Any one got experience with leaks ?

[Stu]

Water leaks that is not the vegetable - Being pretty new to boats that stay int he water (we'll this one is for a while) I'm unfamiliar with leaks and the fact thatt here is water in the bottom of the boat sometimes -- we found about 3 inches of water in the bilge and was wondering if this is normal -- We also were sitting in the boat on the dock in a really heavey rain storm witht he pop top up with a fully enclosed canvas dodger up and discovered 2 places were water was coming in from the roof .. so thinking maybe thats were the water is coming from -- How do people go about tracking down the source of a leak and then go about fixing it -- they sema like very small leaks but would hate for it to be something serious ..cheers Stu..

 

[Doug Rodrigues]

One way I did it.......

On my first boat, a Venture 2-22, that boat had a persistent leak that I just couldn't figure out where it was coming from. So....with the boat on the trailer, I started filling water into the boat with a garden hose. Before too long, the leak was obvious. Getting all that water out was a different story! The residual water dried out completely after a couple of hot days. Also, the windows have a tendency to leak. Whatever you do don't ever use DAP Sealer. It will run every time it rains!

 

[Rob]

Reseal everything...

water likes to come in through the chainplates (mostly from there) the stanchions, and other things attached to the deck. Re-seal those and then look at the rubrail. I always thought it was condensation on my boat - until this year when I resealed. If you only have energy to do one of the above - do the chainplates - huge difference.

 

[73mensailed]

You Again!!! Just kidding

Ah, the joys of boat owning. Our boats have leaks that seem to pop up with age. Everything Rob said is a start. After that, dust the inside of the hull with baby powder. The leaks can't help but show up. Make the kids have a project on the boat while you're working on it. Build that family/crew thing.

 

[Rob]

The tops!

They are easy to fix. Punch out the rivets, take off the cap, cut off old caulking, apply new caulking to area and new rivets, re-rivet.Don't use stainless rivets - they are too strong and will break the fibreglass. Use aluminum. You can use SS screws instead of rivets. The bolts on the side may also need attention, but not nearly as much as the tops. I chose to avoid the side bolts, since they are really tight and couldn't get them off anyways! You will see what I'm talking about when you do it.Have fun, drink beer.-Rob