Water in lockers

[Greg]

My 1999 260 leaks a few gallons of water when only when I'm sailing, not when it is at the dock. Where do you suppose this water is coming in? The water appears under the stern bunk and ends up under the port and starboard seats. Is this normal? I cannot use the storage space under the seats with water in there. Help!

 

[Bernie]

Leaking a little

Greg,A couple of our fellow 260 owners have told me about a similar problem caused by small leakage along the deck to hull joint that occurs only when they are heeling over while sailing. Some 3M 5200 in the joint under the rub rail should be able to fix this problem pretty quickly. You should be able to tell if this is the cause if you have any water in your lockers aft of the stern bunk. One other possibility for water back there, is that the hole drilled back aft for the stern light wire, was never caulked and this is where your leaking water is originating. Some 3m silicone marine caulking around the wire will resolve this problem. I still get a few gallons of water when sailing through weeping from the vent plug (even though it's very tight) and the top of the water ballast valve. This mainly happens when sailing or when I have several guests on board. The dealer is pulling the boat today to check if there is something caught in the bottom of the ballast valve and to install a new gasket.I also get a few gallons of water under the port and starboard bunks when it rains. The water flows off the forward end of the lexan hatch and some of it runs along the overhead and down the walls on both the port and starboard sides. If this is the source of your water, you will find wet spots on your seat cushions as well.Good Luck in finding your leaks.

 

[toomas oja]

Water

Greg I've described my experiences under the title "Mystery leaks".Toomas

 

[Jeff Peltier]

similar leak

I had a similar leak in my 260. I finally discovered by lying in the back end of the boat while sailing that the problem was in the the hull joint at the back of the boat. Hunter started sealing this joint with a hard grout that would crack when the boat flexed. We had to cut the hard grout out with a router and reseal with 5200, which is flexable. I understood at the time, Hunter was changing to 5200 in the joint, but yours may not have this.Jeff Peltier

 

[Bob]

Friends Experience

We have friends with a 26 who have experienced similiar problems. After a geat deal of frustration they finally traced it to water entering the bilge pump thru hull on the stern. A cork from a fine bottle of wine has solved the problem for the moment, but they will be installing a check valve once the boat is out for the season.

 

[Steven Bott]

Water Bed

Hi Greg,I also have a 1999 Hunter 260 and have suffered with the wet bed and water in the storage lockers for almost a year. Working with a dealer, we discovered that water was entering the area around the balast tank by the center board area. This is fairly easy to check, just remove the covers below the table and observe the seal around the post while motoring at full speed. The fix was to add spacers to the post raising it up then resealing. After that was fixed we continued to accumulate water under the rear bunk, this was coming in from the screws that hold the bottom plate for the rudder post, they are just above the water line so when in still water in the marina no problem. But when I went sailing, wet bed. I'm taking the boat to the dealer tomorrow to have that repaired. One thing I'm glad to say is the dealer here in Jacksonville has never given up on getting this right.Steve BottSerendipity