Wet Aft-berth

[Roy]

Help! Help! I have a 1985, Hunter 31. I have a wet, rotting area on the lower starboard side wall of the aft-berth. The wall is made of formica on marine plywood and it separates the aft-berth and the large starboard locker. It is a puzzler.The rotting area is about as large as a softball. I can not find where the water is coming from. Anyone had a similar problem with your sailboat?? Any guesses? It appears it has been leaking for some time. Any info will be appreciated.

 

[Steve Dion]

Probably a cockpit drain.

Roy:I would suspect that one or both of your cockpit drains are leaking. I would suggest that your remove the drains and rebed them.The bulkhead is actually just melamine (same stuff that is used in the head area). Where about is the softspot in the bulkhead? Have you removed the cover for the steering quadrant to see if you can detect any water infiltration?

 

[Roy]

Soft Spot

Thanks for the reply, Steve. The "soft spot" is about 3/4 the way aft. Is this bulkhead structural? I will check the cockpit drains. I will remove the cover for the steering quadrant again. Did not see any there before. Is this something I need to do STAT or do I have sometime to repair it? Roy

 

[Steve Dion]

Also....

Roy:Also, I would like you to remove the cushions in the aft berth and do two things. 1. Plug the cockpit drains and put a few gallons of water in the cockpit. Then check both drains to see if there is any leakage.2. Fill the water tank and check to see if the water tank lid is leaking. 3. Do not forget to check the fill hose for the water tank too.All of these areas are potential problem areas.

 

[Bill]

Rubrail Bolts?

I had a problem on my Catalina where the wall was wet and discoloring in three spots, one was in the lazeret. Turned out the rubrail bolts needed to be reembedded. That stopped the problem.

 

[Roy]

Thanks again Steve. I will try that this weekend. Roy

 

[Roy]

Rub Rail

Thanks for the info Bill. Roy