I have a DS22. We recently left it moored for 5 days and when we pulled it, there was a tremendous amount of water inside the hull. It ran full force for at least 15 minutes and explains why the last two days of sailing were sluggish at best. I don't see any hull breaches or even large cracks that would explain it, and the plug in the back was secure. I did have to raise, or partially raise the centerboard every night to keep from dragging on the dock's mooring line. I'm not sure if the only seal is when the centerboard is down?, fully up? or what? Anyone else experience this. When I reach through the bottom inspection ports the centerboard looks like a sealed compartment?
Leaky Hull?
- Thread starter Marc Ridenour
- Start date
Do you know what year your boat is? It is rare that a 1980-85 model would leak that much at the CB pivot as it is mostly external, with just 4 screws penetrating the hull, although they could still leak!
The 1971-79 models had a bolt through the CB trunk that held a plastic bushing in place inside the CB trunk and the CB pivoted on that bushing. These boats can leak around that bolt if it is loose or the rubber gaskets are worn out. With either vintage DS II the CB should be raised most of the way while moored (anchored or in a slip), yo ucould raise the Cb all the way, but if on a mooring or anchor, the boat seems to sail arounf less if the CB is down a little. Anyway, there is no difference in any "seal" whether the board is up or down, other than with it up at least most of the way it will reduce the side to side banging of the CB as the boat rocks. So, the below pictures/diagrams show first, the 1971-79 pivot setup, and the rest show various details of the 1980-85 version.
The way that the Day Sailer II deck and hull are molded fortunately creates a "boat within a boat" assuming there are no leaks i nthe deck/cockpit molding, that plus the built-in foam flotation limits how far a DS II will usually flood while moored. Still, it is very important to always open those Inspection/Bailing ports and remove any water that has collected since last use, before sailing! Hopefully, we rarely find much!
The 1971-79 models had a bolt through the CB trunk that held a plastic bushing in place inside the CB trunk and the CB pivoted on that bushing. These boats can leak around that bolt if it is loose or the rubber gaskets are worn out. With either vintage DS II the CB should be raised most of the way while moored (anchored or in a slip), yo ucould raise the Cb all the way, but if on a mooring or anchor, the boat seems to sail arounf less if the CB is down a little. Anyway, there is no difference in any "seal" whether the board is up or down, other than with it up at least most of the way it will reduce the side to side banging of the CB as the boat rocks. So, the below pictures/diagrams show first, the 1971-79 pivot setup, and the rest show various details of the 1980-85 version.
The way that the Day Sailer II deck and hull are molded fortunately creates a "boat within a boat" assuming there are no leaks i nthe deck/cockpit molding, that plus the built-in foam flotation limits how far a DS II will usually flood while moored. Still, it is very important to always open those Inspection/Bailing ports and remove any water that has collected since last use, before sailing! Hopefully, we rarely find much!
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Hey Sunbird, thank you for the quick post. My DS is a 77 model. I did have that CB pin out earlier this summer when I snapped the down board pull rope. That was a fun experience. The seals and gaskets all looked good, but I wondered how tight to make the bolt assembly when I put it back together. Maybe I didn't get it tight enough? I was worried that I wouldn't be able to take it down if it was too tight. Sill, it seems that it would be hard to leak there from what I can remember from the assembly. I would have liked to have that first picture when I was working on it. Maybe I will get in there and verify that I have it as the picture shows, and tighten up the bolt. We usually just day sail, so it won't be moored again until next labor day week, unless I can talk my wife (first mate) into another week this fall or early spring. Thanks again for the help. I didn't suspect that it was filling with water, although now it makes perfect sense why the boat was acting like a a tank even though the winds were calm. I will be checking those inspection ports more often, although hard to bail from there?
Marc in Kansas
Marc in Kansas
As long as that plastic (Nylon?) bushing is there and was cut to the correct length if ever replaced (should be about 1/8" longer than CB is thick), then you can tighten the bolt pretty snug. A little silicone sealant between the gasket and the CB trunk side helps too.
Bailing through those ports is not easy if there is a lot of water, but I have found that a small hand bilge pump will work OK, not perfect, but it works, mine has a hose long enough to reach over the side of the boat.
Bailing through those ports is not easy if there is a lot of water, but I have found that a small hand bilge pump will work OK, not perfect, but it works, mine has a hose long enough to reach over the side of the boat.
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Thank you so much for your posts, pictures, suggestions, and encouragement. I haven't gotten back to the issue yet. I am wondering if that nylon bushing might have come out when I removed the bolt to lower the CB out of it's pocket to replace the pull down rope. I guess I need to remove the bolt again and check for the bushing before tightening it up with the silicone sealant. The bilge pump is a great suggestion and I will look for one of them. Thanks, again. Marc from Kansas sailing "Tetelestai Diconia" at Clinton Lake