Water in The Battery Compartment

[Randy Simmons]

I have a 1985 H23 and have constantly had a problem with getting water in the aft (battery storage) compartment. My thru-hull for the motor wires and charging system is sealed and tight. I put a plastic drop-cloth under the "lift-up" seat in the cock pit and caught a lot of water when I checked it. That meant the water is coming in from there, but how do I stop it? I am pulling her out of the water this Sunday from my dock on Lake Erie and bringing her home for the winter and would like to fix this problem. PLEASE throw any suggestions, fixes, ... By-the-way, took her out for the last sail of the year last Sunday and had a beautiful day until the wind died about 3:00pm when I was in front of Kelley's Island. This boat has been the best investment of time and money I have ever made! Thanks!Randy SimmonsH23 "Munchkin"

 

[Jim Maroldo]

H23 leaks

Randy, are you getting water ONLY in the well under the battery, or all over inside the lazarette? At rest in the slip, our 23 seems to have a slight list to port (probably because the sink, water tank & battery are all on that side!). Anyway, I climbed inside while the admiral sprayed water all around the cockpit area. We found that the gutters around the port seat/lazarette cover tended to overflow at the lowest point (y'know...where your back meets your legs?). I solved this problem by gluing a pair of 'L' shaped pieces of plastic sheet along the inside edge of the gutters. I sized them so the underside of the seat just clears them when closed. each leg of the 'L' is about 4" long. Haven't had any leaks since!BTW, you might also want to rebed the hinges on the lid, check the lower gudgeon pin bracket and the cockpit drain hose & fitting while yer at it. Jim Maroldos/v: 'Lil Wass Ett III

 

[Rob Morton]

Leak on h23

Randy,I think Jim got it all right. We had a leak in the same spot and I rebedded the hinges and locks and this took care of the problem. I resealed the cockpit drain at the same time, it was a little bit loose and may have leaked a little bit. I did this at the beginning of the sailing season and we had dry compartments all season. Glad you had a good last sail. Our last sail before we pulled it out was one of the best all year, about 15 to 20 knots of wind and just awsome. We can't wait until next season.Happy working on the boat!Rob Mortonh23 Euphoria

 

[Steve Ullrich]

Gudgeon pin bracket...

I bought an '85 Hunter 23 the first of August. Water in the lazarette, among other places. The lower gudgeon pin bracket, the lower mount for the rudder, was loose. It was way loose, it obviously wiggled around when I torqued the tiller back and forth. I was on the water so I just tightened it up as well as I could and the leak was stopped completely. Now that I'm off the water for the season I took off the bracket to let it dry out and to check for rot. You should check that out too.

 

[Mike]

thru hulls

When I hose my boat down I get some water in the lazarette as overflow thru the lazarette cover gutters. But I'm betting your problem is a bad seal around the cockpit drain hose or the bottom rudder pintle.Incidentally Buckeye guy..........you gotta regatta with us H23 guys at Indian Lake next summer! Email me at sailordog@hotmail.com for details.

 

[Randy Simmons]

Thank you!

Thanks for the suggestions and I will look into everything mentioned by all! You people and this site has gotten me through a lot of things with getting the Munchkin back on the water after 9+ years. Mike, I would love to go to Indian Lake, but I single hand most of the time, have to make arrangements way ahead of time for help to pull the boat in and out of the water, and work a minimum of 70 hours a week (usually 75!). It's just hard to promise anything right now...Thanks again,Randy SimmonsH23 "Munchkin"