I Found My Leak! Woo hoo!

Rick R.

Rick R.

Contributing Partner
Thankfully, we've had a ton of rain here in sunny Florida, enough to do some detective work. For a while I have found a small amount of water in the forward storage compartment under the v-berth cushions.

With more rain in the forecast yesterday,I removed everything and laid brown paper all over the berth. This morning I detected a small amount in the crease beneath the vinyl on the starboard side. I was able to trace it forward and upon pulling back the vinyl just aft of the anchor locker bulkhead I saw it!

The starboard, aft bow pulpit stanchion base is leaking water around the wires for the bow light. In the next few days I will remove it and rebed with butyl tape. Not sure about how to waterproof the area around where the ss pulpit sits in the base. That seems like a place that could leak.

Any ideas?

Also, the pulpit seems like it sits in ss bases and is held in by set screws. Anyone have a method of freeing those screws like PB Blaster?
 

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Shelman

Shelman

Member III
Blogs Author
Rick,
My boat leaked there too. After trying many "fixes" including trying to fill the tube with sealant and drill a weep hole above the fill, and re bedding the base several times, I finally filled the deck hole with thickened epoxy and ran the wires through the next forward stanchion base which comes through at the anchor locker and thus does not drip into the v-birth. I have also removed the anchor locker pan and added a watertight bulkhead at the back of the anchor locker (an upgrade I can adamantly recommend) with a direct drain hole through the stem, so now the drips from the wires simply go into the anchor locker and back out to the sea. The wires then continue through the bulkhead and on to their previous journey to the electrical panel. A few others here have had the same leaky spot, and I would surmise that all the Ericsons wired this way have leaked from day one.
 
Rick R.

Rick R.

Contributing Partner
Shelman said:
Rick,
My boat leaked there too. After trying many "fixes" including trying to fill the tube with sealant and drill a weep hole above the fill, and re bedding the base several times, I finally filled the deck hole with thickened epoxy and ran the wires through the next forward stanchion base which comes through at the anchor locker and thus does not drip into the v-birth. I have also removed the anchor locker pan and added a watertight bulkhead at the back of the anchor locker (an upgrade I can adamantly recommend) with a direct drain hole through the stem, so now the drips from the wires simply go into the anchor locker and back out to the sea. The wires then continue through the bulkhead and on to their previous journey to the electrical panel. A few others here have had the same leaky spot, and I would surmise that all the Ericsons wired this way have leaked from day one.
Click to expand...

Great idea!

So you drilled a new hole in the forward stanchion base and through the deck?
 
Tom Metzger

Tom Metzger

Sustaining Partner
Thankfully, we've had a ton of rain here in sunny Florida, enough to do some detective work. For a while I have found a small amount of water in the forward storage compartment under the v-berth cushions.
Click to expand...

Relax... The rain will stop early next week when I arrive in state. In the meantime PB Blaster should do it. A hammer always helps.

Have you considered glop around he wires where they go into the pulpit? The leak won't seem so bad if there is no water involved. :rolleyes:
 
Rick R.

Rick R.

Contributing Partner
Tom Metzger said:
Relax... The rain will stop early next week when I arrive in state. In the meantime PB Blaster should do it. A hammer always helps.

Have you considered glop around he wires where they go into the pulpit? The leak won't seem so bad if there is no water involved. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Ill have a nice hoppy beer for you Tom.

I think the water is coming in under the base and is traveling down the wire from there. I like the idea of running it through the anchor locker and sealing the hole in the deck above the v-berth.
 
D

Don Smith

Member II
I had a similar leak years ago and assumed the water was coming in where the stanchion base meets the deck. WRONG! I eventually determined that the water was entering at the top of the stanchion base tube where the stanchion tube enters the base tube. The other stanchions don't leak because the bottoms of the stanchion bases don't have holes for wires.

The simple solution is to apply a generous bead of clear exterior grade silicon around the joint where the stanchion tube enters into the stanchion base tube. I remove the old silicon and apply fresh silicon about every two years.

Captain Don
E26, Gitana
 
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Shelman

Shelman

Member III
Blogs Author
Don Smith said:
I had a similar leak years ago and assumed the water was coming in where the stanchion base meets the deck. WRONG! I eventually determined that the water was entering at the top of the stanchion base tube where the stanchion tube enters the base tube. The other stanchions don't leak because the bottoms of the stanchion bases don't have holes for wires.

The simple solution is to apply a generous bead of clear exterior grade silicon around the joint where the stanchion tube enters into the stanchion base tube. I remove the old silicon and apply fresh silicon about every two years.

Captain Don
E26, Gitana
Click to expand...


I tried that one too but it failed and leaked again in my case. I guess I didn't apply strong enough voodoo request to Poseidon LOL.:egrin:
 
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