Need Advice on a Leak Repair

[Garry]

Our '94 Hunter 26 recently developed a leak. We've gone through the standard check lists of thru-hull fittings and tried the technique of adding dye to the water ballast tank with the result that no "blue" water ended up in the bilge. Still the water persisted (albeit slowly). The main symptoms we have to go on is that the water travels aft into the bilge from what appears to be two channels that travel under the floor where the head and galley counter are. The 2nd symptom is that the side berth storage area had collected water after a day of sitting in the water.Hunter recommended checking the center board pin for adequate caulking. Unfortunately this requires the boat to be at least 6' off the ground (a feat that I cannot perform).A hunter dealer is continuing to investigate the ballast tank overflowing. But I don't understand how our dye test did not indicate this as a problem.I am also at a loss to explain how a boat degrades to this condition without a collision of some sort. I know that we have never hit anything more than a gentle nudge of the dock with the bow of the boat. Certainly nothing that could cause this.Any suggestions are welcome. Does anyone know how to get a list of "recalls" from Hunter (I called them but they did not volunteer any information).

 

[Steve]

Addtional Checks

Yikes.. Check the little forward screw hole at the bottom of the compression post, also as Hunter indicated, check the calking and tighteness of the big bolt on the compression post plate. I think if you are loaded with gear and people, this area is under the water line and could be subject to static leaking. Also, the whole big plate could be leaking and need caulking to the trunk.Another chance could be the through bolts to the lower rudder support bracket may need attention. Also, is their any through holes made for electrical or other things in the gas tank storage area. I heard of folks drilling a through hole fitting and having enough back wash during launching and motoring to leak into the aft area.I had a leak in my cockpit table fitting, the table support was not true and caused cracking into one corner, thus when rain or wash water collected it would slowly drain into the aft liner and find it's way to the lower areas, however the amount was small but took awhile to figure out the source. Water has been known to backflow in through the bildge pump due to lack of loop during hard starboard beats.Other possiblity is the drain in the anchor compartment is leaking into the bow then into the bidge, slightly.Other then the above, it would have to be structural or simply a deck fitting leaking around the liner somewhere. Also, you got to be careful when washing the boat down not to spray hard near the top (fold up) area as the water will exceed the draining capacity and run into the cabin.Good luck.. keep us posted as we can all learn from this!Steve

 

[Garry]

Additional Info on "Additional Checks"

Thanks for the advice Steve.I've requested that the dealer concentrate on the centerboard area and compression post plate. I'll keep you updated.As for the possibility of thru-holes in the gas tank storage area and back wash during launching, the water is continuing to seep in after the launch is complete. So I don't believe this is the issue.I also thank you for the tip on the cockpit table. I hadn't thought of this area. Unfortunately there is too much water in the bilge (approx 2-3 gallons per 8 hour period) for this to be the cause.I did confirm that the bilge hose loop is sufficiently high, in addition I have backflow preventers in the line to ensure that the water doesn't flow freely into the bilge.I'll try to keep the readers of this problem posted.

 

[Rob]

Another possibilty

This past week, I was perplexed by a leak into the bilges of our 23.5, until my wife & I figured out that it was not coming from outside at all. The leak was in our galley pump. Could the water be coming from your fresh water system?RobKinship