My boat developed a mysterious leak while sitting in the driveway.
Thought I had gotten them all during the summer.
Tried all the excellent tips from the archives on tracking down leaks.
Obviously it only happened during rains and my attempts at using the hose failed. Found that the toe rail was funneling water to the spill ways. So I sprayed water directly on rub rail. Bingo!
I started removing just sections at first but found that it was a lot easier removing the whole thing. Should have measured the pieces for future ref.
The aluminum base only had the occasional drain holes and the space between it an the hull was almost solidly plugged with gunge which probably allowed water to back up into the hull\top space. Yep, a lot of the caulking was degraded. Took as much of the old stuff off as I could, cleaned and recaulked. Also drilled drain holes every 18" or so. Also caulked all the attachment screw holes before reinstalling.
Time consuming but well worth it.
Dry as a bone...till the next big storm :-(. Haden't closed the main hatch completely.
On to other things
tom c
Thought I had gotten them all during the summer.
Tried all the excellent tips from the archives on tracking down leaks.
Obviously it only happened during rains and my attempts at using the hose failed. Found that the toe rail was funneling water to the spill ways. So I sprayed water directly on rub rail. Bingo!
I started removing just sections at first but found that it was a lot easier removing the whole thing. Should have measured the pieces for future ref.
The aluminum base only had the occasional drain holes and the space between it an the hull was almost solidly plugged with gunge which probably allowed water to back up into the hull\top space. Yep, a lot of the caulking was degraded. Took as much of the old stuff off as I could, cleaned and recaulked. Also drilled drain holes every 18" or so. Also caulked all the attachment screw holes before reinstalling.
Time consuming but well worth it.
Dry as a bone...till the next big storm :-(. Haden't closed the main hatch completely.
On to other things
tom c