first installed it, but in any case I pulled it out and re-caulked it.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Fixed the Leak

Good for you, John, well done.

I keep saying: Smells and leaks and wiring are impossible to help with on the internet. Ya just gotta BE there.