After cutting the floor out of my OD22 I noticed that along the port side of the floor the bottom 'skin' was not drying. In fact, it kept getting wetter! I took up the plywood bottom of the port berth and found puddles of standing water! It seems like this water should flow underneath the cabin liner and into the bilge. From the seepage I can tell that there must be water accumulated all along the port berth/cabin floor line from the bulkhead all the way back to the companionway. I have no idea what is going on or how to fix it. I know the first step is to find and fix the leak, but I am worried about water not draining into my bone-dry bilge. I would appreciate any help with this. Thanks!
Water NOT in Bilge
- Thread starter JoshGray
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Fresh Water Leaks
Hi Josh: O'Days of age will start to leak from rain water in a variety of places. Stanchion post bolts through the deck, deck hardware attachment points, and the cabin ports. I suspect your ports are the culprit. The moulding of the port forms a two-piece bridge between the outer deck fiberglass and the inner cabin liner. Glued into the sandwich is the lexan port view panel. I have not had the courage to remove it fearing that the operation will destroy the lexan panel as well as the critical moulding. I chose to use a clear silicone caulk and do both the inner and outer seams of the "glass" and the port moulding against the cabin structure. This helped somewhat. You may also need to rebed and check every deck fitting that has a bolt through the deck into the cabin. With age, these penetrations are sure to start to leak. Water also may come in through the cockpit floor if it's cracked or split. Even a small hair-line jel-coat crack will let some water in. It's a process of elimination and one of patience. I finally got 90% of my deck fittings and ports caulked or rebedded and that seems to leave the cabin dry. I still get water inside from the wood deck hand holds, but that's another project" Water will also sneak around the companionway boards when heavy like in a strong shower, or wind-blown rain. My boat leaks more from above than below. I guess that's a good thing. Good Luck, Stu "Karakahl" 1979 O'day 22 CB On the hard
Hi Josh: O'Days of age will start to leak from rain water in a variety of places. Stanchion post bolts through the deck, deck hardware attachment points, and the cabin ports. I suspect your ports are the culprit. The moulding of the port forms a two-piece bridge between the outer deck fiberglass and the inner cabin liner. Glued into the sandwich is the lexan port view panel. I have not had the courage to remove it fearing that the operation will destroy the lexan panel as well as the critical moulding. I chose to use a clear silicone caulk and do both the inner and outer seams of the "glass" and the port moulding against the cabin structure. This helped somewhat. You may also need to rebed and check every deck fitting that has a bolt through the deck into the cabin. With age, these penetrations are sure to start to leak. Water also may come in through the cockpit floor if it's cracked or split. Even a small hair-line jel-coat crack will let some water in. It's a process of elimination and one of patience. I finally got 90% of my deck fittings and ports caulked or rebedded and that seems to leave the cabin dry. I still get water inside from the wood deck hand holds, but that's another project" Water will also sneak around the companionway boards when heavy like in a strong shower, or wind-blown rain. My boat leaks more from above than below. I guess that's a good thing. Good Luck, Stu "Karakahl" 1979 O'day 22 CB On the hard
Thanks Stu
I appreciate your response, I have read a lot of your posts and reply on this forum and have been impressed with your generosity when it comes to helping fellow sailors. I actually started the process of rebedding everything on the deck about two weeks ago. Now it is a bit too cold in the afternoon for my epoxy to setup right. Hopefully this weekend it will be warm enough around noon for me to continue this work. I also think that the port are a likely culprit. Luckily, I am planning on painting the entire deck, so removing and rebedding everything is definitely in the works. However, the area of my greatest ignorance here is this: Why is the water not draining into the bilge? I don't think that I understand the nature of the OD22's bilge(s). It seems to me that this water should flow down the inside walls of the hull and into the bilge. Also, it seems that there is another layer of glass between the bilge and the bottom of the cabin sole, what is this? Thanks again, I am looking forward to a dry O'Day!
I appreciate your response, I have read a lot of your posts and reply on this forum and have been impressed with your generosity when it comes to helping fellow sailors. I actually started the process of rebedding everything on the deck about two weeks ago. Now it is a bit too cold in the afternoon for my epoxy to setup right. Hopefully this weekend it will be warm enough around noon for me to continue this work. I also think that the port are a likely culprit. Luckily, I am planning on painting the entire deck, so removing and rebedding everything is definitely in the works. However, the area of my greatest ignorance here is this: Why is the water not draining into the bilge? I don't think that I understand the nature of the OD22's bilge(s). It seems to me that this water should flow down the inside walls of the hull and into the bilge. Also, it seems that there is another layer of glass between the bilge and the bottom of the cabin sole, what is this? Thanks again, I am looking forward to a dry O'Day!
Your water problems may be caused--
---by the gunwhale strip. According to Rudy of D&R Marine, the caulking only lasts about 10 years. I was getting leaks about two years ago on my 222 and sure enough, that was the culprit. I didn't take the whole gunwhale off the boat all at once. I took off half of it at a time, recaulked it and reinstalled it back. I have a rubber that fits into my metal gunwhale strip and I took the rubber out of the Port side gunwhale, as far as where the metal seams come together, which was near the Starboard bow, then unscrewed the metal strip and took it off. I used a regular boat caulking, like "Boat Life Boat Caulking." Then I reinstalled the Port gunwhale and did the Starboard gunwhale the same way. I have a book called,"Good Boat Keeping." It has a lot of little tips and hints. They tell you that a regular cleanser that you can buy in your local supermarket, Zud Cleanser for instance, which contains Oxalic Acid, will clean fiberglass and take out all the stains which are imbedded in the gel coat. I found this to be true, but what they neglect to mention, is the fact that the Oxalic Acid will also eat out any caulking on your deck. It's very possible that your leaks can be coming from stanchion post mounts, but it's a heck of a lot easier to remove the gunwhale strip, where it is screwed on, than to unbolt stanchion mounts and plates. Since I recaulked under my gunwhale strip, I haven't had a water problem since, and she's dry as a bone inside. I can almost bet that you're problem is coming from this area. If not, then you can narrow it down by checking other areas. Good Luck, and let me know how you made out.
---by the gunwhale strip. According to Rudy of D&R Marine, the caulking only lasts about 10 years. I was getting leaks about two years ago on my 222 and sure enough, that was the culprit. I didn't take the whole gunwhale off the boat all at once. I took off half of it at a time, recaulked it and reinstalled it back. I have a rubber that fits into my metal gunwhale strip and I took the rubber out of the Port side gunwhale, as far as where the metal seams come together, which was near the Starboard bow, then unscrewed the metal strip and took it off. I used a regular boat caulking, like "Boat Life Boat Caulking." Then I reinstalled the Port gunwhale and did the Starboard gunwhale the same way. I have a book called,"Good Boat Keeping." It has a lot of little tips and hints. They tell you that a regular cleanser that you can buy in your local supermarket, Zud Cleanser for instance, which contains Oxalic Acid, will clean fiberglass and take out all the stains which are imbedded in the gel coat. I found this to be true, but what they neglect to mention, is the fact that the Oxalic Acid will also eat out any caulking on your deck. It's very possible that your leaks can be coming from stanchion post mounts, but it's a heck of a lot easier to remove the gunwhale strip, where it is screwed on, than to unbolt stanchion mounts and plates. Since I recaulked under my gunwhale strip, I haven't had a water problem since, and she's dry as a bone inside. I can almost bet that you're problem is coming from this area. If not, then you can narrow it down by checking other areas. Good Luck, and let me know how you made out.
Appreciate response
Thanks for the input. That is definitely on the agenda. Any idea about the water not draining into the bilge?
Thanks for the input. That is definitely on the agenda. Any idea about the water not draining into the bilge?
Differing Bilges
Hi Josh; Thanks for the reply. I checked out the link to the O'Day blog and a big thanks to the ambitious owner of that boat for posting those great photos. It's always nice to see how it's done first before doing it yourself. What keel does you boat have? Mine is a centerboard, and the bilge is a narrow slot in the floor with a long, narrow fiberglass panel over it. The bilge of my boat is literally split in two longitudinally by the centerboard trunk. There is little space there, and there is definitely no secondary liner. I suspect your boat is the shoal keel model and they very well may have cored the deck into the hull at that point - who knows? Judging by the pics from the blog, it looks like O'Day did something like that. If you are getting water trapped in the spaces below the berths, then the cabin floor is solid to the hull beneath which supports what is shown on the blog. The only interior liners in the boat are the cabin roof and sidewalls by the ports, and the liner which forms the benches and floor of the cabin. In my boat, water accumulates in the bilge and the cabin floor sort of floats over the hull. I do get trapped water aft near the cockpit, and it's slight. It's a boat after all - it's meant to get wet sometime! The posting on the gunwhale is also correct - something I did not address yet! Good Luck and stay warm. Stu "Karakahl" 1979 O'Day 22 CB On the hard
Hi Josh; Thanks for the reply. I checked out the link to the O'Day blog and a big thanks to the ambitious owner of that boat for posting those great photos. It's always nice to see how it's done first before doing it yourself. What keel does you boat have? Mine is a centerboard, and the bilge is a narrow slot in the floor with a long, narrow fiberglass panel over it. The bilge of my boat is literally split in two longitudinally by the centerboard trunk. There is little space there, and there is definitely no secondary liner. I suspect your boat is the shoal keel model and they very well may have cored the deck into the hull at that point - who knows? Judging by the pics from the blog, it looks like O'Day did something like that. If you are getting water trapped in the spaces below the berths, then the cabin floor is solid to the hull beneath which supports what is shown on the blog. The only interior liners in the boat are the cabin roof and sidewalls by the ports, and the liner which forms the benches and floor of the cabin. In my boat, water accumulates in the bilge and the cabin floor sort of floats over the hull. I do get trapped water aft near the cockpit, and it's slight. It's a boat after all - it's meant to get wet sometime! The posting on the gunwhale is also correct - something I did not address yet! Good Luck and stay warm. Stu "Karakahl" 1979 O'Day 22 CB On the hard
Great Info!
Stu, Thanks again! I am glad that you liked the pictures that I put up of my restoration process. I suppose that 'ambitious' is a bit of an understatement considering what I am trying to do and my lack of experience. Learn by doing right? When I am finished with that project I will definitely post it in the photoforums. You are right, my boat is the shoal keel version and there doesn't appear to be a bilge aft of the companionway. Perhaps there is one below all the foam underneath the cockpit sole? If there is I shudder to think of what is in there b/c there doesn't appear to be any way to drain it! In any case, I was able to extract most all of the H2O from underneath the berths with a towel. The sole has dried out along the offending edge and it is starting to look up for the sole replacement project. I also found atleast one leak... around the ports! Surprise surprise. I will be redoing this as soon as I can figure out how to get them out of the pound and a half of silicone gluing them in. Any tips on that would be appreciated. Thanks again and happy holidays!
Stu, Thanks again! I am glad that you liked the pictures that I put up of my restoration process. I suppose that 'ambitious' is a bit of an understatement considering what I am trying to do and my lack of experience. Learn by doing right? When I am finished with that project I will definitely post it in the photoforums. You are right, my boat is the shoal keel version and there doesn't appear to be a bilge aft of the companionway. Perhaps there is one below all the foam underneath the cockpit sole? If there is I shudder to think of what is in there b/c there doesn't appear to be any way to drain it! In any case, I was able to extract most all of the H2O from underneath the berths with a towel. The sole has dried out along the offending edge and it is starting to look up for the sole replacement project. I also found atleast one leak... around the ports! Surprise surprise. I will be redoing this as soon as I can figure out how to get them out of the pound and a half of silicone gluing them in. Any tips on that would be appreciated. Thanks again and happy holidays!
Josh, call me...
...at 828-310-8111 I think I know what your problem is, you haven't got down to the bilge yet, call me, I will explain it. I'm usually up late, 11 or so. Jack
...at 828-310-8111 I think I know what your problem is, you haven't got down to the bilge yet, call me, I will explain it. I'm usually up late, 11 or so. Jack
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