1994 40.5 Pedestal cableway leak

[charris]

Hello all, when it rains hard, my Bimini will leak. Then water drips down onto my pedestal/table unit which has the removable drink holder/bin. Water runs into the pedestal area where all my cabling for the plotter and instruments, autopilot etc run. Water then runs down these cables, through the cable entry port at the bottom of the pedestal unit and then drips right onto the middle of the aft cabin mattress. I have messed with sealants and spray foam with limited success, but hate to seal it up because it makes cable maintenance miserable if not impossible if all the cables are bedded together.

How are other 40.5 owners dealing with this. The cable way at the bottom of the pedestal housing is raised up off the bottom, so heavy water will run out the back of the housing just fine, but leakage will run down the cables and through this cable way. Thanks for any help

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

Had the same problem with the 40.5 we owned. After plugging the drain hole in the removable container, we had no further problem. Alternatively, you could simply lay a piece of plastic over the cup holder.

 

[Rich Stidger]

Our drink holder has no drain hole. My understanding is that it was designed to hold ice and cans/bottles of beverage, thus a drain hole would be most undesirable. Take Don's advice and plug the hole.

As for the cable entrance, I have had several instances where water has entered. Cable access is only needed when running a new cable, so I recommend that you seal this area very well with caulk. I found it necessary to work the caulk extremely well around the cables in order to eliminate any voids where water can find it's way in.

I actually drilled a new hole for additional cables so that I wouldn't need to disturb the original hole and caulked cables, and I sealed that one up as well.

 

[Steve Dion]

Do you have a cover for the pedestal? They sell them on this site. If you have one made of Sunbrella Plus you can probably eliminate the problem.

 

[Rick D]

I did the same thing Rich S. did but I have found sealing the wire run with plumbers putty works well and allows me to dig it out later if needed. I think that, if you want to do a good job, you need to pull the AP motor to get proper access. Good luck! I suspect you tend to get a lot of rain in Maz! if you run into Linda & Orlando on Cuba Libre, say hello for me.

 

[Marco Garcia]

Same as above. Plugged the container and through pipe where the cables go down. Have never had an issue there.

 

[charris]

Thanks everyone. Some great input. I do have a cover, but needed a solution under way when we aren't using the cover. I do not have a drainhole in the removable bin, but water runs down its sides. Draping a cover over will work but not great under way. The winning suggestion for me: using plumbers putty! Great idea, moldable so I can make it like a mushroom and have the water run off into the bottom and out the back and easy to dig out to replace cabling. Silicone would work but is such a ***** to dig out. Thanks a bunch for all the assist. Rick I have seen Cube Libre around, will say hi when I'm over there (in La Paz right now). Thanks again everyone

 

[artboas]

Different wiring run

Hello all, when it rains hard, my Bimini will leak. Then water drips down onto my pedestal/table unit which has the removable drink holder/bin. Water runs into the pedestal area where all my cabling for the plotter and instruments, autopilot etc run. Water then runs down these cables, through the cable entry port at the bottom of the pedestal unit and then drips right onto the middle of the aft cabin mattress. I have messed with sealants and spray foam with limited success, but hate to seal it up because it makes cable maintenance miserable if not impossible if all the cables are bedded together.

How are other 40.5 owners dealing with this. The cable way at the bottom of the pedestal housing is raised up off the bottom, so heavy water will run out the back of the housing just fine, but leakage will run down the cables and through this cable way. Thanks for any help

On my 40.5, I ran all the cables differently, and had zero problems
What I did was run the cabling aft into the steering radial drive compartment .
I then ran it off to the side in the stbd cockpit locker.
Put a bunch of silicone in the hole, and it was great.
Ok, I don't expect you to re-run all your cAbling, but I have an excellent no-leak solution for you.
You need to install wiring glands.
These are small circular units with a rubber insert you put wiring through.
When you tighten the top of it, the rubber compresses, and no leaks.
It might be a bit of work, but this is the. "Pro way" of doing it.
It will never leak, and no messy sealant