hull deck leak remedy

[superboots]

Water enters my boat - bavaria Ocean - from the hull deck joint. I have re-seated the stansion bases and sealed under the teak capping. I have used an epoxy paste to try and fill the joint from inside the hull but this is very tricky as its not possible to get behind all the furniture. I've sealed effectively the section in the saloon but water is still dropping in the galley area. Is there a better material to use as the paste tends to fall out before setting.

 

[Seajet]

Could you use vegetable dye to find the source of the leak ?

It may well require serious effort like removing fittings / capping from above to sort out, sticking plaster from inside rarely works.

 

[savageseadog]

Epoxy paste is unsuitable. I would suggest using Sikaflex or equivalent.

 

[markleuty]

We too have a Bavaria Ocean and a leak in a similar place, but a bit further back.. The water ends up in a locker in the aft cabin.

Is it a simple job to take off the stanchions? I think that's what we need to do.

thanks

Mark

 

[Irvine_himself]

By coincidence, I was just reading about this problem. It seems to be more common with more lightly built boats that lack hull stiffness. There is a lot of good information available via Google.

A widely quoted article, (hence probably reliable,) can be found here: http://www.mahina.com/cruise.html

Here is the relevant portion.

Hull to Deck Joint

There are several methods of attaching the hull and deck of fiberglass boats.

The most common method utilizes bolts or screws protruding through on the inside of the hull to the deck joint. This a mechanical clamp joint is relying on the bond of a sealant adhesive (3M 5200 is often used) to stop leaks. After eight to 12 years and several thousand miles of ocean sailing the sealant/adhesive loses some of its elasticity. Due to the working of the boat and the different climatic conditions the toerail and hull expand, contract and flex at different rates eventually weakening the bond, allowing water to follow the bolt or screw threads down, and drip on the inside of your lockers.

Two Methods of Solving Caprail Leaks

Remove the teak cap rail or aluminum extruded toerail and clean and re-bed each bolt.

Radius the inside of the joint with epoxy and microballoons and then lay several layers of fiberglass tape over the inside of the joint, totally sealing it and strengthening the area at the same time.

A more trouble-free hull to deck joint utilizes substantial fiberglass bonding on the interior of the joint, eliminating mechanical fasteners and leaks.

Unfortunately, I have read that this can be real bitch to work on. Though, if done properly, it should last for years.

 

[30boat]

By coincidence, I was just reading about this problem. It seems to be more common with more lightly built boats that lack hull stiffness. There is a lot of good information available via Google.

A widely quoted article, (hence probably reliable,) can be found here: http://www.mahina.com/cruise.html

Here is the relevant portion.


Unfortunately, I have read that this can be real bitch to work on. Though, if done properly, it should last for years.

It is .My Westerly was built that way and is totally watertight but when something like a stanchion base needs to be replaced it's a lot of work to remove the laminate and then put it back.

 

[superboots]

Thanks for the comments. Just to ad for markleuty. Depends how old your boat as B switched stansion design during the production run. Mine is the older tpye.basically arod threaaded at one end with a thick flange in the middle inserted and countersunk into a hole in the cap rail and secured with a nut from inside the hull. Through pressure being applied on the stansions these bases had become loose and were an obvious source of water ingress. Its not too difficult to fix. Inside the lockers at the top there are timber covers which can be unscrewed to get access to the nuts - its still fiddly as there is not much space for a spanner. When I reset the bases after cleaning I put o rings to the underside of the flange to ensure the sikaflex would form a seal at the base. Tip make sure the base is aligned before tighting and hold in place as it is. For the single stansions this is really a 2 person job - the doubles (gates etc) are easier. At the end it was taking me about an hour to do 1 stansion. Its quite messy as the silka is forced down the hole as the nut pulls the bolt down. The backing washer may need changing as these did not take into account the proximity to the hull and so need to asymmetric.

Irvine's reference is good in theory but almost impossible in practise. Sika flex is not self supporting and messy;it will fall out before curing. Perhaps it could be held in place with an adhesive tape to allow curing. When I used epoxy paste I added some cotton fıller to baulk it out. Not sure that made much difference. Trying to lay fiberglass and resin underhand would be very difficult and messy - I know from the time I waterproofed my cellar vault. The difficulty is getting behind the lockers to apply the stuff to what is quite a deep groove as enough material needs to be forced in until the groove is fully filled for it to seal. effectivly

 

[Scotty_Tradewind]

For small leaks where there is little movement, I took advice from this parish and applied Captain Tolley's Creeping Crack Cure.

I had great success sealing the join between deck and saloon and around cabin windows etc.

To put a vegetable dye around each suspected leak source, one at a time, may give you a better guide as to where the leak originates.

S.