1982 H30 V-birth leak

kito · Jul 12, 2015

Also re-bed the forward hatch. You may not see it leaking there. Water leaks in and flows down under the liner to god knows where. Definitely tighten all the nuts on the toe rail and apply a small bead of sealant on the toe rail and deck seam. I ran a tiny bead and smoothed it with my finger on that seam. No more leaks.

Steve Dion · Jul 12, 2015

I would also try torque get all of the toe rail bolts. It was originally bedded with butyl.

R/R the toe rail is a tough job.

rardiH36 · Jul 13, 2015

I wrote up a description of my toe rail bolt tightening experience done several years ago. The below url should get you there. One variant since then was pointed out by John Cherubini. That is snug up, but don't over tighten which causes all of the butyl caulk still in the joint from manufacture date to be squeezed out/fully compressed.

http://forums.hunter.sailboatowners.com/showthread.php?p=601448&highlight=toe rail socket

EdWard3 · Jul 13, 2015

bgbailey said:
I've tried everything I can think of to get rid of the pesty leak in my forward v-birth locker. Help!!!

Re-bedded handrails, replaced port lights, surveyed the bow pulpit, repaired anchor locker drain leak...I think . Dow Corning 795. My next stop maybe to think about toe rail. Anyone had a similar issue?? Thanks for any help on this issue !!
I will post pics to show the leak water lines.

So I don't know if this will be helpful... I had similar frustration with water coming in to the forward v-birth. At first I couldn't quite pin down where the leak was originating from. I tightened toe rail bolts, rebedded hardware that was on the forward deck, etc. One day I was removing standing water from the anchor locker trough, you know the channel that surrounds the anchor locker door. There are two holes drilled in this channel , at the low point of the channel, to drain water in to the anchor locker itself. Upon further inspection of these holes, I noticed that not only did they channel the water in to anchor locker but who ever drilled the hole drilled through the thin anchor wall of the forward birth. Water was being drained in to the wood housing of the forward birth. Rotting the wood away over a period years, including the plywood that the anchor eye bolt mounts to.

I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Did a previous owner drill these holes carelessly? But I thought Hunter must of designed the anchor locker channel to drain water in to the locker, and did they carelessly drill through anchor lock wall?

Anyway, I sealed all holes and redrilled two new drain holes more forward so water is not channeled against the anchor locker wall.

I had to rip all the wood out of the forward birth/and locker and rebuild. The boat has been perfectly dry since then.

http://forums.hunter.sailboatowners.com//www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/

ggrizzard · Jul 15, 2015

Also check the port lights. I had to replace mine 10 years ago. The Gray/Pompanette original frames and gaskets failed.

kito · Jul 30, 2015

I had that orange colored stuff too. I figured it was from the wood core material being saturated and oozing out juice. Kinda like whiskey turning dark in oak barrels.

DianaOfBurlington · Aug 6, 2015

My H25's little rode locker had a similar problem to what Ed Ward describes; only I was saved by my boat's not having a deck hatch for it, only the hawse-pipe deck fitting. The forward v-berth bulkhead was so sloppily fitted to the hull that there was an honest-to-goodness 3/8" gap for the gooky water from the slimy wet rode to seep (or, just course like a wave) in under the v-berth cushion. I relocated the rode(s) aft; but for the forward little locker I sealed the whole gap with sticks, fiberglass tape, epoxy putty and monumental gobs of 5200, all sculpted in as fairly as I could get it. Remember this is beneath the top surface of the berth cushion, so you'll have to be a nit-picking OCD visitor to perceive it. :naughty:

Lately the running-light eyes have been left open (good air for when boat is under a cover) and the PVC drain system I installed, to drain the forward locker and both bays under the berth all independently to the sump where the through-hulls are (keeps them dry from each other), carries all aft to where the pump(s) can get it. No more leaks into the v-berth. So score another one for me against the cost-saving whims of Hunter Marine Corp, circa 1974.

DianaOfBurlington · Aug 6, 2015

What Rardi said

rardiH36 said:

I wrote up a description of my toe rail bolt tightening experience done several years ago. The below url should get you there. One variant since then was pointed out by John Cherubini. That is snug up, but don't over tighten which causes all of the butyl caulk still in the joint from manufacture date to be squeezed out/fully compressed.

http://forums.hunter.sailboatowners.com/showthread.php?p=601448&highlight=toe rail socket

Click to expand

I can't recall what I said in the post Rardi mentions; but at the risk of repeating I'll just say that I do it just like Rardi says in his 2009 post (the link). However I have been replacing, only where necessary, the carriage bolts with hex-heads, on which you can just drop a box-end wrench while you go below to tighten up. I use Delran washers to isolate the stainless bolts from the aluminum toerail. Underneath, the boat seems to accept 1-1/4" fender washers. (I get all my fasteners from boltdepot.com. Check 'em out.) If you have lots of little 7/16" wrenches you can save trips up and down the companionway. :dance:

One 'last-ditch' measure you can take is, when all this tightening is done, to neatly tape off the rail and deck and run a very clean, entirely-acceptable bead of black 4000-UV along the inside edge. The 4000-UV kicks off fast, so follow yourself with a paint cup of water, dip your finger frequently and smooth down your bead as you go (4000, 4200 and 5200 won't stick to a wet finger; you can still go to church next day). Then peel back the tape ASAP (like within minutes).

Leave the boat like that for half a season, or at least till the rail has not been awash with seawater or rain for like two weeks straight. Then go along the lower edge, outside, the same way, and seal that sucker solid. This relies on solidly-tightened mounting bolts and plenty of black 4200 or 5200 in there too; but you already did that. Done this way, the rail will never flex or part; and I can't possibly see how it would leak either. Just don't forget the ends!

One caveat: butyl tape (which Hunter probably did not use till at least 1977 or '78; there was none on my boat) sort of relies on the parts' having more need to move independently than does 5200. Also it doesn't add much strength at all. I prefer 5200 for anything structural (which the toerail most certainly is) and for anything underwater (which you should assume a hull-deck seam most certainly us). Sealing up both the deck and hull edges over butyl tape might just give you the opportunity to do this all over again when water seeps through the bolt holes and addresses the butyl tape (again).

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