i know this subject has been beat on before but....i personally am satisfied water is not coming up from my keel. while it was out last winter i had used a shop vac to suck the area between the hulls dry and after a good snow, (i only had the cockpit area covered), i found water in the keel bolt areas again. so, its coming from somewhere up top. i am going to go throught the anchor locker drain shortly and make sure that's not leaking. also, while it was out last winter i cleaned, retorqued the keelbolts, recaulked the keel seam, and used a couple if coats of interlux barrier over the caulk and keel. while in the water, the water in the keelbolt area only comes up a few inches and stays steady....if it was coming from the lake it would continue to rise. maybe i'm a bit anal about this small amount of water but i expect the bottom of my boat to be dry! so....i'm wondering, is there room between the inner and outer hulls for one of the small bilge pumps? say, the area back under the step where it rises up a little. the smallest rule pump is only 3 1/2" tall and i could drill for the outlet hose through the fiberglass "rise" at the end of the double hull and under the aft bulkhead. (The one that seperates the laserette area under the cockpit from the salon), and run the hose out the transom and then wire the pump and cover the hole i made to mount the pump. has anyone mounted a pump under here? my other option if there isn't room might be to mount a small deck wash type pump in the laserette area with the intake run through the same placed hole and the output out the transom. my next step is to pull the rub rails and rescrew and reseal between the upper and lower hulls....although i see no evidence of water coming in here. looks like there would be water stains on the wall carpet if this was the source of this much water. tia~ william
weeping keelbolts.....revisited....again!
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water issue
I also recently found water getting into my bilge but I don't think it's coming in at the keel bolts. In my case it seems to be coming in at the ####### drain thru hull. No matter where the water gets in it will drain to the keel bolt area. Check the seam around your windows, all thru hulls, mast base fittings, chainplate area, etc. I once read that you could draw a line near a suspect area with a water soluable marker and watch it for smearing. Good Luck.
I also recently found water getting into my bilge but I don't think it's coming in at the keel bolts. In my case it seems to be coming in at the ####### drain thru hull. No matter where the water gets in it will drain to the keel bolt area. Check the seam around your windows, all thru hulls, mast base fittings, chainplate area, etc. I once read that you could draw a line near a suspect area with a water soluable marker and watch it for smearing. Good Luck.
Leaks, leaks, everywhere!
William, I just fixed the seventh topside leak in the Hunter 23 I just bought. I've found that, as a general rule, if the compartment with the foremost keelbolt is getting water in it, it's coming from the bow. I suggest that you lie up inside with a flashlight looking into the bow drain area while someone sprays a hose on the bow eye, chainplate inside the locker, locker drain, and DON'T forget the tiedown bar on the bow. Also open the storage compartment under the vberth and check in front of that bulkhead for water. Any bow leaks will cause water to pool here before it runs between the hull and the floorpan. If you have no water in front of that bulkhead but still get water under the front floorboard it's probably not the bow. All of these were leaking on mine causing water to collect in that forward recess. If the rub rail is leaking (as mine was), water collects in the vberth floor recess, side storage compartments, or in the rear lazarette. If you find water in the middle floorboard, it's likely the companionway cover that's leaking (my horizontal lexan piece was bowed inward allowing water to pool and overrun the dam at the end). Water in the rearmost floorboard or cooler storage areas will typically be overflow from another area. I flipped my horizontal slide over and counter sunk the other side of the through holes for the handles and such so now it has a nice crown to run water off the sides. I still have something leaking in the rear lazarette that I'm chasing. It's not the hull to deck seam because I've resealed the joint and every screw. It's not the cockpit drain because it's been fiberglassed with several layers. I'll find it though!
William, I just fixed the seventh topside leak in the Hunter 23 I just bought. I've found that, as a general rule, if the compartment with the foremost keelbolt is getting water in it, it's coming from the bow. I suggest that you lie up inside with a flashlight looking into the bow drain area while someone sprays a hose on the bow eye, chainplate inside the locker, locker drain, and DON'T forget the tiedown bar on the bow. Also open the storage compartment under the vberth and check in front of that bulkhead for water. Any bow leaks will cause water to pool here before it runs between the hull and the floorpan. If you have no water in front of that bulkhead but still get water under the front floorboard it's probably not the bow. All of these were leaking on mine causing water to collect in that forward recess. If the rub rail is leaking (as mine was), water collects in the vberth floor recess, side storage compartments, or in the rear lazarette. If you find water in the middle floorboard, it's likely the companionway cover that's leaking (my horizontal lexan piece was bowed inward allowing water to pool and overrun the dam at the end). Water in the rearmost floorboard or cooler storage areas will typically be overflow from another area. I flipped my horizontal slide over and counter sunk the other side of the through holes for the handles and such so now it has a nice crown to run water off the sides. I still have something leaking in the rear lazarette that I'm chasing. It's not the hull to deck seam because I've resealed the joint and every screw. It's not the cockpit drain because it's been fiberglassed with several layers. I'll find it though!
some good ideas Jake...
is that link you're website? i was reading it last night at work. i have a website detailing the restoration of my 85 BMW, (included here as a "non related" link), that i am considering taking down now that the project is done and replacing it with my sailboat restoration project website....something wrong with this picture....i can't leave anything just "as is". i just gotta have everything usually BETTER than new! when i got the boat it had water....lots of it....in all the places you mentioned. it had so much sloppy silicon on the topsides that i considered naming it "The Silicon Queen". (but i didn't want any misunderstandings) :-O. now, the lazerette area is pretty dry. what little i do get here now i suspect is coming from the back keelbolt area/double hull toward the laserette. i have removed and rebedded all the hardware back there....winches, cleats, replaced the jam cleats with cam cleats and bedded them, removed and resealed the backstay "chainplates", removed the pintels and motor mounts and resealed them and replaced the badly leaking hose from the cockpit drain to the through-hull. (the one that almost sank her when i launched her because the through hull is right on the waterline.....DUH! anyhow, i corked the through-hull till i could replace the hose and put power to the already installed 1500 rule pump that i had mounted in the fore part of the laserette but not yet wired. i removed and rebedded all the stanctions and sheet fairleads. haven't done the chainplates yet as i see no evidence of wetness ever there and they still have the old, about a tube, of silicon smeared all over them for now. anyway, there is no water under the lockers, (even after a rain), and i don't find any dampness in the cushions as i have removed and resealed the windows. i did however recently find some water under the v berth area and in the front sole area. not much but enough that i suspect the anchor locker. its the rear keelbolt area that continues to be my nemesis. this weekend its a bottom cleaning and i'll probably flood the anchor locker area and watch for whats happening up there. the hatch may be next tho i see no "evidence" of water leaking there. the traveller rail is one piss-poor design.....forming a dam between it and the hatch with just 2 small, allways plugged, troughs under it for water to drain from. i drilled 4 horizontal, 1/2" holes through the travler rail as low as i could get them so that area could drain from behind the rail. the rub rails have been sealed on top (by me), and look pretty sound....and by a previous owner on bottom with what looks like many tubes of silicon. hense, that may be why i'm not seeing any water in the locker areas under the seats anymore but i still don't trust whats under the rub rails. this is one fun little boat. quick, just big enough for 2 on the lake, and good looking. i am doing almost a total restoration, (some of it not by choice), so she's pretty nice looking. but, from all i have read these must be the leakingist boats hunter ever put together. your info has been a great help thanks allot. i'll closely scrutinize the places you talked about....and if that is your website, and if i do get the time to do one i'd like to link to it. i find that there seems to be very few websites/people out there crazy enough to put this kind of work into an h23! william
is that link you're website? i was reading it last night at work. i have a website detailing the restoration of my 85 BMW, (included here as a "non related" link), that i am considering taking down now that the project is done and replacing it with my sailboat restoration project website....something wrong with this picture....i can't leave anything just "as is". i just gotta have everything usually BETTER than new! when i got the boat it had water....lots of it....in all the places you mentioned. it had so much sloppy silicon on the topsides that i considered naming it "The Silicon Queen". (but i didn't want any misunderstandings) :-O. now, the lazerette area is pretty dry. what little i do get here now i suspect is coming from the back keelbolt area/double hull toward the laserette. i have removed and rebedded all the hardware back there....winches, cleats, replaced the jam cleats with cam cleats and bedded them, removed and resealed the backstay "chainplates", removed the pintels and motor mounts and resealed them and replaced the badly leaking hose from the cockpit drain to the through-hull. (the one that almost sank her when i launched her because the through hull is right on the waterline.....DUH! anyhow, i corked the through-hull till i could replace the hose and put power to the already installed 1500 rule pump that i had mounted in the fore part of the laserette but not yet wired. i removed and rebedded all the stanctions and sheet fairleads. haven't done the chainplates yet as i see no evidence of wetness ever there and they still have the old, about a tube, of silicon smeared all over them for now. anyway, there is no water under the lockers, (even after a rain), and i don't find any dampness in the cushions as i have removed and resealed the windows. i did however recently find some water under the v berth area and in the front sole area. not much but enough that i suspect the anchor locker. its the rear keelbolt area that continues to be my nemesis. this weekend its a bottom cleaning and i'll probably flood the anchor locker area and watch for whats happening up there. the hatch may be next tho i see no "evidence" of water leaking there. the traveller rail is one piss-poor design.....forming a dam between it and the hatch with just 2 small, allways plugged, troughs under it for water to drain from. i drilled 4 horizontal, 1/2" holes through the travler rail as low as i could get them so that area could drain from behind the rail. the rub rails have been sealed on top (by me), and look pretty sound....and by a previous owner on bottom with what looks like many tubes of silicon. hense, that may be why i'm not seeing any water in the locker areas under the seats anymore but i still don't trust whats under the rub rails. this is one fun little boat. quick, just big enough for 2 on the lake, and good looking. i am doing almost a total restoration, (some of it not by choice), so she's pretty nice looking. but, from all i have read these must be the leakingist boats hunter ever put together. your info has been a great help thanks allot. i'll closely scrutinize the places you talked about....and if that is your website, and if i do get the time to do one i'd like to link to it. i find that there seems to be very few websites/people out there crazy enough to put this kind of work into an h23! william
Main hatch and traveler track are typical
I also had problems with these areas. As William pointed out, the traveler track is a probably the worst area. Water collects there, then drips over the companionway sill into the cabin. From there it's a short trip to the bilge. As suggested, go below, close up the cabin and have somebody douse the boat with a hose. The leaks should show up pretty quickly. Peter h23 "Raven"
I also had problems with these areas. As William pointed out, the traveler track is a probably the worst area. Water collects there, then drips over the companionway sill into the cabin. From there it's a short trip to the bilge. As suggested, go below, close up the cabin and have somebody douse the boat with a hose. The leaks should show up pretty quickly. Peter h23 "Raven"
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