Water Works! As in water works it's way into places you don't want it....
Leaks.
They are frustrating. Tenacious. A fly in the ointment. A hair (eww!) in the soup. A random uninvited arrival to the otherwise cozy indoor parties we have during summer storms who just doesn’t understand that you really don’t want them there.
Dude. Take a hint and take a hike.
I’ve actually gotten used to how blasé most sailors are about them. The old salty ones in particular. They just shrug and grin or laugh a bit when you mention your leaks and tell you that all boats leak and they have a few dripping port lights too. Even the most hard working, meticulous sailors who are out there in 45 degree heat scrapping the varnish off their toe rails tell me they have leaks. Well call us fussy but Greg and I really don’t feel right about just living with a leak. And low and behold, the crazy Maryland heat brought us another crazy Maryland storm this evening and with it a new leak. Super.
I say new because we had a few previously identified ones that we have been trouble shooting with inexpensive fixes first. We currently have 3 - 4 port lights that drip (as in sometimes it’s 3, sometimes it’s 4) and one hatch that drips at the hinge.
Super sophisticated “drip catcher” in place for action until steps 3 and 4 are employed below.
The plan of attack for the port lights is as follows:
clean window very well with acetone or rubbing alcohol
lube gaskets and moving parts with silicone spray (no petroleum based lubes or they will rot the rubber!)
“jam” (technical term right there) a large gauge fishing line between the gasket and the glass to achieve a tighter seal as needed
If steps 1-3 don’t work then replace gaskets (ok……)
If steps 1-4 don’t work then replace port lights (NOOOO!!!!!!! $$$$$$$$)
We have completed steps 1 and 2 with mixed results. Before these steps we had 5-6 leaky port lights. Now we have 3-4. Progress. Barely. We have the fishing line to “jam” in. And we have the gaskets waiting in an online shopping cart. We really really don’t want to rip out the damn port lights. Like seriously.
The friction hinge on the hatch has a replacement gasket en route (ordered as I type out my leaking frustrations) so hopefully that will sort that drip out.
BUT THE NEW LEAK.
Where there was mystery water…
This lovely leak was called to my attention by Grace. She said “uh oh Mommy come see this” which on a boat strikes fear into your heart immediately. Then she followed up with “there is a lot of water where you are charging your toothbrush”. So ok I hear “a lot of water” and “charging”…also not good. Turns out there was a lot (enough anyway…maybe a couple tablespoons) of water on the shelf in our aft cabin directly above our small drawers which is a convenient place for charging our various items. Or at least it was.
…which I verified but sliding this blue paper towel up under that wood strip along the liner as far as I could and then pulled out to see that small wet spot
So Greg and I both go in, hoping it was from one of the port lights but instead see the leak is above the port light and several inches off to the side, forward of the port light. This tells us two things. 1) It’s not the port light nearby since water doesn’t drip stern to bow generally and 2) given the location it’s got to be a coach roof or side-of-coach roof penetration that is the culprit. Buuuut there isn’t much around that area. A block, which we can see from underneath and it’s dry dry dry. A clutch, which we can’t see but is on a big piece of teak and looks ok. The two winches, which we also can see from underneath and they checked out dry too.
Getting to know the boat means looking in all the places that are tucked away into ridiculously small spaces…
There is this super sketchy spot further forward beside the cockpit where the supports for the bimini have been attached and they have taken a beating (it’s the headliner photo for this blog post). From the outside (which was noted when we put the bimini up the first time) it is clear to see that the previous owners just rammed it together and cranked it down such that the port side is a bit bent. And there is some crazing in the fibreglass around those drill holes. It’s clearly been under some heavy forces at a not optimal angle.
This is the piece that holds the frame for the bimini in place, there is another fitting that attaches this to the coachroof. LOL can you tell which is the original and which is the replacement? Check out that bend! Sheesh.
So back down below we remove more of the ceiling, this time over the chart table and we find those two screws…and yes they are rusted and a bit soggy. But the logic isn’t quite right. If the water was coming in there we should be able to follow some dampness down to where we found the water in our cabin but we couldn’t really. Nevertheless it’s the best lead we had and it was getting dark and the kids were getting out of control from the lack of parenting attention (did I mention it was approaching 9:30pm? Waaay too late for the kids to be left to their own devices).
The result of the hunt…what we think is the leak spot. See the two screws Greg is pointing at? Clearly there has been some seepage over time as evidenced by the rust stains running down. And when we touched the screws they were mucky and damp. Not as much water as we expected to see based on the amount on our self in the aft cabin but we think the leak quickly started and stopped in this storm and drained down to the first good exit point (above the shelf). Why now you ask? Water collects on top of the bimini and we push up from under from time to time to disperse it. We think a few of those gushers when straight down on to the damaged bimini fittings this time.
That fitting was previously held on by two of those screws I am holding to the left. Greg is holding the upgraded solution in his hand. Along with some waterproof adhesive and we’ll be good to go. Provided that WAS the location of the leak of course…worse case it was NOT the problem but this would have become a problem at some point anyway.
So for now, we’ll remove, clean and re-bed those screws with some 5200 or 4200 or Boat Life Caulk and see what happens next time it storms.
If the old salts are right, we might have solved this one but we are sure to find that another invited guest has joined the party.
Much love (and think dry thoughts)
M