Hunter 34 cabin leak

[Ilanortho]

Anybody who can comment on pulling the toe rail and rebedding on the H34?
I have a leak during strong storms that seems to come from above and along several places in the cabin. Water ends up on the aft galley floor and in the cabin sliding glass cubbies, and primarily on the mess table forward bench soaking the cushion. I suspect given the broad distribution of leak locations that it is tracking in from the toerail aft and tracking forward under the deck. Tried a pressurized hose soak with no clues. Port lights are dry (replaced this winter and can see dry wood where they are thru-clamped.)

Anyone have pictures of what the hidden construction is under the toe rail? Is it a bear to pull off in terms of sealant and bonding?

Thanks. Ilan

 

[kloudie1]

Ilan, I don't have a decent drawing, but this is a sketch.. you can blow it up .. It is not normal for that joint to leak (unless there has been a pretty good impact) because of the downturned deck flange.. it is sealed with butyl tape, so the sealant should still be pliable and good.. I would more suspect the genoa track as being the culprit if you are positive that the fixed ports are not leaking. You can try tightening the toe rail bolts; start at the outer ends of where you susect the leak to be and work in, tightening the aft most then fore most bolts in the suspected length until you get to the final one in the middle.. This will help to seal any butyl that has "ungripped"..

 

[Ilanortho]

Great suggestion; forgot about the track! Also I would pray that butyl was used if anyone was there before; given the nature of the construct between toe rail and boat it would be impossible to reach under and cut away any 5200. Thanks for the great pic.
Ilan

 

[kloudie1]

Ya welcome.. You can try tightening the track bolts too. I think they are sealed with butyl as well.. That is a two person job and ya want to hold the outer end and gently tighten the nut inside.. I have had leaks there and stopped them by tightening the nuts .. ya don't want to "gorilla" the nuts.. just firmly snug them ! I dunno how many foot pounds that is, probably in the range of 10..

 

[Ilanortho]

Will check; same as when I rebidded the handrails. Thanks again for all the good info. Ilan

 

[splax]

I have water ingress that drips down from the overhead outboard port & starboard in the fwd third of the main cabin during or after hard rain. I think it is from water under the seahood leaking into the deck and coming through the screw holes in the overhead. Not good, but I will get to it later.

 

[splax]

I think that water has also come in around the deck sewage fitting, traveled along the hose exterior to end up rotting the wood in the fwd stbd main cabin cubby.

 

[Ilanortho]

I think that water has also come in around the deck sewage fitting, traveled along the hose exterior to end up rotting the wood in the fwd stbd main cabin cubby.

Will check, but would not explain other wet areas. Thanks. Ilan

 

[H3newdog]

I too have water apparently coming in from under the toe rail/deck-hull joint. But I'm missing a piece of the lower section of the toe rail. I've found the entire toe rail is available but like $1500 each side. Hoping to find an old one somewhere I can cut and replace in sections.

 

[Fast Ed]

I suggest that you take down the cabin headliner. On an H34 this is a piece of thin plywood that is attached with many screws. My guesses are that your leak is coming from the handrails, or other marine gear that is bedded to the deck. You could also be getting a leak from the chainstays.

 

[Ilanortho]

Was off and refinished this winter along with rebedding the outside handrails with butyl, the mast step, outside hood, hatches, new ports etc. is why is so frustrating. Chain plates and genoa car tracks this winter planned on along with fill and pumpout ports

 

[Fast Ed]

Wow! The only thing I can think of is the mast step.

 

[Ilanortho]

Mast step was completely redone as the compression post had completely rotted out. The multiple wires causing this leak were replaced with a sealed cable/ gland that would not allow this to happen

 

[heart of gold]

I too, doubt that it is your toe rail. I have mine removed a the moment and given that it flanges out not in it would have to be a pretty severe storm to force water up and into the joint from below. I agree that it could be the genoa track or the sea hood.

 

[Ilanortho]

Was it hard to remove? Thanks Ilan

 

[heart of gold]

Well, my boat was in the yard getting repaired at the time and the contractor removed it. I asked them how that went and they showed me bent 5/16 bolts and said it was a bit of a struggle but they got it all off in one day. The biggest headache was the stanchion bases. As they are aluminum the bolts had interacted with the stainless and were frozen but with a little persuasion they came loose. The old rail remained slightly bent to shape but tended to straighten out. It was a bitch installing the new one which is perfectly straight. Finally used ratchet straps across to the starboard side toe rail to bend the new one into place.

 

[Colibri]

I’d like to thank everyone here for the invaluable information provided in the various threads. I purchased an ‘86 Hunter 34 this February and I’ve used many of the tips and advice posted here.

When I bought the boat I noticed numerous water stains in the mouse tick hull liner and assumed it was caused by drips from the genoa track bolts. Something I would get around to.

During a recent heavy rain my wife and I went to check on the boat and noticed the genoa track bolts were dry, but the spots on the hull were soaking wet. Water was running down the “wall” and puddling at the quarter berth deck and running to the sole. The source was well above the waterline.

I cut the mouse tick away and to my surprise I found water dripping, or weeping, from several spots along the hull. Not from holes or seams, but from what appears to be lap joints in the glass cloth.

I was glad to see someone has seen this and relieved they have determined the fix. Thanks Kloudie!

I had seen the thin line of caulk along the toe rail to deck joint had degraded and knew that was something I needed to address, but Kloudie’s description and illustration brought it all together for me.

33 years and unknown hours under stress from wind load and movement would have to loosen that joint. Couple that with old cracked and ineffective caulk and there’s no wonder water is getting into the joint. I suspect the water finds any voids in the laminate, no matter how small, and weeps out wherever it can.

I will snug all the toe rail bolts, replace the one or two missing bolts, clean and recaulk the deck joint. I’ve removed the mouse tick and will leave it out until I’m sure the hull is dry and the problem is abated.

Again, thanks to everyone here.

 

[Colibri]

I recaulked the toe rail/deck joint. It rained a few days later and I found all but one of the weeping spots in the hull had abated. I tightened all of the toe rail bolts this weekend. Almost all of them were loose. Some were very loose. Some only needed a little to snug them and perhaps four or five appeared to still be tight. I replaced one that was missing.

I’ll have to wait for another heavy rain to see if I’ve corrected the problem.

I’ll let y’all know how it goes.

 

[Colibri]

Well, we had another heavy rain. No significant change from the last rain. The weeping seems to have diminished to a degree. But two spots persist.

I suppose the next entry point could be the Genoa track. Perhaps water seeps in through the track bolt holes and migrates to the deck-to-hull joint. Has anyone resealed the track(s)?

 

[Colibri]

Oops! I see Kloudie has advised on tightening track bolts as well.