Mystery leak on OC321 !

[bebebleu]

To all current and previous owners of OC321, I have been looking for a deck leak on mine without much success. Wonder if any of you out there have had the same problem? The symptom is weird, somehow water must be accumulating somewhere in a low spot inside the deck (behind the inside liner in the roof somewhere I suppose), when the boat heels to starboard, I end up with water in the head compartment cupboards. I am quite sure that it is not lake water. Really looks like it is rain water that must have accumulated somewhere and moves there when the boat heels. Has anyone seen this before and can point me to possible source of the leak? I rebedded my handrails and the screws for the coachroof top. That didn't seem to help.

 

[Tim]

I found mine

After 2 years of chasing a leak on my 321 I found it last year and fixed it once and for all!I was getting water coming down the liner from behind the stove and collecting in the storage area right below the stove. At the top of the liner, behind the cabinetry, there is a ledge that IS the top of the hull liner. Above this, you see the inside of the outer hull. Anyway, I figured the water had to be migrating along this ledge before spilling down into the stove area, so I widened my search to everything above that ledge.The only place water could have been coming from was the hull-deck joint because the upper liner had a lip on it that wouldn't allow water to spill onto the ledge below. I let a hose run on deck with the water washing all over the toerail in that area and then went below and started looking. After removing the microwave and laying upside down on the counter with my head under the side deck area, I saw the culprit! Low and behold there are screws on the hull-deck joint that are UNDER the aluminum toerail and can't be seen or removed from above. There was a hole without a screw in it and also a screw that was dripping. They must not have gotten enough sealant right in that area when they bonded the hull and deck together. I turned off the water, dried the area out with a heat gun (and time), and gobbed a bunch of silicon up in there from inside. Viola, no more leak!Anyway, your problem does sound like it could be coming from the upper liner and a hatch or handrail, but have a look at the hull-deck joint in that area too.Good luck,Tim

 

[bebebleu]

I'll have a look

Thank you Tim for the tip. I will certainly have a look at this and report back. Sounds like I could have a similar problem. We'll see. Has anyone else had this same problem with their 321?

 

[Chris]

I have had a water leak as well

I have also had a water leak on my Oceanis 321. It is showing up in the electrical panel dripping down from the right side. Always dry in port, but when I sail, the water drips to the ledge at the bottom of the electrical panel and then drips on the nav table and into the nav desk. I suspect it might be something similar to what Tim found, but not sure how best to seal up the toe rail screws from that side...

 

[John Gray]

Find your leaks

Perhaps the easiest way to find a leak in a boat with a hard headline like a Beneteau is to use positive air pressure and very soappy water. Simply seal the boat as tightly as possible including vents, then rig a large shop vac in blow configuration to blow into the cabin to create positive pressure inside, Try making a tempoprary hatch board that the hose end of the shop vac can attach to and seal it up well. Then flood the deck with very soappy water (dishwashing detergent works pretty well, but could strip off wax), and look for bubbles around all the fittings and toerail where the air is trying to escape. Good luck.