oday 31 - chronic leakage?

[dan]

I looked at a lovely 1986 ODay 31 today with the hopes of purchasing. It has been a rainy week in NY and I found a lot of moisture inside the cabin where the inside of the hull meets the storage shelves behind the seats. The carpeting that lines the inside of the cabin walls was saturated with water right where it meets the base of the storage shelves from entry point into the cabin up to the forward bulkhead, on both port and starboard sides.I thought that the carpeting material on the cabin walls was glued directly to the inside of the hull but the carpeting was only wet where it met the bottom of the storage shelves. Seemed like water was leaking down between the inside of the hull and whatever lining the carpeting was glued to, accumulating on the shelves and being wicked up into the carpeting. The boat is on the hard and tilted slightly forward so I suspect that water is coming in through the stanchion bases and working it’s way forward along the shelves but I can’t believe that multiple stanchion seals on port and starboard would fail.I was wondering if anyone else had experienced this type of an issue with an Oday 31 and that the cause and fix was.

 

[dave19301]

run don't walk away from that boat! it is rotting

it is rotting away inside there are many good ones out there you can find

 

[matt]

Inside hull water

I bought a 78 ODay 30 about 5 years ago and encountered a similar problem: hull liner wet below the shelves. The boat had been hit during a hurricane in LI Sound a few years before my purchase, and I attributed it to loss of stanchion seals. However, there was more involved. It seems ANY porous through-deck fitting will send water to the hull liners in that area (e.g., rub rails, jib sheet track). I ended up totally replacing the shelves and the hull liner but still have one or two small leaks (e.g., bow anchor locker). If I were going to do the job again, I would glue ribs on the inside of the hull and attach the liner to that. There is another problem I have that is more vexing: condensation. This collects below the water line and will wet the liner in those areas: it also drips down to the cabin deck, which I did over in teak (which now has some water spots). The venilation in these older boats is insufficient: this season I am going to try a small dehumidifier (hooked to dock electricity).I recommend checking for rot in the deck of the boat: check for a spongy feeling as you walk the deck. If there is a lot, you could be in trouble. I have a small amount that has been stable for years (I re-sealed the main hatches and hand rails, which were porous).

 

[Paul Case]

O'Day 31 which one?

Did you happen to see this boat at McMichael's yard in Mammaroneck? I looked there this past weekend and found a similar condition in a 31. The carpeting was mildewed and slightly damp. My guess is the stantion bases since you could see some black sealant squeezed out from underneath. The deck seemed solid in all areas so I suspect damage has not occured.

 

[james rohr]

dave is all wet!

water accumulating at the shelf could be comming from any number of places. It may or may not be a major problem. depends on where it origin is and how long its been going on. if its fron a leaking stansion base then not a problem except its a pain in the wasu to get to the bolts underneith to fix. it could be from a chain plate and if so that would allow water to penatrate the cored deck and possibly rot the balsa core in the deck. if thats rotted then its a major problem. it could be from a port lite leaking and once again allows water to get into the cored deck. the origin must be found and then assertain the damage done, if any. another possibility is the coach top grab rails, with age they can loosen and allow water once again get into the cored deck. these are also a pain in the you know where. you have to drill out the plugs in the rails above and below to access the bolts, as the grab rails are thru bolted to each other, as they should be. I may be wrong here as, I'm assuming that the 31 has the same type grab rails as my "79" 30. Any place there is a penatration in the coach roof or the deck is suspect.of course all of these should be checked any time there is any heavy rain to make sure no new leaks have started and if any found taken care of post haste. nothing will kill a boat faster than an unatteded leak that allows water to get into any portion of the cored areas.remember that if any does get in, it takes a long time for it to dry out.capn jim Que Pasa?