drifter 23 water under the bilge

[drifter]

While inspecting the Drifter for the 2010 season I remembered a trickle of water entering bilge locker 3 the most aft in the cabin under the coverboard.
Initially I had found the compartment full of water in September of 2009 A small hole approximately 1/8" toward the top of the compartment had issued seawater(stained brownish) into the compartment. After the season I had forgotten about it.
Yesterday was a moment of truth. Using a 1/4/ drill I opened up the small hole and with full insertion of the bit noting the presence of water in the flutes of the drill. Proceeding further I tapped an additional hole at the lowest point of the compartment and bailed out by sponge into a bucket about two and a half gallons of water! There is obviously potential space below the cabin bilge compartment areas. There is also the fact that the accumulated water could have been condensate. Drifter is a 1985 23 Hunter.
My plan is the develop an inspection port at the bottom of compartment 2 and verify the status of further existing moisture and possibly irreparable hull damage due to the presence of water there that has gone through a midwestern winter.
Hopefully there was an adequate amount of potential space to handle the expansion of freezing water. Any input re: the above would be appreciated.

 

[RobertG-NJ]

You have answered many of H23 owners questions

Thanks Drifter. Keep us posted on what you find, how much space there is, and if you think it feasible to install an inspection port and where.

I have a H23 also. Many months back I asked a similar question and asked if any one had ever done what you did and knew for sure how much space was actually below the molded cabin floor pan. I knew there must be some space below from photos of Mark Major's reconstruction, and contemplated installing an inspection port near the rear of the cabin under the companion way steps, but wasn't brave enough to start drilling holes.

It also was plain from the amount extracted using a shop-vac on the weep holes that a lot of water was there , and it wasnt coming from the keel bolts (as so many posts from H23 owners mention) as it happens when the boat is on the hard. Tracking down the leaks is a whole 'nother story, but since your water was brown, it probably is also coming from leaks somewhere in the cored deck area and/or around hardware.

 

[Brian M H23]

the good news is that most of this hull isn't cored! In fact, aside from the side decks, transom, and cockpit floor, there's not any core that I know of. That and the hull-deck joint, where the wood is less structural and more just there as a "nut" for wood screws (opposed to nuts and bolts)

There's 2 problems here: the water gets there in the first place, and theres not a good way to get it out once it ends up there.

What I do know, is that the rearmost bit of the cabin floor, is just another cavity like the first 4. The only difference is, rather than a wooden floorboard, it's got a fiberglass cover. When I redo my floor, I plan on cutting this out and replacing it with a floorboard just like the other compartments.

 

[drifter]

Dear Brian M,
Thanks for the input!
Jim S.
Drifter's Skipper

 

[RobertG-NJ]

Drifter & Brian

Drifter, have you opened it up further and are you thinking of putting in a deck plate/hatch? Any room for a pump?

Brian, you are absolutely right about the cored areas, but that is where I have found all the leaks. The transom (Pintle & motor mount bolts); side decks (chain plates, fairlead bolts, etc). As part of my overhaul project I went about sealing all the through hull/deck fastener locations with epoxy. The starboard chainplate was a major source. However the damage had already been done to the sidedeck core and it was saturated. Even after removing the chainplates sealing the hole, drilling 1/2" drain holes into the deck core from below with a fostener bit it wouldnt dry out. I noticed cracks in the deck gelcoat anti-skid. After sealing the deck with tape, its not only dried out but no water has been seen in the bilge. My repair project for the coming weekends is to replace the core and seal the upper glass & gelcoat now that weather is nice.

I sure love this boat but there sure seem to be a lot of us not only having the problem of water leaking in from many sources but then not being able to see or get to it hiding there under the floor pan.

Brian, do you sail and/or marina base your boat on the Delaware? If so, how is it? I actually live 6 miles from Burlington/Bristol Bridge so I may want to do that in a future year.

 

[Brian M H23]

Rob,
I actually bought my boat from a little marina about 1/2 mile south of the Burlington/Bristol ! Have taken it to Rock Hall on a summer trip and slipped near Elkton MD one summer, at the moment, I'm in school in Rochester, and the boat came with me. I've crossed Lake Ontario once, south shore to north and back, logging about 100 miles via GPS, in conditions ranging from 40 knots + lightning (oh summer thunderstorms) to ghosting along in 2 knots of wind. It's a great boat, though I've been spending a lot more time with my new-to-me 1976 International 505.
If you do want to go to the Chesapeake, go for the Rock Hall area. It's much nicer (and deeper!) than Elkton! Oddly enough, I haven't done much Delaware Bay sailing. If I were you, I'd slip up on the Raritan. Great sailing there.