leaky M?

[pythonguy]

I just got my 26M (barely) in the driveway, it's a really beautiful boat. Towing it for the first time really got my nerves up but we brought it all the way home. We're having quite a rain storm here in Oregon, 24 hours of continuous downpour, even my house is starting to leak.

I've been checking the boat now and then, with the slow charger on the battery and a small heater on low setting to keep it dry. I've notice two very small areas of drip accumulation, one under the left front skylight, and the other at the lowest point in the wire bundle that comes out of the pedestal. It could be condensation, but it seems there is a slight amount of moisture there continuously, the drip rate is very slow.

Is this normal? I'm a new owner, I'm wondering if this is something that can be quickly and easily sealed up with a small amount of silicon putty or something. I'll check what seals I can on the windows with a hose (or if it keeps raining , any recomendations on what to check on the pedestal?

[kmclemore]

I've notice two very small areas of drip accumulation, one under the left front skylight....

Sounds like a leaky window frame - common problem - see if you can pinpoint the exact area, and then when things dry out you can apply a little black 5200. Very often it is one of the screw holes that's at fault. Remove screw (two person job - one inside, one outside), apply the sealant to the hole, reinstall screw, tighten only enough - these are easily stripped and windows are easily cracked if pulled down too tightly.

...and the other at the lowest point in the wire bundle that comes out of the pedestal. It could be condensation, but it seems there is a slight amount of moisture there continuously, the drip rate is very slow.

Also a common problem.... water runs down the remote control, along the cables and right down into the boat. You'll need to use some sealer to close up the hole where the cables go through the cockpit sole, inside the pedestal.

Is this normal?

Sadly, yes. Mac's are great boats, but from new they need a bit of sorting-out first. Join the club!

[delevi]

I would have the dealer address the leaks. You shouldn't have to seal leaks on a brand new boat.

[Craig LaForce]

You can also get a pedestal cover. I simply bought a polyester lawn chair cover at a lowes or a H Depot and use a bungee to hold it on. Protects the wheel and any other toys that get mounted to the pedestal.

[Catigale]

I would have the dealer address the leaks. You shouldn't have to seal leaks on a brand new boat.

True - but you have to balance hauling the boat back and forth to the dealer vs. acquiring a skill that you are going to need anyway, once the warranty expires...



Think of it as practice for adding mods!!!

[Jeff]

I bought my 26M last February and parked it on the driveway. In early March we had a rainstorm that was one of the rainiest I can remember. The day after the storm quit I went into my boat and found the carpet wet in the head at the floor. (Please no jokes about poor aim, the porta-pottie was not yet installed and no one had been aboard). I'll post a picture of the suspect area if anyone's interested or had a similar leak. I inspected the chain plates and they were bone dry. The way the boat was sitting on the trailer I didn't think the chain plates were the culprit. That leaves the window over the head as a possible leak spot, but again nothing else was wet. Since that mother of rain storms I have not had any leakage or signs of water at that spot since. But I did have a small leak in the rear berth. That one turned out to be the bolt hole for the steering linkage lock down bolt. I just put a little dab of 5200 on that and problem solved. I'm still suspicious of that head window, since others on this board have had window leaks but the boat has stayed bone dry since that time.

[Shane]

I just got my 26M (barely) in the driveway, it's a really beautiful boat. Towing it for the first time really got my nerves up but we brought it all the way home. We're having quite a rain storm here in Oregon, 24 hours of continuous downpour, even my house is starting to leak.

I've been checking the boat now and then, with the slow charger on the battery and a small heater on low setting to keep it dry. I've notice two very small areas of drip accumulation, one under the left front skylight, and the other at the lowest point in the wire bundle that comes out of the pedestal. It could be condensation, but it seems there is a slight amount of moisture there continuously, the drip rate is very slow.

Is this normal? I'm a new owner, I'm wondering if this is something that can be quickly and easily sealed up with a small amount of silicon putty or something. I'll check what seals I can on the windows with a hose (or if it keeps raining , any recomendations on what to check on the pedestal?

Congrats, and condolences. I'm in the same boat (pardon the pun). My yet to be found leak is up in the V birth. My boat is on about a 10 degree bow down angle (yard slope), and water is pooling at the front of the V berth up on the 'deck' of the berth, at the bottom of the wall carpet where it meets the berth deck. I'm a little stumped, but will keep looking. It doesn't appear to be from a through hull, and I don't feel any obvious trail of dampness coming down the carpeted side (gunwhale)(?). Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Regards,
Shane

[KayakDan]

Shane,I also had the required amount of leaks on my new M. It's amazing that water can get into such small places. Best way to find the leak in the v berth is get the boat good and dry,then have one person with a flashlight inside while you systematically run a hose across various parts of the bow.When the in side person sees the leak-signal to the outside to make a note where the hose was-there's your leak! I found a pedestal leak that drove me crazy-power line to the compass-tiny gap that fed water in.

Possible suspects in the bow-hatch cover-screws for hatch support-Filler for water bag-vent installed on hatch. Unlikely suspect-skylights. Cleats and drain for anchor locker probably aren't the problem as they would drip inside the liner.
3M 5200 will become your new friend!

[Catigale]

GEt some of those purple Nitrile gloves when you are messing with 5200...keeps it off the fingers - especially if you wear contacts...

[pokerrick1]

No - - get some of the BLUE nitrille gloves - - - the job will go faster!

Rick

[pythonguy]

Wow! Thanks for all the help guys, I checked the boat this morning and the leaks have mostly dried up, last night was the most intense phase of the rain (I hope! They are still calling for 6-9 more inches today!) and this morning it was raining lightly but the window was not leaking. The pedestal still had some moisture under it on the cushion but not much more than last night. I did find another drip hanging from the front under the liner on the port bottom edge of the anchor locker, and one hanging off one of the port rudder control linkage arms.

No measurable water in any of the bilges, I think these are very minor leaks (whew!) and I expect a few well placed gobs of the recommended sealant will do the trick.

Thanks! Go Vote!

[Shane]

Ditto what Pythonguy said: Thanks all!!!

[Lease]

Can you throw a few of those rainfall inches this way? Total rainfall for October where I live was way less than half an inch. The drought is into its 4th year with no sign of abatement.

Regarding leaks at the front, one that I found on my X was coming from the forestay anchor point.

[pythonguy]

Well my new online friends, this appears to be a much more serious problem then my initial investigation revealed. Today after a lot more hard rain it let up in the afternoon and got colder. I went out to check the boat to see how it look, initially everything looked good, the window wasn't leaking, and the drip stain under the pedestal wire bundle looks a little better. Then I checked under the left storage boards and under the battery, LOTS of water! This is exactly the heart sinking moment that I wanted to avoid buying a new boat.

The water is clearly streaming down the hull from somewhere. This quantity of water was not under the battery yesterday (of course it rained much harder today) although I can't say that there is none. The worst is where the port storage structure which the galley slides on meets the carpet, it's soaked through from back to front all the way, all total it is a lot of water, it is pooling in the port bilge area and in the port half battery compartment. The boat has not been in the water, so obviously it is coming from above.

Well first thing tommorow I'm going to tarp this thing up. Reading previous posts on this board about lemon boats made me feel even worse. You guys have seen this and have given advice on this before, now I hope that you can help me here. Where should I start on this?

[Paul S]

Our M leaks at the traveller...haven't decided if I want to pull it off and reseal..or try to use some flowable silicone to seal the leaks..

Paul