9.2c Water Leak

[engdude62]

I just bought a 1987 S2 9.2c and while inspecting the boat found that a narrow section of the teak flooring on the starboard side of the cabin is stained from what appeares to be moisture. Upon further inspection I found one of the water supply hoes connected to the sink in the head was dripping. I fixed that problem but I don't think that was causing the flooring issue. I saw some posts relating to water tank failures on these boats but they did nor identify what the tell tail signs of the water tank failure were. The bilge in the center of the boat forward of the keel is absolutly dry and clean and from what I can tell the water supply lines run down the port side of the boat. If any one has had some prior experiance with what I am describing I would appreciate hearing about it prior to going after the water tank as the most likely problem.

 

[Calypso]

could the boat have been not level when on the hard and the head leak ran forward under the starboard settee and out onto the floor? Otherwise I'd fill the water tank and see what happens. How about an open port on the starboard side at one time? Is it dry now?

 

[engdude62]

Actually, I had a lot of weight in the V- birth so I was wondering the same thing. I moved all the heavy items to the port side of the aft birth to reposition the boat in the water and stopped the drip under the head sink to see if that solved the problem. I just want to get this problem solved before the floor is ruined. From what I can tell there seems to be some dead space between the midship bilge and the under birth storage areas on the starboard side of the boat and the moisture damage seems to be comming from that area. The lower aft end of the aft starboard storage area also seems to be gathering a small amount of residual moisture. I will be checking on the boat again soon to see if my adjustment of weight and fixing the drip in the head has resolved the problem. Have you experianced this type of issue?
Thanks for your input.

 

[engdude62]

By the way - all ports are doged tight - no leaks that I can tell.

 

[woodster]

put some food coloring in the water tank and top it off..... if it is your water tank you will know it soon enough.....there have been a lot of reports of the s2 water tanks leaking and needing repair or replacement i have my tank out and it seemed ok except for the fittings .....but i may not use it any way as it is 31 years old and i want more water capacity......

regards

woody

 

[engdude62]

Thanks for the food coloring idea - I will try that if I still find moisture. My problem right now is that I am a good distance from the boat and will not be able to bring it closer to home for several weeks. A friend who works close by where the boat is currently checked on it this morning for me and found that all areas of concern are now dry after I fixed the drip under the sink in the head and redistributed the weight in the boat to make it somewhat stern heavy. Hopefully this will have eliminated the problem for now. Given the boats age and some of the information I havbe been reading regarding water tank leaks I think as a precaution I will look closer at the tank once I get the boat closer to home. For now I might just empty it next time I,m on the boat.

One other question. Under the sink in the head it appears that there is only one line fun to that faucet and it had the drip. It was a plastic tube. The other copper line coming from the fauct was capped off. I did not find a disconected hose under the sink. Did these boats only fun cold water that sink or am I missing a hot water line within the system? I want to really look over the water system plumbing as best as I can prior to pressurizing it.

 

[woodster]

that capped off line is more than likely your hot water supply line ....ck and see if you have a working hot water heater and go from there ...

regards

woody

 

[engdude62]

Will do next time I get down to the boat. There is so much to check and inspect. I will let you know what I find.

Thanks for your input.

 

[BobM]

Just a note. My sole is wiped out in my galley and I believe it is actually due to the need to tighten or repack the rudder. I noticed that I had water in that exact area in a following sea. Just something else to look for.

 

[Calypso]

Also, even though the ports are dogged incredibly tight, they may leak. We could use new gaskets in our 1986. We took them off and cleaned the dirt behind them (a lot) and the gaskets themselves. Coating with vaseline helped but is not a perfect solution.

 

[jmf]

Water Leak

I found that my starboard leak was caused by a crack in my scupper house and it would leak by the hot water heater and instead of running into the bilge it ran under the tube passed the engine and under the teak and holly sole. Prior to finding that leak I rebedded the chain plates, life line stanchions, and checked the anchor locker. The water tank was next until my water tank broke and the boat was winterized and found the anti-freeze running under the starboard side sole. water running aft to forward.

I just bought a 1987 S2 9.2c and while inspecting the boat found that a narrow section of the teak flooring on the starboard side of the cabin is stained from what appeares to be moisture. Upon further inspection I found one of the water supply hoes connected to the sink in the head was dripping. I fixed that problem but I don't think that was causing the flooring issue. I saw some posts relating to water tank failures on these boats but they did nor identify what the tell tail signs of the water tank failure were. The bilge in the center of the boat forward of the keel is absolutly dry and clean and from what I can tell the water supply lines run down the port side of the boat. If any one has had some prior experiance with what I am describing I would appreciate hearing about it prior to going after the water tank as the most likely problem.

 

[jmf]

It was my hot water tank that broke an leaked.

I found that my starboard leak was caused by a crack in my scupper house and it would leak by the hot water heater and instead of running into the bilge it ran under the tube passed the engine and under the teak and holly sole. Prior to finding that leak I rebedded the chain plates, life line stanchions, and checked the anchor locker. The water tank was next until my water tank broke and the boat was winterized and found the anti-freeze running under the starboard side sole. water running aft to forward.

 

[richard965]

I went through a water leak last year and learned a lot. first, assume it is not the water tank but one of the lines. I ended up replacing all the water lines and of course it was the last line I replaced that was the culprit. S2 used plastic lines that get old and crack. I replaced with the newer lines with braided support. If you end up with a leaking tank, I have a flexible tank I bought (still in the box) that was going to mount in a v-berth comparment

 

[engdude62]

Well, thanks for all the insight on things to look for. I actually drained the forward water tank and so far I have no further signs of a leak. The bits and pieces of the tank I can see without cuting the forward v-birth apart look really good but there must be something going on related to the fresh water tank. I am going to refill the tank one more time just to make double sure that its what's causing the leak.

Once I am sure that the tank is in fact my problem I would appreciate any insight from others who had to remove a water tank as to how I should proceed in the removal process causing the least amount of damage to the boat. If possible I would like to reinstall the cut material or replacment material in such a way that it is removable for future servicing of the tank.