have oday 25 centerboard that needs to be stored on jacks for storm season in florida. because no shore power, bilge pump questionable on solar charged battery. thinking about drilling/installing drain hole in bilge in case water is in cabin. thoughts, anybody?
drain hole
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I have an oday 25, two fresh group 27 batteries and a solar charger to maintain the batteries. I have plenty of power for a long time using stereo w/amp and lights. I ordered all new led lights to replace the original four cabin lights which should really improve my 12 volt power mileage. Are you considering drilling a hole in the bottom of the hull into the bilge? It would be cheaper to add extra batteries and or a larger solar charger.
I'm trying to understand the reason why you would be getting water in the bilge in the first place. That bilge should be dry as a bone. At least mine is. If you're getting water seepage, you need to find out where it's coming in and correct this problem. I know that it's pretty hard to trace on an O'Day 25 but you need to make the attempt.
Likely suspects are the screw holes under the gunwale moldings. Toe and hand rails are likely suspects. If it's coming in from your chainplates, you need to correct the problem immediately or your main bulkhead will rot out and need to be replaced. Another crucial area is the mast tabernacle.
I had talked to Rudy Nickerson at D&R Marine years ago and he told me that the caulking under the gunwale molding is only good for about ten years. If you used hull cleaners with Oxalic acid, you'd get less than that in my opinion.
Removing the gunwale strip is a simple job believe it or not and you don't even have to remove all the moldings at once. I removed the rubber strip and molding from one side of my boat when I did mine. I cleaned the areas and cauked them. Then I put the moldings and rubber right back in and did the same thing to the other side of the boat.
My boat has Aluminum moldings and I was able to use Polysulfide caulking. If you have Vinyl moldings you need a caulking that is kind to plastics.
While your boat is sitting on the hard, you should at least re-caulk the gunwale moldings. Then take it from there.
My personal experience with leaks has always been the gunwale moldings, and the toe rails. I found a leak on one of my hand rails.
The toe rails on my boat are narrow, and they are screwed to raised molded strips on my deck. Sometimes a screw under the bung will cause the toe rail to pop up and that's usually where the water starts to seep in. If you can grab the toe rail with your thumb and fore finger, and wiggle it, chances are the leak is coming in at that spot.
I've been able to remove the bung under that screw and get some caulking under that portion of the toe rail without removing the whole toe rail. I did it to my hand rail a couple of months ago and it is bolted on. A couple of putty knives, screw drivers, and a shaved Popsicle stick with some 3-M 4200 cured that problem.
Check the cockpit self bailing hoses and connectors to make sure they aren't leaking. Also, check the port lights.
I just fixed a leak last week in my Gray Marine forward hatch. Most of the O'Days came with these chintzy junk hatches and I've been fixing mine for years. The leak was coming in around the Lexan lens that I had installed in the frame a few years ago. I used Dap Silicone Rubber Adhesive Caulking to adhere that lens back and I think it will do the trick.
If my port lights ever need re-caulking again, I'm going to use the Dap on it. Dow Corning 795 and Sikaflex 195 are too messy to use as far as I'm concerned.
Your boat didn't leak a drop when it was new and it shouldn't leak now.
Find the leak and you'll solve the problem.
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Don't bore a drain hole in your hull. It's really not a practical thing to do that on an O'Day 25. Just find the leaks as soon as possible. I say this because deck leaks and particularly leaks around chainplates can eventually lead to rot in the fiberglass core or the bulkhead. The last thing you need is a chainplate pulling through your deck and a snapped mast.
Other typical places for leaks are broken drain hose from foredeck anchor locker, broken cockpit drain hose; both will then drain into interior. Port lights are common, but you would probably notice during season, as well as other thru deck fittings. Also forestay stem plate can leak and its very hard to see, as well as bow rails. Your boat in storage should be bone dry though, especially if covered!
My first bigger boat was a Pearon 30. It had a drain plug installed on the side of a very narrow bilge. It was a bronze plug that screwed on from the outside. From the number of boats that I have seen that sunk on land I would not hesitate at all to install a drain plug. You may be able to fix all the leaks, but how long will it take you, and how will you know if you got them all till the monson hits?
I guess we can agree to disagree.
Myself, I'd rather take all the time I can to find a leak and fix it, than to completely ignore it and have to spend the time and money to replace part of my deck after the core has rotted out.
Being a retired Geezer, I have all the time in the world to fix the leaks once I find them.
Myself, I'd rather take all the time I can to find a leak and fix it, than to completely ignore it and have to spend the time and money to replace part of my deck after the core has rotted out.
Being a retired Geezer, I have all the time in the world to fix the leaks once I find them.
thats one thing i like about good old boats, by golly its yours, they are fairly easy to modify, and you can darn well do it the way you want. it's not like you can't go back and change it later if you want. good point about sinking on dry land. good point about fixing leaks before they cause mischief. me, i prefer the latter approach. check out my photo album for results of a p.o who ignored leaks!
best of luck
keith
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