Topside Leak on 34

[KenSailor]

I own a '91 psc34. I have a leak coming from the deck on the starboard side, near the aft end of the cabin. It's just over and behind the electrical panel. There are a number of possible sources but my main suspect is the hawsehole (? Not sure of the nomenclature) in the bulwark. The inner and outer bronze fittings seem tight, but the material inside and connecting the bronze parts seems to be degrading. I don't know what this material is - it could be a short piece of hose, but there are no clamps. This unknown degrading material is the suspected leak.

Does anybody have any experience with leaks in this area? Any notes, warnings, or cautions regarding disassembling the hawsehole would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Ken

[JohnRPollard]

Ken,

Ours looks exactly as you describe yours. But we are not experiencing any leaks.

I should mention that -- if I understand you correctly -- it is not a hawse hole. It's an overflow deck drain, to supplement the deck scuppers in case of large boarding seas. So definitely don't use it as a hawse hole as it's not designed to be one.

I suppose if you have been using it as a hawse hole, you could have placed enough load on the bronze fitting to break the seal that is formed by the bedding compound. Even if you're not using it as a hawse hole, it could be the bedding is just getting tired.

It's been a while since I studied ours, but it seems to me it would be relatively easy to re-bed those fittings. Since this is your prime suspect, makes sense to start there. Often it's a process of elimination when chasing these sorts of leaks -- and sometimes due to migration you end up surprised at their true origins.

[pc37howard]

i have a pc 37 i to had a leak in the same area . my boat has a drain also in the deck below the area if the drain going down stops up it let the water stand on the deck , i took the outside brass ring and the inside brass off. and there is a small piece of hose used as a spacer. between the two brass rings .the caulk has failed. i cleaned this up as good i could and re-caulk it . not a good dezine. let me know if this helped. pc37howard

[niftynickers]

I too had a leak on my 37 that was driving me bonkers trying to locate.I happened to speak with Steve Brodie about it and he suggested that I replace all of the rubber hoses in both midship hawswpipes and in the bow hawses as well.They were 1982 vintage and very deteriorated.New exhaust hose and lots of 3m 5200 = no more leaks.

Good luck,
Dianne and Chuck Burke S/V NiftyNickers