Leaks on 30+

[Jerry Butler]

I have just purchased an 84 30+ and am experiencing water leaks during rainstorms that originate somewhere midships above the cabin table and come out either port or starboard just above the windows. I have unzipped the closest area in the padded roof liner but cannot see where the water is coming in. In the most recent rainstorm, I covered the cabin top with a tarp, however the drips occurred anyway. Has anyone else experienced a similar problem?

 

[Geoff Johnson]

If your mast is keel stepped, then my guess is that the water is coming down the inside of the mast (probably in the wiring chase behind the sail track) and then following the the wiring where it runs out of the mast between the headliner and the cabin roof. This happened on my 32-3 and I cured the problem by twisting the wiring where it exited the mast into a loop so that the water is forced to drip down the mast. There is no way to stop the water from coming into the boat via the mast, so the best you can do is to direct it by the shortest path to the bilge.

 

[Jerry Butler]

leaks - reply

Geoff, thanks for the thought, but the 30+ is a deck stepped mast.

 

[Sean Engle]

Leaks...

Did you check the backs of all of your thru-mounted hardware? If you have no recorded of re-bedding, then you should check them all - both for being sealed and general condition. If they're all ok, then I would check the seahood next for possible leaking...

//sse

 

[Loren Beach]

One place to look for that mystery leak is the fastenings that hold the mast plate/base to the cabintop. Our last boat had a deck-stepped mast, and I did have to rebed these large bolts. I had to remove the spar. You do not want to have water causing rot in the support post... Very Bad Thing...


(The offending bolts may only be visible with the spar off the cabintop.)

Is your mast designed to be pivoted down using a spinn pole as a gin-pole? Or, more likely, will you have have to pick it?
Our club has a small crain for boats up to about 32 feet -- very handy at times. It's a good excuse to gather a buncha members to run both hand-crank winches while others go aboard to pull pins and guide the mast butt. Entertaining to watch, as well!


Best,

Loren

 

[Siltbird]

We just had some pretty heavy rain here in LA, so I did an inspection under the headliner on my 30+. I found a lot of what I figure is condensation on the fiberglass underneath the the deck. Some areas are pretty dry, but the areas with the moisture have no fittings or holes in the deck for water to enter. It's in specific areas, and has built up quite a bit, definately enough to drip. However, there is some moisture buildup under the mast step, so I'm probably going to get a rigger to take a look. Does this sound like the same problem you may be having?

 

[Siltbird]

The inspection I was talking about before was 2 days ago, after a big rain. I left the zippers on the headliner open to let some air get in there. It rained hard again last night, and when I looked today everything was bone dry, including under the mast. So now I'm pretty sure it's all just condensation. Try keeping all the zippers open during the next rain and see what happens (put some towels down just in case I'm wrong).

I also have an air dryer going all the time, but it's not powerful enough to make a huge difference in the remote areas where I saw the condensation.

 

[escapade]

Jerry;
I owned a 1980 30+ for 8 years and found that the ports are the most likely source for the leaks. I would certainly check the headliner for wet spots as you have indicated you have but if nothing shows up there it's most likely ports. Check also to see if a previous owner drilled the mounting holes for the hand rails through the cabin top. That could be another source. It's always fun to blame the previous owner for the problems!! I found that a polysulfied calk works best. Silicone always seems to leak and 3M 5200 is way to permenant!! Remove the port by taking the screws out of the interior trim ring, completely clean both surfaces, apply the sealant and reinstall. Allow the polysulfide to cure a few days and then clean off the excess. If you do it right away it is real messy!! Good Luck. Bud