infernal drip

[QuickMick]

The companion way hatch is giving me fits. I cannot for the life of me figure out how to arrest this drip. Im not sure if the drip is coming in from sliding down the hatch track, or blowing into the small slit where the hatch slides into the hull. id been advised to use some foamrubber hose cut in half, but (at least the kind i used) was too fat.

has anyone had this problem, or more importantly found a solution?

thanks,
Q
if you look you can see that drip right in the corner.. its on both sides.

[Gene T]

Leaks can be almost impossible to find. On my last boat it took 2 years to find a leak in the nav station. Turned out to be a leak under the mast step 10 feet away. Water would run down the wires and end up above the nav station. Sorry, I can offer no real help here except sympathy.

Gene

[trisstan87]

I have thought after reading some books on the subject of leaks that it may be easiest to split the boat up into parts. Say, three. Pick a point at each of those parts where you can pour a little or a lot, of dyed water. Obviously the dye should be washable and water-based for easy clean-up and to avoid staining. Use a different color for each part of the boat.
I think that if you used that method you could quickly narrow the search for where the leak is coming from because the dye colors would tell you what part of the boat the water is coming from and where it is possibly leaking in to. Again, I just brain stormed but in mechanics it appears sound with the biggest conern being preventing staining.
Other than that, if you think it is the Hatch you could put water guards around the top of it to stop most water from reaching the hatches gaskets/seal. While it wouldn't "fix" the leak it would probably cut down on it until you found the culprit anyway. Besides, Water guards around hatches and such are usually a good idea anyway as they protect the seals from the tremendous force of wave to hatch action. Sort of like how Barrier islands absorb the worst blows of a storm.

[trisstan87]

A quick addition. you could use a few CUPS of water each different colors and pour them down one at a time the supposed routes the water is taking into your hatch.
So for example pour one cup down the hatch track and wait to see if any residual dye is left on the hatch where the leak is, as that would tell you with out a doubt that the leak IS coming from the hatch track. Other wise pour another cup down where the hatch slides into the hole, and repeat. If you dont find dye in the hatch after testing the spots around the hatch where you TTHINK the water is coming from then you will know the leak is else where and the water is traveling. At that point, splitting the entire boat up into parts and doing the same thing would prbably be easiest.
It seems better than waiting 2 years to find the source of a leak =/

[sailingdog]

Another option, but a bit more labor intensive, is to seal up the cabin completely, and use a temporary drop board made of plywood and with a hole cut into it... put a leaf blower or big shop vac hose into the hole and duct tape around it... and fire it up.. .coat the deck and topsides with soapy water and look for bubbles... The air will come out the leaks... and the leaks may not be anywhere near where you expect them to be.

[hellosailor]

Leaks are EASY to find. As sd says, a leaf blower or shopvac and some soapy water are all it takes. Although that soapy deck is damn treacherous to walk on, watch out.

The bubbles don't lie. And as a bonus, you get a nice clean boat, and you'll probably find several insidious leaks you weren't even aware of yet.

[trisstan87]

Duh, I should have brainstormed that one! I have already been doing that whenever I thought a car tire had a leak I couldn't find. Just pour some soapy water over the tire and wait to see where the bubbles come from. SD just took that idea for a car and blew it up to boat size. Nicely done.