Rainwater deck leaks

[DoubleEnder]

My decks need recaulking and it will be done soon. But in the meantime I have a couple of spots where rainwater is getting through. I was thinking of throwing a few handfuls of salt in to the bilge in the hope this will make decay less likely. Any thoughts? I can’t see the harm....

 

[Kukri]

Useless, and since your boat is a Fife she probably has wrought iron floors, in which case, positively harmful.

The damage (lots of it) is done by the rain water before it gets to the bilges.

Lay her up, get her under cover and fix those decks.

 

[DoubleEnder]

Useless, and since your boat is a Fife she probably has wrought iron floors, in which case, positively harmful.

The damage (lots of it) is done by the rain water before it gets to the bilges.

Lay her up, get her under cover and fix those decks.

I know... The leaks are right aft in the canoe stern, and she will be covered in a month or so.. But for now the rain gets in and lies in the places up there in the tail where there are no limber holes. I'm not worried about the floors, before any of this water gets that far forward it will be lie in the bilge sump (lovely spot) and be pumped out.

I hate leaks in the deck. But it really brings home that it was the correct decision not to have a ply subdeck. If I had, I probably would not be aware of this problem, and it would cause all sorts of extra problems.
I remeber when the decks were laid & caulked I was told they would need recaulking in 10 years. I should have done it last year, we are now in year 11

 

[johnlilley]

Well, in the mean time you might be able to detect where the deck is leaking by seeing which parts or which deck seams take the longest to dry out after rain, They will then be the suspect areas. You could then use Captain Tolleys Creeping Crack cure as it is effective in the short term for hairline crack leaks.

 

[wrr]

If you have fresh (rain) water collecting, as a temporary measure, some borax may help prevent the rot setting in before you have her recaulked. It is far more toxic to fungi than salt.