Just got the Hunter a month ago. Love the old Hunters!! I have read posting about Drifter (4/2010) and am having the same problem of water below cabin floor. Pretty sure the leak is above water line because I do not get any water accumulation unless it rains. The rest of the cabin, cushions, and interior walls are all dry. All deck hardware seems well sealed but will also check them out this fall when the mast is down. Appears to come in through seams at rub rail and port side locker. Any suggestions?
1987 Hunter 23 water below cabin floor
- Thread starter Vickie Fantozzi
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Join the club. If I had a $1 (inflation) for each post on this topic I have read I could buy another boat. I know I've posted before. The "usual suspects" suggested: Anchor locker and cockpit drain hoses, chainplates plus any & all hardware going through decks as well as the pintles on the transom, and I have also seen the sliding hatchway mentioned as a possibility as supposedly water backs up in the drain slots in heavy rains. Have I left anything out? All I know is, when I have a cover on it it stays bone dry. Out of the water without a cover I would find water inside so it is not from the hull. I've been rebedding everything. I had a major leak at the chain plate am replacing the sidedeck core.
Good luck.
Good luck.
PS
Companionway/hatch Cover. This sounds like a good idea to solve one purported water entry point and they have a great one at the canvas store at this site, but for a 23.5. No H23 or H22 for that matter! I emailed asking if this would work for a 23 and was told to send in a plastic template. I can't believe with all the H23s out there from 85 - 92 that they cant get the dimensions to make a pattern to sell to this market, or havent had one ordered for this huge class. I confess I am too lazy to go mail in a huge sheet of plastic, but what gives? Isnt this the Hunter site?
Companionway/hatch Cover. This sounds like a good idea to solve one purported water entry point and they have a great one at the canvas store at this site, but for a 23.5. No H23 or H22 for that matter! I emailed asking if this would work for a 23 and was told to send in a plastic template. I can't believe with all the H23s out there from 85 - 92 that they cant get the dimensions to make a pattern to sell to this market, or havent had one ordered for this huge class. I confess I am too lazy to go mail in a huge sheet of plastic, but what gives? Isnt this the Hunter site?
Make your own.Sunbrella remnants on Ebay,Canvas snaps ,And my Singer. $40.00.Eliminated water on my 23.5.
Vickie, I had a friend make one for my h23. You can see it in my personal profile. The heavy sunbrella material was about $50. 12' x 60" and the snap kit about $20. She threw the pattern away after she made it. This site will make you one if you make a pattern. If you know anyone who can sew you can do this. She had me buy a heavy clear plastic to make the pattern. I did but she said it needed darts in it so she went to the marina with me and did it right. It covers all the cabin top wood. Good luck. Charles
I have a similar issue, but I think mine is from the cockpit scupper drain cover getting clogged with leaves/debris when on the trailer. A heavy rain then fills the cockpit with up to 5 or 6 inches (maybe more) and I think it gets in through the round access hatch behind the gas tank storage area. I only bought the boat a few months ago, so I haven't had a chance to see if it recurs, or trace any other sources (if it does recur). So far it has not gotten into the cabin sole area, remains in the under cockpit area. I bought a bilge pump and intend to install it under the lazarette, mounted on the aft side of the cabin bulkhead. I have not decided whether to exhaust it via a through-hull into the cockpit, or perhaps to put a tee in the sink drain hose and use the through-hull that already exists for that (assuming I can be sure the water would never rise into the sink).
I had this problem on my 1987 23 and while cleaning under the cockpit floor I hit the (i guess) original cockpit drain hose and cracked it. I replaced it with a universal radiator hose from advance auto parts. While doing this I also took off the drain fitting that is on the transom at the waterline and sealed the heck out of it with 3m 5200. Problem solved! It had to have been leaking when rain came. I saw a boat that sank because of the same problem. It was a $15 fix.
I do have a sunbrella cover over the entire companion way. There is no evidence of water coming in through any window or hatches. Any place there is hardware through the hull is also dry. There is a very slow leak in the anchor locker but not enough to cause that much water accululation. Cockpit hose is intact. Notice water accumulation on the platform for the sink bladder/ battery and then in the locker compartment. Not sure if it runs from there under the cabin floor. The hunt is on.
Mine is not leaking but I have heard that you have to keep an eye on it since it is angled uphill and water/snow accumulates during the winter, freezes and cracks the hose. I think I am going to have to go sit on the boat during a downpour and see what is going on.
Mark,
WOW! That was quite a project. I hope I don't need to go to that extreme. It looks like the water comes in at the rub rail on the port side in the cockpit area. When I pour water over this area and look in the lazarette, I see water coming in through the screw holes and over the seam between the cabin top and the hull. How easy/difficult is the rub rail to get off and back on? I may try to seal the heck out of that side until the mast is down in the fall and make the rub rail a winter project. Afraid to look at the core!! Appreciate your expertise! Vickie
WOW! That was quite a project. I hope I don't need to go to that extreme. It looks like the water comes in at the rub rail on the port side in the cockpit area. When I pour water over this area and look in the lazarette, I see water coming in through the screw holes and over the seam between the cabin top and the hull. How easy/difficult is the rub rail to get off and back on? I may try to seal the heck out of that side until the mast is down in the fall and make the rub rail a winter project. Afraid to look at the core!! Appreciate your expertise! Vickie
Removing the rub rail is simple enough. Start at the stern where you see the joint covered with a plate and two screws; remove. The bitter ends of the rubber are exposed and just pull it out. The plastic mount remains with screws exposed and you can work from there (the entire rail may not need removal/work) Upon reinstallation do not caulk the top or bottom edges. As far as your core goes I wouldn't worry about it much for it adds virtually no structural strength when new- it is just there to have something for the screws to bite into. I got carried away, but am glad I was able to finish the project for it was a bit much.
My wife made a great set of shades for our Hunter 260, she used a nautical materal from a local store and fastened them with two sided tape and velcro. The problem is this year the units have been falling off,possibly because of the excessivw temperatures. I did not want to use screws and was warned not to use screws on the inside bulkhead.
This site sells shades for port lights and hatches. They attach via one half inch screws. One person said the screws were too long. Please render some suggestions. I am not going to screw anything until advised by ones' experiences.
I would keep the ones she made if they could be fastened more permanetly.
Thank you for any suggestions.
Earl Keim II
This site sells shades for port lights and hatches. They attach via one half inch screws. One person said the screws were too long. Please render some suggestions. I am not going to screw anything until advised by ones' experiences.
I would keep the ones she made if they could be fastened more permanetly.
Thank you for any suggestions.
Earl Keim II
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