I have a 1984 26ft O'Day, and i'm having anchor locker leaking problems, any ideas out there? I've tried the silicon thing, worked for awhile.
Anchor Locker leak
- Thread starter svsabbatical26
- Start date
- Status
I don't have an anchor locker on my O'Day 222, but I found a leak inside the upper bow compartment of my boat last year. I had a pull-over sweatshirt tucked into the bow compartment and when I went to grab it one day to put it on, I found out that it was soaking wet. I couldn't see where the water was coming in and I thought that it might be coming in from a screw hole under the Port gunwale molding which I removed and recaulked. It turned out to be the first screw that holds the Teak cap rail on the bow. The bung was missing and as I looked a little closer, I could see a little daylight under the end of the rail. The screw must have popped up and the bung popped out. I later affirmed that this was where the water was coming in when I ran my garden hose over the bow. I don't like silicon. Silicon really doesn't stick all that well and it acts like more of a gasket than a caulking. Although, silicon is kinder to plastic hardware than Polysulfide caulking, which can have a bad chemical reaction to plastic, I have been using Dow Corning 795 for hardware such as deck plates, plastic hatches, and it's also good for port lights.
For the Teak toe rail; I had to remove the wood screw and countersink the hole a little deeper for the bung. Then I took a Popsicle stick and applied a small amount or 3-M 5200 and used a screwdriver to lift the end of the toe rail up enough to coat the area underneath with the caulking. I put the screw back in and glued a new 3/8" bung in place. The next day I cut and sanded the bung down to the surface and ran the garden hose over the bow and that cured the leak.
My all time favorite caulking is 3-M 4000 uv fast cure caulking,or 4200, or 5200 for anything like metal hardware or wood. Between the the 3-M and the DC 795, these caulking tubes will last for years if stored in a cool place. I've used BoatLife Boat Caulk, but it isn't as good as the 3-M. I bought a new tube of BL one day and it had set up. I wound up bending the trigger on my caulking gun.
I found another leak a few weeks ago that was coming in from around the bolt threads that hold my tension bar under the Tabernacle. It was just a tiny leak of a few drops. I had to remove my Tabernacle to get at that bolt. Tiny leaks and large leaks can turn into big problems down the road and they are best taken care of as soon as possible.
Good luck!
Joe
I have on Oday 23, which has an anchor locker. Not sure if it is similar to the one on the 26. Last fall I noticed a leak in the bow and further investigation revealed a leak where the drain hose exits the boat through the stem. I tore it apart this spring and was surprised to see that the hose was simply fed through the stem with a generous amount of caulk and capped with a plastic fitting. Judging by the rotten wood in the stem, it had been leaking for awhile. Still not sure how I am going to fix it, but I am leaning towards installing a proper thru-hull fitting and plugging the old hull. I can't figure out how to bed a thru-hull on the curved surface of the stem, so will likely relocate further back to a flat portion at about the same level.
- Status