O'Day 222 Minor leak in the cabin

[DanC]

Hello all. I've been watching the forum for two years now since I bought a '84 222 but this is my first post. I rented a slip on Lake Somerville NW of Houston this year because I got tired of stepping/unstepping the mast every time I wanted to go sailing. I noticed last weekend after the boat had been in the water for two weeks I had a little bit of water underneath the hatch board in the cabin that covers the centerboard pendant sheave. I looked at the cockpit drain hose and it looked like the original 32-year old hose so the Admiral and I pulled the boat out of the water last weekend to replace it. I'm SO glad I didn't try to replace it in the slip (the thought crossed my mind). When I pulled the hose off the thru-hull fitting in the hull the fitting came out with the hose! That would have been a real quick glug, glug, glug to the bottom of the lake!

The centerboard pendant runs through a 90 degree curved SS pipe and connects to the fiberglass housing that the pendant sheave is in. The hose connecting the pipe to the fiberglass housing is where I'm assuming the water is coming from. I tightened the four hose clamps today but my question is; has anyone ever changed this particular piece of hose and can you tell me what type of material it is clamped to on the sheave side? Is it just a pipe shaped piece of fiberglass, a plastic pipe (like a thru-hull fitting) fiber glassed in or a piece of SS pipe fiber glassed into the sheave housing? I would like to replace this hose before we put the boat in the water tomorrow but don't want to take the chance on breaking something that cannot be repaired in the boat ramp parking lot. The Admiral wants to sail and we should have really good conditions Saturday. Thanks in advance for any help you can give on this subject.

 

[DanC]

Well, since I've had zero replies (same result I get on the motorcycle forums), I thought I'd let y'all know what I've found. Maybe it can help someone in the future. I spoke with Rudy at D&R Marine Friday and he said this particular hose is clamped to a pipe shaped piece of fiberglass in the sheave housing. I was able to tighten the clamps on the hose (not the easiest things to get to, 1/12 turn at a time with a wrench) and we put the boat back in the water Friday night and sailed most of the day Saturday. There was a little bit of wetness back underneath the cabin step that we couldn't really reach to get completely dry before sailing but it didn't seem to be getting any wetter throughout the day. We left her in the slip when we left Somerville Saturday evening. I'll probably drive back up there sometime this week to see if I'm still taking on water.

 

[Jeff222]

I haven't replaced mine yet but appears to be standard automotive heater hose, is that what you used?

 

[DanC]

I replaced the cockpit drain with 1" heater hose from the auto parts store. It's kind of tough to get it to make that 90 degree turn without it kinking closed but I got it done. Next time I'm at the parts store I may ask to look at their formed 1" radiator/heater hoses to see if they have one with a 90 degree bend already that I could cut down to get a better fit. I haven't replaced the hoses on the pendant line pipe yet, I'll have to pull her out again to do that. I did drive up to the lake last night and the cabin is still dry. Tightening the clamps has stemmed the tide for now.

 

[Jeff222]

Great! I replaced the cockpit pit drain with some hose from West Marine, similar to original but clear with the wire reinforcement.
I have almost completed the restoration. Some pics are on the ODay face book site.

 

[Win and Jack]

Hi,
In an effort to solve a water problem, I replaced the cockpit drain hose with a pre-formed 1" ID radiator hose that I purchased from the local NAPA store. Cost about $7. I did it while the boat was on the hard, though I had been tempted to do it at the mooring. As Dan C said in his post, it's risky to do it in the water because (in my case) the boat is an '84, and who knows if the thru hull is going to hold up.
However, it did not solve my water problem. She takes in quite a bit of water under sail. Yesterday, we sailed her pretty hard (wind was very strong) to see if I could see where the water was coming in. Sure enough, water started to appear in the cabin, under the port side seat cushions. No drip marks or moisture on the carpet liner above, but under the cushion and eventually in the bilge. Then, of course, when we tacked and heeled, the water made it's way to the starboard side. Long story short, I still cannot identify where it's coming in. After being on the water for about 3 hours, I pumped about 3 or 4 gallons out of the bilge (aft, by the lazarettes, and in the cabin storage areas under the seat cushions).
Any thoughts? Anyone else have this experience?
Thanks much,
Jack

 

[Jeff222]

If you sure that it is not coming from the swing fin hose I would check the hull to deck joint. When I removed the rub rail I was able to tighten those screws and reseal the joint. Ours had dried out Sitka flex the type material no more leaks. I also found the sink drain fitting to be leaking and resealed it as well. If you get it dry put toilet paper around the through fittings and see if you find a leak.
I am betting it is from the hoses on the fin pendant leaking when the pressure of sailing is affecting it

 

[Win and Jack]

Thank you, Jeff. I wondered about the hull to deck joint but I'll probably wait til end of season to take a look at that. I will also take another look at the centerboard pendant hose. Thanks,

 

[SchwarckT]

My 1980 O-Day 22 (shoal keel/CB) did the same thing. I found that water was coming up the centerboard pendant tube and leaking out at the top just before the pendant enters the cockpit. This only happened when sailing with the board down and was more noticeable in breezy conditions. The factory pendant tube ended a few inches before it reached the cockpit. I replaced it with something long enough to reach all the way to the cockpit and it helped a lot.

 

[Win and Jack]

As I read these posts, the centerboard pendant seems to be the most likely culprit. I think I'll re-seal the hull to deck joint as well.
Some things to work on over the winter.