Oday 26 chain plate leak

[SailingTurtle]

I am interested in an O'day 26 and inspected the boat after a rain. One of the chain plates has a leak and the bulk head was wet at the top. I have heard this is a common issue for Oday 26s and 25s. How much water is too much water? I am scared that this happens with every rain storm and even if I rebed the chain plate, the job will not removed the water already in the core. The bulk head feels solid except around the upper most bolt. When I poked the upper most wood, it compressed slightly under my finger. The current owner said he is unaware of the leak. Thumbnails of the bulkhead included below and I have attached the full images.

Is this a big leak? What repair work may be needed? I liked the boat, but do not want to buy something rotting from the inside.

 

[dmax]

That's a good size leak. Most likely water has also entered the core. The good news is that the water generally migrates slowly across the end-grain balsa. If you want to know the extent of the moisture, you should do a sound test with a brass/plastic hammer in the area - it should produce a solid sound when you whack the deck (not too hard) - see if the sound changes when you get near the suspected leaks. You should also buy/borrow a moisture meter and take readings over the whole deck - this will tell you how big of a problem it is. A small amount of moisture is not that hard to deal with, there are some non-destructive ways to remove it.

If the bulkhead rot is limited as you say, easy enough to repair with some epoxy.

 

[SailingTurtle]

If the core moisture is localized around the shroud/chainplate, do repairs require taking down the mast? The shrouds for the oday 26 go to a single point on the deck and this boat is already in the water with the mast up. I have read about filling a small part of the deck with epoxy, but I assumed this was with the mast down. Is temporarily tying the shroud to a nearby part of the deck a bad idea? I appreciate any resources you are able to direct me to while I do my own search.

 

[dmax]

Don't have to take down the mast - you can tie off a halyard to the toe-rail or something solid and then remove the shroud to work on the chain plate. Be careful and it won't be a problem. Read this link on how to properly bed fittings in the deck for starters (MaineSail's web site is full of excellent information): Rebedding Deck Hardware With Bed-It Butyl Tape - Marine How To

Once you determine the extent of any moisture damage, you can then plan on how to attack it. On my boat, I was able to remove some rotted deck core around fittings using a dremel and various tools I fashioned to reach in and scrape it out. Then filled with thickened epoxy and re-drilled the hole. I also applied a vacuum over some high moisture areas where the core was still solid and lowered the moisture content from 20% to 10%. If the damage is extensive, some deck surgery will be needed - best if it can be done from below so the deck doesn't have to be refinished. Search the forum here for "deck moisture" and such, lots of threads on the subject. And ask questions.

 

[SailingTurtle]

Thank you so much!

 

[Ward H]

You also have to plan on replacing this bulkheads. Once they are soft they will not properly anchor the chain plate. This could result in the chain plates pulling out of the bulkhead.

 

[Tally Ho]

The problem is less about the chainplate leaks (you can reseal those), but more about any damage done to the decks and to the bulkheads where the chain plates are attached. Those wet bulkheads don’t look great to me. they can be fixed or replaced, but not easy or cheap. Soft decks are probably harder to fix if there is extensive core wetness or rot.

Greg

 

[Project_Mayhem]

Replacing a bulkhead is relatively easy but it involves work nonetheless. Just think of it as replacing some wood instead of part of a boat. If you decide to go this route, I can offer a few tips I learned replacing mine

 

[cb32863]

Yeah, you need to replace those. I had to do both in the 25 I used to own. At least these don't seem to be rotted so much that you lose the shape and can use them as a template. Take down the mast as you are going to need to work inside and out for a bit. Its just easier to do it that way. Once done, that deck penetration is a maintenance list thing. Always check it for water ingress. I would check every deck penetration for moisture. I had to redo toe rail screw penetrations and the core under the mast step. Unfortunately, this is an O'Day thing due to their manufacturing processes.

 

[Project_Mayhem]

The sales brochure raves about this new technology they used to seal everything called silicone. That clearly didn't work out so well

 

[Timm R Oday25]

I also noticed the chainplate had elongated the through holes in the bulkhead. Our 25' Oday is an 1981 . We have been fortunate that we have not encountered the leaking decks of other owners . When I replaced the bulkhead ,I saturated the ends and holes with clear epoxy . Now if there every is a leak it wont get into the wood . I also added a stainless strap to the back side of the bulkhead to clamp ,or sandwich the wood . This ,in theory should help spread the load from the chainplate . It also looks much cleaner and professional .

 

[RoyS]

When you rebed the chainplates pay attention to the four screws that hold the rectangular cover plate down. They are often the source of water penetration. They frequently fail to hold after the deck core has rotted. You can remove the chain plate and cover and then drill out the screw holes with, say, a 5/16" drill. Stop the drill before it goes completely through the deck. Fill the enlarged holes with epoxy and let them set overnight. Then, using the cover plate as a guide, drill pilot holes into the epoxy plugs for the screws. The screws will now grip tightly and will not admit water into the deck core. It is essential that these screw holes are not stripped for you to get a good caulking seal on the chain plate.

 

[SailingTurtle]

Thank you for all of these replies so far.

I also noticed the chainplate had elongated the through holes in the bulkhead. Our 25' Oday is an 1981 . We have been fortunate that we have not encountered the leaking decks of other owners . When I replaced the bulkhead ,I saturated the ends and holes with clear epoxy . Now if there every is a leak it wont get into the wood . I also added a stainless strap to the back side of the bulkhead to clamp ,or sandwich the wood . This ,in theory should help spread the load from the chainplate . It also looks much cleaner and professional .

Do you have a picture of your added SS strap? Are you referring to through hole elongation you can see in my pictures?

When you rebed the chainplates pay attention to the four screws that hold the rectangular cover plate down. They are often the source of water penetration. They frequently fail to hold after the deck core has rotted. You can remove the chain plate and cover and then drill out the screw holes with, say, a 5/16" drill. Stop the drill before it goes completely through the deck. Fill the enlarged holes with epoxy and let them set overnight. Then, using the cover plate as a guide, drill pilot holes into the epoxy plugs for the screws. The screws will now grip tightly and will not admit water into the deck core. It is essential that these screw holes are not stripped for you to get a good caulking seal on the chain plate.

I went to seal the chainplate covers the other day to plug the leak. This was intended to be temporary until I have time to remove the chainplates and remove the surrounding core. I initially tested one screw and it was stripped and easy to turn. Will the thickened epoxy for under the deck be enough to hold the screws down and compress butyl tape? Or should I oversize the screw holes and use a harder epoxy/material where the screws go into the deck?

 

[Timm R Oday25]

Here is the strap I made to sandwich the bulkhead

 

[Timm R Oday25]

I replaced mine rather than "hope ". It wasn't nearly as difficult as I thought it be .

 

[RoyS]

I used West System Thickened Epoxy G Flex. I drilled the original stripped screw holes oversized to 5/16" approximately 1" deep but not through the lower skin. I gouged out the soft core as best I could, then using a west system syringe filled the holes with GFlex. The next day after the epoxy had set, using the cover plate as a template and with the chain plates fastened in place I drilled 1/8" pilot holes for the 3/4" long No.8 screws (yours may be different). I covered the surrounding area with masking tape before caulking. I used Life Caulk rather than Butyl and forced it down into the space surrounding the chain plate with a putty knife before lowering the cover plate and screwing it down with light to moderate torque. The caulking should ooze out from under the cover plate and around the chain plate. Excess caulking may be trimmed up using a razor after it has set up in a few days. I am not sure that you can force butyl down into the space surrounding the chain plate in the deck. I also do not recommend re-tightening the cover screws after the caulking has set as is sometimes done. Tedious and messy, this job is often passed over or done improperly. Hope this helps.