H340 water leaks

[Keith13315]

Hi
I am looking at a 1998 H340. It has a water leak on the starboard side in the V Berth and also the V Berth hanging locker also on the starboard side. We went to basically close on the boat and we lifted the aft cabin cushions and there was standing water under them. I took the inspection panel off everywhere but only found water damage on the one under the radar arch bolts. There is evidence of slight water damage on the aft cabin back wall where it meets the floor on the port side. The panel for the radar arch that was water damaged was also port side.

So for the question does anyone have experience with water leaks from the top sides on a H340? If so please explain
Thanks

 

[MitchM]

if the radar arch is an after install, i'd suspect not a good install job and water leaks thru the mounting bolt holes. unless mounting bolts are properly sized fit through their mounting holes, fitted to backing plates and then adequately caulked against water intrusion, leaks develop there. you see this problem sometimes on other thru- deck mounts, like wind gens or davits. even a properly installed thru-deck fitting can leak after a few years of vibration and wear. chainplates and stanchions need re caulked, so do most other through deck fittings. this one just happened to leak into the v berth area so you could find it...

 

[Stu Jackson]

You have two choices:

1. Walk away from this boat because of the leaks. Leaks are not always specific to a particular boat. Leaks could be specific with "known" repeated reports. Or they could be from PO neglect. Those are pretty much the only options (I'd be interested in any others you might have considered...)

2. Buy the boat and fix 'em.

Your boat, Your choice.

Good luck.

 

[sailcapt340]

Keith13315,
I have a 2000 340, we bought new in 2000. I asked Hunter for photos of our boat being made and they sent us 8 or 9 pictures of various stages of the boat under construction (which later became very important)
We took delivery in June of 2000, we had a water leak in the aft cabin, port side, that deposited water on the floor back wall. Just as you are describing.
Every rain storm leaked a "small" amount of water in this area. At the end of the season and during the entire winter I mopped up the "standing water" on the floor and back wall. Being a new boat, the warranty and Hunter agreeing to find the leak, took me on a 2 year trek in finding leaks.
I had the arch bolts re-bedded and new hatch gaskets and two new hatches, but never found the leak. Don't get discouraged here read on.....
One thing I found is that you cannot duplicate the effects of rain water with a hose. I went to the boat one very rainy day and removed all the access panels you are talking about. With all the screws involved I had to lean on the side wall and noticed water pushing out the bottom as I pressed on the wall.
One photo from Hunter, showed the open hull having the foam sponge wall padding being installed, the 1/8 inch thick or so wall padding was pulled over the hull sides by about an inch. The next picture showed the deck being lowered onto the hull, BUT, the foam padding was never cut off the rim of the hull top edge in this area.
The deck was lowered and fastened to the hull. The rub rail was attached and hid the exposed foam padding behind it.
Every time it rained, any water along the top edge of the rub rail found its way under and the foam padding acted like the sponge that it is, absorbing the water right into the boat.
The fix turned out to be somewhat simple. In the overhead access panel opening (port side) I could see about a 4 inch long section of the padding IN the deck joint. The opening is small but you can get your hand in there, and with a long Xacto Knife, I was able to cut the padding away from the deck joint and pull it away from the area.
Then I went out to the spot on the rub rail. Using a hard plastic putty knife I spread apart a small section of the rub rail edge from the boat and applied a thin bead of clear caulking under the rub rail. I went about 3 feet in both directions from the spot where the padding was crimped between the hull and deck joint. And the leak was fixed.
I can't speak for your radar arch, but as far as your V Berth hanging locker leak, look up and at the hull joint, or under the top edge of the rub rail. Lift it slightly and you may find the cause.
I hope this helps you in any way. Keep us informed of your progress.

 

[Keith13315]

Thanks I will keep that in mind if we decide to go forward with the purchase.

 

[geek_guy]

Leaks in the deck aren't that uncommon. As mentioned above it may be from neglect but also can just happen from age. The materials used to seal around deck screws or bolts just deteriorates over time. It's very likely that finding the leaks will be a long term trial and error process. I spent 2-3 years finding them on my 87 Legend. The worst turned out to be the caulk around the windows. Which was a good 8 feet from the 'leak'. Also to the hose test mentioned above. It also didn't help me at all. I was even at the boat several times during a rain and it didn't show up. It would take a couple hours for the rain to soak through the coring material to the place it was coming out. Very frustrating but looking back it's just lots of trial and error and observing carefully. Several were not direct in cause and effect. The other was coming in from the engine control panel, but there was a path that would allow it to fall down to the middle of the aft cabin. I was actually running wires there and drilled an access hole for the wiring to discover that there was a path for the water to get over there which didn't seem logical.