Hunter 27 water intrusion

[geofella]

Hello all, I am having a problem with water entering the head area under the vanity while sailing. I have checked the through hull for the sink and it does not appear to be coming from there. Everything in the cabinet below the sink stays dry, but water collects in the space below the cabinet and runs out on the floor. It is not a lot of water, but enough to make my rug damp that I keep in the head. Any ideas where this could be coming from??

It only occurs when sailing.

 

[rardiH36]

I don't know about the Cherubini Hunter 27's, but on my 1980 36, also in the hull area adjacent to the head are two smaller through-hulls high maybe 6" or so below the toe rail. They are the vent lines for the holding tank and the starboard FW tank. (I've also got one on the port-side for the other FW tank). On the outside of the hull they terminate at chrome plated bronze trapezoidal shaped fittings with the opening facing downward.

Last year, I had the same type of leak you are describing (which drove me nuts to find). Eventually I found the above referenced through-hulls were the cause. They were no longer tight against the hull. When the boat healed and they get underwater, they allow seepage between the hull and the interior liner, eventually becoming visible further down.

After being in place for 30 years, I couldn't dislodge the end fittings from the threaded through-hulls and I didn't yet want to cut them off to start again with new fittings. Instead I was able to wedge a screw-driver blade between the hull and the fittings which created a small gap. I injected some adhesive type caulk into the gap, removed the screw driver blade, and then cleaned up the caulk mess on the hull before it dried with some acetone. I've been leak free since, but eventually I will need to do a proper fix.

Another cause might be that your toe-rail screws are loose and the deck to hull joint has a gap. But unless you are sailing with the toe rail burried, not likely much water will get in this way.

Good luck.

 

[qldman36]

Had the same leak several years ago----drove me nuts. Only under sail and well heeled over. Finally found the source. Vanity thru hull was plastic not nylon or maralon and had cracked with age. Hence, healed over with thru hull under water would let water pour in.

 

[rardiH36]

qldman36:

You are right. If the 27 is like the 36, the vanity sink drain discharges through a thru-hull which is only a few inches above the water line. Only a small amount of heel under sail is enough to bury it. For geofella, does this thru-hull go through both the interior liner and the hull? If so, a slow leak might be difficult to detect as you wouldn't see the leak on the interior liner side. Also unless you go down below to check this while healing under sail, there might not be much evidence that this thru-hull is leaking. Per a fairly recent thread a month or two ago, it appears that Hunter did not install a shut-off valves at the vanity sink thru-hull. (Mine didn't have one when I bought the boat -- it does now.) Another thought is a leak at the drain hose connections or even a crack in the hose itself.

Subsequent to my previous reply, it occured to me that I have plumbing diagrams of all the Cherubini Hunters on a pdf file. For the 27, it shows that the vent lines for the holding tank and FW tank are routed to through-hulls near the bow. However, water can migrate to strange places. So worth a check at least.

For geofella, presume your water is salt? If not, is it possible that when healing, fresh water from the tank just forward of the vanity sink area might rise to some sort of fault?

 

[David in Sandusky]

Hmmmm...

On the vanity side of the head, there are only 4 leak sources - the sink drain, the toerail, the water supply hose, and the window.

Could water be working up from the bilge while you are heeled?

Could it be coming from behind the bulkheads forward or aft? Neither of these makes sense to me, since both of these areas drain the the bilge.

 

[Jimboyyy]

I thought of the bilge as well since that seems to be the place that always collects the rain water that collects from the toe rail leaks in the vanity cabinet behind the sink. The toe rail nuts in this area are extremely difficult to access.

On my 27 there is not a way for water to come from the forward area under the vee so there would not be any intrusion from the vent hoses.
Keep us informed of your quest.

 

[geofella]

I thought of the bilge as well since that seems to be the place that always collects the rain water that collects from the toe rail leaks in the vanity cabinet behind the sink. The toe rail nuts in this area are extremely difficult to access.

On my 27 there is not a way for water to come from the forward area under the vee so there would not be any intrusion from the vent hoses.
Keep us informed of your quest.

I believe that the source may be the bilge or toe rail. I noticed that I also had some water beneath the starboard side settee as well and this area has always been bone dry, so I suspect the bilge most likely. I did have ice in the icebox that would have been draining to the bilge.

I sailed for six hours last Saturday often on the same tack for an hour or so at a time and at 20 to 25 degrees of heel. We took a few small waves over the bow and had water running down the toe rail so found water in some places that are normally dry. I also discovered that the cockpit drains should have been located more to starboard and port in order to adequately drain the cockpit.

 

[Jimboyyy]

The other source of leaking I have experienced in the head area was due to the portlights not being secured. The old gaskets will need to be replaced, until then I keep them even and tight.

I would love to stay on 1 tack for more than an hour but fear I would run aground.

 

[Joe23455]

Sink Thru hull looked fine ???? Same problem on Trinity for two seasons,
could not key in on water source. Finally, upon sailing boat back to NJ from the Chesapeke, on a long reach off NJ, nice steady heel, I could see the leak.
Changed out the thru hull while in the water at dock,(had my sons as ballast on port side)problem solved. Just a thought, thru hull may look fine but may not