Water Leak Found !!!

[Wally Boggus]

For awhile now I have been trying to locate the source of water leaks that drain into the aft cabin both above the locker on the port side and through the access covers below the steering pedestal. Today I gave it another go and discovered that the sheet well on the port side was the culprit. Filled it up with water, and presto, water ran down the liner in 2 directions. If you have similar aft cabin leaks flood test your sheet wells.w

 

[Bruce Grant]

Sounds like

When they drilled the weap hole to drain the well, they went too low.Mine were too high to fully drain the well, so when they went to lower it, they stopped short of where is should be due to concerns with having a leak like you mention.Regards.Bruce.Neon Moon

 

[Bob]

Water Leak

This is the exact problem I have been having with our 320 since we purchased it. I actually figured this was the problem as there are gaps in-between the top of the sheet wells.How did you correct your problem? I tried caulking but couldn't get my big mits back into the small spaces to caulk every gap.Let us all know how you fixed it and what you used.THANKS!!

 

[Wally Boggus]

Fix

Bob is right. What you can feel, if you can twist your hand up into the thing, is a joint between the top and the bottom and inside cockpit combing. I'm not sure that the weep hole is completely water tight, but the major leak is in the joint work. Best way to fix this? Probably get ten reasonable answers but this is what I did. Yesterday I crammed a whole quick-fix epoxy stick into the joint the best I could (small hands would be most helpful if not necessary). Today I crammed/smeared/packed 3 globs of 3m 101 along the joint (don't forget the rubber glove). Tomorrow I'll fill it up and see what happens. A messier but perhaps better fix in retrospec may have been to fill the joint with a cut glass resin blister repair mixture followed by a silicon adhesive if necessary. Bruce, I also notice that the weep hole is a bit high allowing the water to pool to the level of the joint. However, since my boat lists somewhat to starboard even after a dual battery refit, I'm not sure that lowering the weep hole is going to completely drain the well and prevent water/joint contact. In any event after eliminating the leaky joint I'm going to see about improving the weep hole drainage.

 

[Wally Boggus]

Weep Hole Too!

Good fix for weep hole that also weeps into the aft cabin liner.Materials:Structural filler (cut glass and resin)GellcoatRound fileDrill bit or boreStart by filing out the weep hole to expose voids and remove dealer or factory installed silicone.Dab out a half dollar size of structural filler and chop fibers to into a workable consistency before adding hardener.Spread filler onto a suitably sized drill bit or back end or a bore and press into sides of weep hole. Let dry for 20 min.Smooth out filler work with file and check for voids and apply a second coat if needed. Smooth out.Apply gelcoat using same tool and process used to apply filler.Done.