Leaks in Hurley 700

[Hurley Iris]

Dear readers,

I have a Dutch buld Hurley 700 (1980) which is rather similar to a 22.
It has the aluminum coloured mast and the single long windows on either side.
3 shrouds left and right, front and aft, I have a mast support.

Last weekend I was sailing some 32 nm across the IJsselmeer, and the boat was put to some stress.
10 to 15 knots of wind and waves over 150cm, some rain and cold.
This, to my surprise, soaked the cushions left and right (the front remained dry) and left about 2 pint of water in the bilge.

Inspection:
Cupboards are bonedry.
No water around the windows, under the masthead or the sealing.
The rubbing strakes are well sealed of but the wood is damp, soggy and soft in some places.
The rudder bearing is dry, on closer inspection the bilgepump valve failed so maybe some water has come in through the hole in the side, also some water from clothing, boots and rain got into the cabin so I am not to worried about the water in the bilge.
There was a wet cupboard (where the table is used as a door) , the chainstay runs through the deck and is attached to the hull. probably to a wooden block, laminated over. I removed the carpet so the laminate can dry.
This one I could reach and was wet and soaked the starboard cushion. The one behind the kitchen I could feel, it was damp and some water leaked on the cushion on that side too.
The others I cannot see nor check.

Status:
I dried the inside with a heater for some days and everything on board is stored ashore now.
I switched the heater off after some days, it is rather expensive to run and the boat is dry anyway.
Everything remains dry apart from some condensation and overall humidity as it is rather damp and cold and the boat is still in the water.
So I suspect it is due to sailing, water getting over and in due to the movemnet of the boat in the water.
But sailing is the whole point and the reason I have a Hurley is the ability to go when others must remain in the harbour.

So I suspect the chainplates leak and possibly the deck/hull seal has failed.
It was due for servicing anyway and the boat will be on the land at the end of march for some time until it is good as ever!

So dear reader, can you please help me to:
- Are my suspicions right?
- How to remove the interior cupboards / closets / kitchen so as to reach the chainplates mounts and inspect the deck/hull joint?
- Fix the chainplate issue: I want to remove the old Sikaflex, sand down the gelcoat around the chainplate (deckside) and laminate it over with epoxy, sand the plate some as to make sure the epoxy bonds, then apply 3M5200 and cover it with 3m5200. Both the epoxy and the 3M5200 have a little flex in them.
- The wooden blocks below deck I want to dry out and inject them with epoxy (if the wood is rotten will this suffice..?) then laminate them with a fresh coat of glass and epoxy.
- When the interior is emptied out I might as well fix the genoarails while I am at it en apply new kit. But how are they mounted to the deck? Screwed on or bolted?

Any help is greatly appreciated!
I know there is an Hurley Owners club but that is on Facebook and I do not want to join FB.

Iris

 

[LittleSister]

The fact that your chainplates have a had some sort of sealant splurged on top suggests (unless you did this yourself) that they have been leaking for some time and bodged by a previous information.

I used to own a Hurley 22 (non-Hurley built), but can't remember enough details to help with removing internal bulkheads and furniture. I'm also sure others will be better placed to advise on the best methods for fixing the chainplates.

[edited to correct 'foxing' to 'fixing']

 

[Hurley Iris]

The previous owner did this. What I´ll do is get rid off the old stuff and then sand it down properly and apply 3M5200.
This will bond and seal as well and it seems it is the best out there for heavy duty sealing and bonding.
The problem is the weather I can´t do anything now as it is to cold and wet. But she remains fairly dry now, not sailing her.
Under the deck I have to find out how much damage has been done by the water.
Hope someone can give me usefull tips, what is the best approach, how to remove the bulkheads and so on.

 

[White_Belle]

The Hurley Owners Association has a very active group on Facebook which may prove useful

 

[Hurley Iris]

I know, thanks, but I´d rather not join Facebook. There are too many issues with FB.
Surely there are Hurley owners outside of FB with good advice or even if they are on FB might still read this.

Update: The boat was dry inside two days ago when I checked.
But after heavy showers I went thereand I found a little bit more water in the bilge.
Also the starboard bulkhead (where the tabletop serves as a cover); the bottom was moist but the walls where dry.
No idea where that came from but it has been leaking for some time because the wood here is pretty sodden so that needs replacing.
The bow however remained dry.
Aft, portside, there is some dampness and a small puddle of water,
So it let me to think that the water is seaping through the cracks on the deck and all that is mounted there.
The idea is as posted; remove all the bulkheads, mountings on the deck and fix that.
Still no idea to remove the bulkheads without destroying them.

 

[Pye_End]

Perhaps it might be a good idea to get a deckplate welded to the chainplate to stop future leeks. Something like one of the photos here: Chainplate Rebedding

 

[Boathook]

A multitool would be good for removing cupboards, etc such as -
Erbauer EMT300-QC 300W Electric Multi-Tool 220-240V
Another useful item is a dremel. If the bulkhead is sodden and wont dry out you will be making a new bulkhead which is normally easier said than done, as alot of boats have the bulkhead in place before the deck is fitted.

 

[Wansworth]

Maybe remount chain plates on the topsides thru onto hardwood blocks.Take off all deck fittings and rebed

 

[Hurley Iris]

Thank you for the re bedding tips, it has never occurred to me that my boat has no deckplates.
Just some kit splashed over it, when pull is applied it probably lifts up, anyway there must be some movement when sailing, enough to let water in.
0.5mm is enough...

So I have been looking closely at some pictures on the internet, what seems to be missing on my boat is a deckplate which seems to cover the ¨slot¨. I think what I saw is some sort of rubber, might be butyl or something, it is not a steel plate nor metal I think.
So this is easy to make or copy.
Then, if the wood holding the chainplate is rotten it seems fairly easy to replace it. There is a Dutchman who did just that and he has made photo´s.
With luck I don´t need to replace them all (8!!!), but I will check them all. There is no joy losing a mast.
Surely the one on the picture needs repairing (the wires you see is the VHF antenna and the 12v cable).
This is where the water came from and it has rotted the wooden panel over time.
What surprises me is that in both versions (22 and 700) the chainplate is mounted on a piece of hardwood, the wood is glued to the inside hull then covered with polyester.

 

[Hurley Iris]

An update;

Saturday
Fairly dry, some rain, some sun the last days. Let´s check the boat again, I want to suss it out!
I stared at the gunwhales and the turned my head upside down trying to look under them when I was in the cabin again.
The gunwhales (mainly st.board) are full of pinholes and small tears, so underneath the starboard gunwhale there are droplets and it is moist.
They fall down, form a puddle, the wood soaks it up but it is pulp at the bottom.
That is why the chainplate is affected too, it is directly attached to the underside of the gunwhale and the hull.
Some water in the bilge, half a pint.

Wednesday:
Tonight and today it was raining cats and dogs so a good time to check for leaks!
There is more water in the bilge as usual. Presumably coming form the rudder (aft) but there is just some moisture, nothing much.
I was thus far under the impression it came from the rear, so I crawled in that tiny space again but found nothing that could explain a good pint of water in less than 4 days.

But to my surprise it is coming from the front-end; a very small trickle of water flows around and under the watertank and collects in the bilge.
Since it is very hard to see anything, a Hurley is full of cubicles, hollow spaces and hard to reach spaces, it is hard to discover the source.
The drawning explains what I mean, it is also helpfull in understanding how the boat is constructed.

I managed to get my phone in place and it is not coming from the watertank. It is empty anyway...
You can see the ¨squalor¨, the moisture and the polyester turned black and that´s a sign it is stained by water.

There are 3 options:
- from the deck, there are some cracks around the stanchions and some don´t seem to have a seal (kit or butyl).
- from the water inlet. It should have 4 screws but there are only two
- from the cleats, 3 in all, also no kit nor anything to seal them

Do any of you know this problem or have any other suggestion?

 

[Hurley Iris]

Yes mr. Wansworth, see my last post! But this awful wet weather keeps me from doing anything. I have to wait until the end of march to get the boat on dry land.
A shed or someplace inside is just not available or too expensive. I have to rely on the weather. The last 10 years or so there is less rain during the spring and some nice weather. Fingers crossed!

 

[Hurley Iris]

I have the boat on dry land now. The paint is stripped away from the hull. Some bad spots are sanded down to the bare polyester, to be filled in with epoxy later on. Very little osmosis.
The mast is off the boat and is in good nick but the shrouds all need replacing, while I am at it. The bad news is that al the chainplates had to come off, they leak and are rotten. They all need replacing, A very nasty job as there is little space to move around and the bulkheads need to come off.
The genoarails has been under a lot of stress and I took them off to, a very hard to do job as some bolts are very hard to reach, the bolts where coverd in GRP and have been there for 40 years.
Taking the boat apart has revealed the leaks as can be seen by streaks of mildew...
Cleaning and sanding it away took some work!
Bolts through the hull (to fasten the wooden bumper around the boat) are leaking too, so they need care.

The next parts is sanding and cleaning the inside (dust!) , undo a lot of bolts and make them watertight using 3M4200.
New chainplates are coming, the steel will be a bit longer and the wood will be ply covered in epoxy.
New genoarails, but the GRP needs repairing first.
Further up the road: A lot of paintwork, caulking, sanding, epoxy putty and so on. Will keep you informed.

 

[Hurley Iris]

Fortunately the work is mostly done. New chainplates, new rigging, new genoa rails, lot of paint work and epoxy laminate.
Will post the result in a month or so.
I have a question remaining:
Does anyone have detailed pictures of the reefing systeem on a Hurley 22?
There are many and I am looking for a simple solution.
Please post!

 

[Hurley Iris]

The boat is in the water now for 6 weeks and was dry as a bone, even when heavy rain was streaking her.
But when sailing in hard wind and heeling over to some extent some water came in, apparently through some overlooked drillholes in the engine bay.
These I fixed and now all seems well.