WTF is it?

[Picks]

Hi. When it rains/showers I get a small amount of brown watery liquid dripping by the starboard window which can be traced back to the headlining. Also some of the ooze has collected in the small strip light on the headling in the centre of the cabin. It doesn't smell particularly and is not sticky. I've checked the keel stepped mast boot on the deck and everything seems water tight and in tact. Before I rip all my headling off and seek the source does any learned member have any idea of where it comes from.
Thanks.

 

[Seajet]

Sealant ? Melting with the heat of the cabin light ?

 

[sailorman]

Hi. When it rains/showers I get a small amount of brown watery liquid dripping by the starboard window which can be traced back to the headlining. Also some of the ooze has collected in the small strip light on the headling in the centre of the cabin. It doesn't smell particularly and is not sticky. I've checked the keel stepped mast boot on the deck and everything seems water tight and in tact. Before I rip all my headling off and seek the source does any learned member have any idea of where it comes from.
Thanks.

From a deck fitting or handrail, head lining down only option

 

[Twister_Ken]

Brown = rust? Some ferrous fitting somewhere, that's letting the water past, and staining it as it goes?

 

[sailorman]

Brown = rust? Some ferrous fitting somewhere, that's letting the water past, and staining it as it goes?

or timber handrails

 

[Allan]

Could it be from the backing foam of the headlining?
Allan

 

[neilf39]

Bet it's rust staining as Twister_Ken says. My forehatch seal went over winter so rain started to very slowly drip onto the bunk and made a nasty brown stain as it was running over/round some old steel screws which had rusted badly. Ones put in by a previous owner I should add, which I hadn't got round to replacing. Luckily Vanish Oxy-action soap bar rubbed on thickly and scrubbed got rid of the stain on the bunk cover.

 

[Picks]

The handrails are too far down the sides of the coachroof to be a suspect. I was thinking degrading sealant around the mast to deck seal so removed the boot and all seemed ok. There is a rusting bolt right by the mast boot which could be the culprit. It attaches to a steel wire which connects the bottom of the mast by the saloon floor to the coachroof. Not 100% sure what its for!! Tensioning??

 

[TSB240]

Hi. When it rains/showers I get a small amount of brown watery liquid.
.

Sealant ? Melting with the heat of the cabin light ?

or timber handrails

Op says rust liquid is collecting in centre of cabin top in light fitting when it rains.IMO unlikely to be either of above.

Is the boat laid up and tilted forward as water from a hatch garage might be making its way forward rather than draining away?

 

[Picks]

The boat is laid up at the moment but is not tilted forward.

 

[l'escargot]

You have a leak somewhere in the coach roof. This is being absorbed into the foam backing of the headlining and then drips out at joints/seams/lowest points. You need to trace it back. It may not be obvious as a large area of headlining may have absorbed the water before it drips out.

 

[prv]

It attaches to a steel wire which connects the bottom of the mast by the saloon floor to the coachroof. Not 100% sure what its for!! Tensioning??

Guessing you have blocks at the mast foot to direct the halyards aft to the cockpit? The wire will be to prevent the upwards pull on the blocks from lifting the coachroof!

With a deck-stepped mast, the downwards force is provided by the mast itself.

Pete

 

[Picks]

Yes I have half a dozen or so blocks attached to the mast foot which run aft to the cockpit. Would it be easy to remove the rusty bolt when not under tension from the halyards, replace with new and seal and then tension wire again?

 

[simonfraser]

Sure, no problem, make sure you have some mole grips to hold the other end, or a mate with a socket set.

 

[Avocet]

I've had a similar thing, which turned out to be water entering in one place, dribbling along a closed stiffener that was originally laminated over a bit of plywood, and then dripping out of another hole in the inner skin, further along. The brown liquid was (I think) something to do with the plywood.

 

[coopec]

Picks

Apologies if I missed it. Is your vessel constructed of steel, timber or f/g? And if it is f/g is the decked cored or f/g over timber?

Obviously the substance is water but it could be brown from the colour of the wood tanin or rust (if the deck is steel)

"Also some of the ooze has collected in the small strip light on the headling in the centre of the cabin

The centre of the cabin would be one of the highest parts of the deck. If it is a cored deck maybe the water is getting in around the companionway and running "downhill" to the hole drilled for the strip light and to the window.

 

[Bobc]

As said above, it will be a leak from the top of the coachroof (hatch or fitting), and as runs down, it's getting contaminated.

If your boat has an internal GRP deck moulding, then it's probably wax coming from the resin. It runs down between the two skins until it finds the window frame, and then drips out from the hinges.

I've had this and it turned out to be from the rope clutches.

Best of luck finding it.