After being away a few weeks and encountering lots of rain (welcome to Florida in the summer) I found this wet area in the aft cabin of my 1986 h34. For the life of me I can't figure out where it is coming from... Any ideas? Thanks... Jon
Any guesses where h34 leak is coming from
- Thread starter PGIJon
- Start date
My first thoughts are a leak in the port above with water running along the wires on the bulkhead, water inside the companionwayway track leaking inside down onto the bulkhead inside the engine compartment, and most probable source is the raw water hose and fitting that is against that bulkhead (if you left your through-hull valve open).
Check the cooling water exit hose on the engine side of the bulkhead. There is vented loop with a valve. On mine it leaked and caused the stain you pictured.
Yup..Check all three of above .. I had a leak in the vented loop check valve .. when the engine was running, it would leak water onto that bulkhead on other side and would wick around to the aft side. The port and the companionway are prime suspects as well..
Like the others my bet would be on the vented loop. If stuck open it will leak and as Kloudie says water leaking down the bulkhead will wick into the plywood. I got lucky and saw mine leak before it did any damage. So I took it out to see if I could fix it or clean the area where the ball and spring are but manage to break the plastic housing while doing so. A new one fixed the problem for good ! check your exhaust hose as well as it seems pretty darn close to the bulkhead. If if chafed on the bulkhead it might leak but then you'd be getting exhaust fumes as well.
Thank you as always for your insights! I will check out everything once it stops raining here... We've had 5" of rain so far today! Guess that will show me if it's environmentally contributing or mechanical! Will let you know... Thanks again!
Looking from the area that is wicking in the aft cabin from the engine compartment... I guess it might be leaking from the vented loop.... Haven't turn it over yet.... Still pouring rain and I found another leak likely coming pedestal.
If it is from the loop, do I replace the vacuum at the opt? any further suggestions looking at it from this end... should probably double up on the hose clamps.
If it is from the loop, do I replace the vacuum at the opt? any further suggestions looking at it from this end... should probably double up on the hose clamps.
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PGIJon. I replaced mine several years back.. I was able to buy the little plastic valve, which unscrews from the loop. I don't remember where I found the part, but if you get the numbers and brand off of the plastic valve, a search on internet should produce one. Good luck. They can be cleaned, but it is probably very brittle from engine heat over the years.
Aft cabin leak--some thoughts...
Everyone is pointing to the vented loop as a source, but PGIJon said he had been away from the boat for several weeks and found the leaking when he returned.
Doubt the engine ran itself while he was away so would suggest that the loop isn't the probable source. A companionway leak could be the source, but the bulkhead in question sits back a good ways in the engine compartment. Leaking would show up on the engine lid and the cubby teak under the companionway lip. Splax may have the plausible expanation as to why leaking here may not have shown up on the engine box area teak.
Leaking from the port opening into the footwell at the companionway could be a source, but the stain is across the whole bulkhead bottom, not just the port end.
The starboard cockpit locker hatch could have leaked and be the source as it is much closer to where the bulkhead is positioned. There's vertical staining on the fiberglass behind the Racor filter and the stain peaks upward at the fiberglass edge, making this source a larger suspect.
That's all I can think of without being on my boat to make more observations.
Everyone is pointing to the vented loop as a source, but PGIJon said he had been away from the boat for several weeks and found the leaking when he returned.
Doubt the engine ran itself while he was away so would suggest that the loop isn't the probable source. A companionway leak could be the source, but the bulkhead in question sits back a good ways in the engine compartment. Leaking would show up on the engine lid and the cubby teak under the companionway lip. Splax may have the plausible expanation as to why leaking here may not have shown up on the engine box area teak.
Leaking from the port opening into the footwell at the companionway could be a source, but the stain is across the whole bulkhead bottom, not just the port end.
The starboard cockpit locker hatch could have leaked and be the source as it is much closer to where the bulkhead is positioned. There's vertical staining on the fiberglass behind the Racor filter and the stain peaks upward at the fiberglass edge, making this source a larger suspect.
That's all I can think of without being on my boat to make more observations.
Cjfj...
The vented loop is bolted to the back of the engine box. It's intended to prevent back siphoning of the water that's ejected into the exhaust mixing elbow.
If you are missing one, seriously consider reinstalling one to prevent future cooling problems. Original ones were made of metal; replacements are commonly now "plastic" ones.
The vented loop is bolted to the back of the engine box. It's intended to prevent back siphoning of the water that's ejected into the exhaust mixing elbow.
If you are missing one, seriously consider reinstalling one to prevent future cooling problems. Original ones were made of metal; replacements are commonly now "plastic" ones.
cjfj you can see the vented loop in my post ( 09-24-2013, 05:09 pm  above.
quite sure that I don''t have the loop on mine. I'll be out there on Sun and double check. Sounds like one end goes to the ellbow and the other comes off of the head?
Thanks for the info on this. I'm always amazed at the things some people think they can take short cuts on
OK... .Well, it's definitely not the loop. Although I am glad this was brought up for cjfj. Let us know what you find or don't find.
Now this is what is strange. It's been raining here as if there was a tropical storm around. When I went out the other day as it was pouring and found some other leaks as I mentioned before however (look at the attached pic) The both the A & B areas were bone dry. So I was pretty certain it was the loop.... I started the engine today and nearly to my dismay, there was no leak.
However, Both A and B were wet. The underside of B was dry. Also the storage area under the companionway on top of the engine cover was dry.
As it was pointed out by Dan, Steve and splax the "A" arrow points to the suspicious entry point. So I'll have to dive into the dungeon to further investigate. I would have gone in there today, but I prefer that someone be around just in case something happens down there........ (to be continued)
Now this is what is strange. It's been raining here as if there was a tropical storm around. When I went out the other day as it was pouring and
found some other leaks as I mentioned before however (look at the attached pic) The both the A & B areas were bone dry. So I was pretty certain it was the loop.... I started the engine today and nearly to my dismay, there was no leak. However, Both A and B were wet. The underside of B was dry. Also the storage area under the companionway on top of the engine cover was dry.
As it was pointed out by Dan, Steve and splax the "A" arrow points to the suspicious entry point. So I'll have to dive into the dungeon to further investigate. I would have gone in there today, but I prefer that someone be around just in case something happens down there........ (to be continued)
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It was raining hard today, so I went out to see if I could see where the leak was going from... no luck... however I did notice that the bottom of the channel that holds the companion way slats had water building up in it. If there is a leak from the screws that are holding it in place, that would be about the right location for where the weeping is showing in the aft cabin........ So, I going to remove the channel and re-seat it. Any thought on what adhesive to use when re-seatting it? Thanks... Jon
Make sure the drains at the bottom of that channel are not plugged up. There are two notches on the teak board that allow the water to pass through them from matching holes in the bottom of the aluminum track.
Ditto Allen's comments.. MaineSail's butyl would be a great sealant to use under the companionway molding/extrusion. Be sure to chamfer the screw holes at the fiberglass to get a better seal. I am going to re-bed mine soon.. Please shoot and post some pix of this project, Jon.
GMTA! Thanks Alan and Claude! I ordered 2 rolls from Maine last Friday and they showed up here on Monday... Never seen USPS deliver a Priority package so quickly!
Thanks Maine!
I've attached a pic from under the teak. However, I don't think this was the source of the leak... at least not a major contributor to in considering the amount of water that made its way in. I'll be re varnishing the teak (and a few other pieces this weekend) now that it's out.
Thanks Maine!
I've attached a pic from under the teak. However, I don't think this was the source of the leak... at least not a major contributor to in considering the amount of water that made its way in. I'll be re varnishing the teak (and a few other pieces this weekend) now that it's out.
