Leaks - A Point of Reference Please

[Rob]

I have a "new to me" 1985 E26. Overall, she's in absolutely stunning condition. Plus, I've been upgrading or replacing many of the systems so that she is as close to a "new" boat as is reasonably possible.

Now, I'm starting to drive myself crazy...

After a week in the pouring rain, I'll collect about 3/4 of a cup of fresh water behind the engine which I've traced to the cockpit locker, and a drop or two (literally) from the hull to deck joint at the corner where the transom meets the starboard side. I've tried to fix the cockpit locker by applying some closed-cell foam weather stripping to the ridge where the cockpit locker door rests.

My sliding window in the head (a Bomar, I think) admits a few drops. Above that, I'll have a very small drip where the headliner meets the teak. I'm almost certain that this leak originates at the mast, where the electrical cables and VHF antena enter through the deck. After a week in the pouring rain, I can easily mop up the water with a single shop towel (it conveniently pools around the drain in the head sink, which is slightly raised above the contour of the sink basin). The teak looks perfect, by the way, and I'm reasonably sure that water is not travelling in any other direction.

From the posts here, it seems that many have zero tolerance for any leaks whatsoever. Should I have zero tolerance for the leaks described above? Should I be alarmed? Am I over reacting?

Just looking for a point of reference here...

Thanks

 

[Rob Hessenius]

Leaks

Rob- I'm kinda from the zero tolerance group. If you know where the leaks are truely coming from fix them. The worst leak that I would fix ASAP is the one by the mast wiring and around the port. Here causing future issues in the cabin top that will be labor some and costly and potentially comprimising the structural integrity. If a goop of silicone stops it till you have time to put an effort to fixing, go for it, stop the leak. Put a piece of clear duct tape (new 3m stuff wont leave adhesive like silver roll) on the top edge and down the sides to defer the water from getting in through the port till you have the time to pull and re-bed.
It is kinda like not going to the Dentist. The longer you avoid it, the worst it will get. There will be no miracle that will magically stop these leaks. They will get worse and do more damage and affect other areas too. We all know what ends up happening to the guy who gets a mouth full of cavities. Rob Hessenius

 

[Captron]

Leaks

***Just looking for a point of reference here...

Ummm maybe your expectations are a just a tad too high.

Boats begin the process of sinking the very first time they're launched. From that point forward we spend bucks to merely slow down the sinking process. Eventually they all sink. The more complicated the boat, the more potential for small leaks. The list of sources of leaks is probably endless.

Fresh water from deck or mast leaks in the amounts you describe are probably typical and not really a big concern. Boats need small bilge pumps to handle such incursions.

If you can identify the leak source and you can provide a good fix, then by all means fix it. If it's a salt water leak then you must find it and fix it.

It is pretty common to find boats that always have a small amount of water in the bilge. It's helpful to know how often an automatic bilge pump cycles. If the water you describe is only after a hard rain or after pressure washing your deck, I wouldn't worry about it.

Of course, cobwebs in the bilge would be better but still small amounts of fresh water are not really a big deal. You can worry when the floorboards begin to float.

 

[Glyn Judson]

Finding those pesky leaks in an E26.

Rob, As the former owner of E25+ hull #515, I can feel your pain regarding small leaks and I just might be able to help you concerning the one that pools near the head sink. If in fact, if there is water collecting in the corner above the sink in your boat and if it's sourcing in your boat as it did in mine, it's a simple task of finding it and killing it. Believe it or not, the leak in my boat that resulted in that pooling started in the aft, starboard corner of the anchor locker. Whenever there was a steady rain for any length of time, water would find its way past the aft vertical of that locker, down the bulkhead to the straboard package tray in the V-berth, all the way along to the haed bulkhead, down that and eventually to the fiberglass corner of the head counter above the sink. I should have used the talc method for finding the source but it managed to elude me for some years until I visited the boat during a heavy rain one day. Sure enough there was a small rivulet of water in the tray which I traced all the way foreward. I fixed the leak using the simplest of methods. At the time I had access to what we called monkey s**t at work. It is a type of clay or putty that never sets up. It's like the stuff we'd see on the backs of old refrigerators years ago that sealed tubes, etc. from air as they entered the back panel. Well, I simply pressed the monkey stuff into the corner forceing it up and aft until just about out of sight. That sealed the leak for ever and if I were to ask the curent owner about it, I know he'd report no leak emminating from there and to be honest, I'd bet he wouldn't even know I had sealed that leak source, it's so well hidden. Good luck and I hope it's coming from the same place. Glyn Judson, E31 hull #55, Marina del Rey, CA

 

[Loren Beach]

Regarding the idea of sealing/stopping the leak from the inside...
Note that when you get north of Lat 45, there is a fair to good chance of winter air temps going below freezing, even at sea level. When you have some water sitting inside a gap/groove/crack and it expands when it freezes you have a new leak possibility.
That is one good reason why we relentlessly pursue leaks in our boat. (Our boat came with many window leaks -- after rebedding all fixed ports some years ago, the boat remains dry ever since.)

Just another .02 worth, and YMMV.

Loren in PDX