Leaky 26M

[stoway]

We have just bought a 2005 26M here in Australia. We had a few heavy showers, and I was disappointed to find water had penetrated the hull.
The water appears to have run down the inside of the carpet material making this very wet at the bottom just before floor level. A pool of water is now sitting in the very aft bilge.
I suspect the water may have come via the rubber strake which raps around the hull as the sealant is cracked in places. Any ideas please ?

[bastonjock]

The places to check are generally,the chain plates were the rigging attaches to the deck,also bow roller,mast base, and anywhere else that is bolted to the deck,check the windows too.I have a split in my rubbing strake,its never let in water.I used a black coloured sealant and squirted some in to seal the split.

you can also try the search facility at the top of the page,its very usefull as this topic has been discussed before.

welcome to the forum

[Paul S]

could be the windows as well.

Still trackign down the last couple leaks on our boat. Could be some deck fittings (cleats etc), daggerboard block, etc and it just finds its path further away than you can imagine.

[Currie]

Hi Stoway,

Where in the aft bilge is it exactly? Since there are water ballast "ribs" running the length of the boat, water tends to collect into one of three zones...



If it's in the middle of the aft (like collecting behind the battery compartment), I'd supect either the cable boot for the motor controls, the rudder line tubes, or the pedestel. I've had a leak in the pedestel (around the instruments) that then travels down the stainless steel post, in between the deck and deck liner, then follows the cables down before dripping into the bilge.

If the water is collecting in one of the outer sections of the bilge, I'd think about windows, chain plates and deck hardware (as mentioned above), or the deck hull joint as you suggest.

Good luck!

~Bob

[c130king]

My '05 leaked at the starboard chainplate and the starboard forward stancion. You could see where the water had trickled/stained down the carpeted side wall. But some clear silicone around the base of the stacion and the chainplate fixed the problem.

Good Luck,
Jim

[CrPlater]

I had a similar problem with my '04. I dock on a busy river where there is a lot of waking of the boats while docked. I removed the rub rail partially (along the sides only - left it attached around front & back to ease reattachment) and could see that the hull to deck joint was opening up and allowing water inside as you describe. Capillary action I believe. Sides of carpeting would be dry by the time I got back to the boat. Lots of water at the botom. Perplexing at first. I left a post here a couple years ago about how I fixed it. Took 2 of us about 8 hours. Still good - no water inside boat after 2 more yrs. of pounding against dock.

I found joining bolts to be on 5" centers. I drilled holes in between. Small hand grinder to entire joint to create a small 'V'. 5200 in 'V'. New SS bolts in new holes, tightened slightly. Allowed 24 hrs. to dry. Retightened all bolts. Push rubrail back on.

[AJ]

Had the same problem a couple of years ago. Pull off the rubber at the leaky point, clean out the dirt, liberal application of Sikaflex over joint, reclamp the rubber and leave for 24 hours. No more leaking since. Mind you, it doesn't seem to rain here anymore.

[opie]

Cr and AJ have the best advice. Give the extra effort they did and make the corrections without the rub rail and then replace the rub rail. Resist the temptation to caulk the rub rail to the hull. Not pretty and not effective.

Having said that, it is probably only a 20% chance that the hull-to-deck joint is the source of the leak.

[craiglaforce]

I have an X but here are some thoughts in order of likelihood (if it was an X).

1) inner seam of fuel locker.
2) helm cable where it penetrates the deck.
3) sink drain hose connection to through hull tube.
4) deck fastener
5) mast light through deck fitting.


It is hard to track the leak source, because the water can travel a bit between the liner and the deck (if #1 or 2).
Also, you are in Australia, and are upside down, so water naturally finds its way into odd places. (be careful with the head as well)

[stoway]

Leaky Update,

Rubber was removed to reveal several gaps had opened up between deck and hull. This has beem all resealed. Unfortunately water is still getting into the cabin mainly around the area of the port chainplate and running down the (inside) of the carpet of the cabin side, making this area very wet. There are some fatigue fractures around this chainplate which we are looking into. Thanks for all the feedback.