Mike_S
Well-Known Member
My boat\'s water ingress problem - an update
Hello all
Just an update on the problem that led me to my first post on the forum a few weeks back about my leaky Regal 2150 (it's a bit wordy as it's not easy to explain). Well, the repairers *think* they've resolved it after 3 weeks of having every man and his dog looking into her nether regions. After having the drive examined for leaky bellows & seals only to find them OK I'd convinced myself it was coming from the ladder mountings under the platform, but they ruled that one out, thinking instead she had a crack in the hull below the waterline (which really wasn't what I'd wanted to hear).
Anyway, they found a small crack in the internal skin of the boat right at the back, behind a box section that has no access to it from the inside of the boat and this was allowing water in from between the internal & external skins. Obviously they then went hunting for a source and found that the bilge fittings through the side of the hull were loose, in fact very loose, to the extent that every time I fired off the bilge pumps half the water was going back in between the skins and over the course of a couple of days, working it's way back into the bilge under the engine. Couple that with every trip out, when the boat was heeled over onto her starboard side the fittings are close to / under the water allowing more back in between the skins and soon enough we had a bucket of water in there. They also think the side window fittings are allowing rainwater past into this box section but there's not much can be done about that.
So, all the bilge fittings have been changed / retightened up, the small crack filled with sealant and they've installed a 6" dia dinghy hatch into the top of the box section, under the carpet so we can sponge out any water that gets in. They're of the opinion that it'll take a while for it to dry out fully but we can but hope.
I have to admit to being slightly pessimistic about it all and I'm reserving judgement until I've taken it back out to sea to test for anymore water getting through but fingers crossed, it's all OK. Full marks to the repairers though, it's clearly been bugging them as to how it's getting in and I'm grateful they've persevered with it.
Thanks for all the ideas and pointers that came out of my original post though, it was really helpful to a new boater such as myself.
Cheers
Mike.
Hello all
Just an update on the problem that led me to my first post on the forum a few weeks back about my leaky Regal 2150 (it's a bit wordy as it's not easy to explain). Well, the repairers *think* they've resolved it after 3 weeks of having every man and his dog looking into her nether regions. After having the drive examined for leaky bellows & seals only to find them OK I'd convinced myself it was coming from the ladder mountings under the platform, but they ruled that one out, thinking instead she had a crack in the hull below the waterline (which really wasn't what I'd wanted to hear).
Anyway, they found a small crack in the internal skin of the boat right at the back, behind a box section that has no access to it from the inside of the boat and this was allowing water in from between the internal & external skins. Obviously they then went hunting for a source and found that the bilge fittings through the side of the hull were loose, in fact very loose, to the extent that every time I fired off the bilge pumps half the water was going back in between the skins and over the course of a couple of days, working it's way back into the bilge under the engine. Couple that with every trip out, when the boat was heeled over onto her starboard side the fittings are close to / under the water allowing more back in between the skins and soon enough we had a bucket of water in there. They also think the side window fittings are allowing rainwater past into this box section but there's not much can be done about that.
So, all the bilge fittings have been changed / retightened up, the small crack filled with sealant and they've installed a 6" dia dinghy hatch into the top of the box section, under the carpet so we can sponge out any water that gets in. They're of the opinion that it'll take a while for it to dry out fully but we can but hope.
I have to admit to being slightly pessimistic about it all and I'm reserving judgement until I've taken it back out to sea to test for anymore water getting through but fingers crossed, it's all OK. Full marks to the repairers though, it's clearly been bugging them as to how it's getting in and I'm grateful they've persevered with it.
Thanks for all the ideas and pointers that came out of my original post though, it was really helpful to a new boater such as myself.
Cheers
Mike.
