H260 cabin floor wet under wood floor

Gypsea Kids · Jul 12, 2014

I'm not sure what inspection plate you speak of. If you mean the one under the table, it is for the keel attachment point. Water has been known to leak up through the keel housing, particularily while motoring. Try tightening the keel bolt. The 260 tends to list to the right due to the battery and motor being on the same side. I moved the battery over to the left side. You can't over fill the ballast tank normally, but your inspection plug may be dried out and should be replace as it may allow water ingress while heeling.

teebutch · Jul 12, 2014

The inspection plate he is talking about is probably the one in the head. U open it and there us nothing there. The plate is about 2-3 " in diameter.

Regular Guy · Jul 13, 2014

abk;
Thanks for the picture, very interesting. My H260 does not have that inspection plate, it must be a post factory made modification. The inspection hole actually should just lands up above the ballast tank. You may take a flashlight and shine from under the q-berth in the direction to the inspection hole and see that.

As you described I had also the water squishing out when stepping onto the floor. I my case was the spot close to the q-berth.
My suspicious was a water ballast leak. I dyed the ballast tank water and it did not confirm the suspicious.

Here what it was: After I bought the boat and brought it home from the PO I washed the deck with running water out of a hose. I did not realizing that plenty of water got inside. The seal around the inserted floor material was broken and water run into it and under floor, squishing out when stepping onto the floor. I removed all water out of the boat and let the floor dry out for several weeks before I resealed with 3M 5200 sealant. No floor problems ever since.

teebutch · Jul 13, 2014

I have that same inspection plate but in the head area on the floor. I had water also but I put a dehumidifier in my boat to dry it out. Now I am just running my a/c to keep it dry.

cephius (Dave) · Jul 13, 2014

I also do not have the inspection plate.

abk, do you cover the sliding hatch? These are notorious for letting rain water in. This site makes a canvas cover that goes over every seam. My cabin deck has been dry since I installed it 5 years ago.

teebutch · Jul 14, 2014

My hatch cover does go over the sliding cover but does not go over the fiberglass companion way cover

Crazy Dave Condon · Jul 15, 2014

ABK and others;

That is not a manufacturer installed inspection port but installed after the boat delivery. I am not sure why it was put there but maybe for two reasons, running something underneath which I do not suggest that route thru the boat or to inspect for water.

The main salon or cabin floor is a molded recess which to lay a teak and holly floor either real or composite. It is glued in with liquid nails and then sealed on the edges so water cannot get underneath to allow what is going on with your floor now as there is water in it. The first thing is how badly damaged and if too bad, it needs to come out and be replaced. If salvageable, then the area needs to be dried which means keeping the boat dry inside and that will include a tarp or some cover over the companionway. As a former dealer, I would towel up whatever water I could and then use a small space heater or fan to dry that out. The key is to get that floor dry and it had to sit for a while.

Then you would remove the old seal between the floor and lip of the floor, clean it and reseal. If the actual teak and holly, I would actually coat it with a sealer too. I hope this explains that.

As for the broken piece, is it wood or plastic? Is it the piece on top of the slider in the very back? If so, you should see some holes in the rear of the lexan slider and if no screws, then they are missing. Send me your phone and location to this forum email and I will direct you to send a photo of that and I will tell you the proper way to fix.

H260 cabin floor wet under wood floor

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