[captain jack]

i have a mystery that i need to solve. i was checking the charge on the battery in my 1971 cal 27. the battery is under a bench, that doubles as a companionway step, at the rear of the cabin. the inboard motor used to live under that bench as well. the prop shaft is still in place. very rusted, really. i am pretty sure it hasn't been there for a long time. the previous owner used an outboard.

while checking the battery, i noticed moisture on the floor around the general area of the prop shaft. it was at night and the cabin lights don't light that area up very well. i didn't have a flashlight. it wasn't a ton of moisture but it worried me. i was concerned the log was leaking.

this spring, i will be hauling the boat. one of the things i will be doing is to plug all the through hulls, including the log. i will be glad when that is done.

anyway. i returned to day with this fiber tape i got at home depot. it's called flex fiber or fix fiber....something like that. in essence, you soak it for a few seconds, wring out the excess water, wrap it tightly around a leaky pipe or broken shovel handle and, in 5 or 10 minutes, it sets up like steel. and it does. i completely wrapped the log, where the rubber seal and hose clamps are.

i dried the water, which was a tiny bit more than two nights ago, and i waited. i saw nothing. no more water. the 'repair' was completely dry.

it was very windy today. high gusts, etc. the wind was coming from behind my boat as were the waves.

i kicked back and read for a bit. an hour later, i checked it again. there was water again. in fact, a bit more than before. i dried it up and checked the 'repair'. dry as a bone. i noticed that the floor was wet behind the log, which is uphill. since water doesn't run up hill, i figured it was coming from a point farther aft than the log.

so, i waited and i watched.

sure enough, after about 10 minutes, moisture had begun to creep down towards the log, from the rear of the boat.

there is a bulkhead that separates the engine compartment from the rear of the boat. it has a hole to allow water to move forward to the bilge.

so, i go out and look in the starage compartmet in the starboard bench. it has no bottom but opens up to reveal everything below he cockpit.

there was about a cup, maybe two, of water right up against the bulkhead. that is where the water was coming from.

i looked at the tube the rudder shaft passes through. no cracks or evidence of water from there. in fact, i couldn't see anywhere the water might have come from.

the exhaust from the old inboard is still there, unplugged. i checked but the waves weren't slapping anywhere close to that high. i had thought that, maybe, the high wind might have blown water in through that. but there was no evidence of that.

there is a steel backing plate for the prop support. it is right near the bulkhead; right were the water is.

at one point, i had hoped it was just condensation from the cold, as that part of the boat is not heated, and that it had thawed, in the warmer temps we have been having, and puddled up at the lowest point; draining down towards the bilge as the boat rocks in the chop.

but it seems too much water for that.

i am worried that that steel plate, and it's bolts, might be leaking.

but, i just don't know.

it's not a lot of water. very little, actually.. but, any water is something to worry about.

any thoughts?

 

[hpeer]

Could easily be that much condensation. Sounds like you haven't looked there in a long time.

 

[captain jack]

Could easily be that much condensation. Sounds like you haven't looked there in a long time.

you think? haven't looked in there since winter began. i imagine, that space would be big enough to get that much condensation over a few cold months. i certainly can't seem to find any place it could have come in.

i suppose it all could have been frozen in there and has now thawed.

 

[paulk]

First question: was the water salt or fresh? That may help direct your investigation, though fresh water might get salty from mixing with salt on surfaces too. Sponge out the water and see if you get more accumulation. It would probably be difficult for enough snow to blow in there to get that much water, but with this winter, who knows? Since you say that the whole area under the cockpit is open to the bilge where you found the cup of water, it could very well be condensation. It is a large surface area: the hull sides, the cockpit sides, the deck, seats and the cockpit bottom could easily total more than 50 square feet. Water might also be able to leak or be wind-driven in there through the cockpit seats. The steel plate could be suspect, depending upon where exactly it is, but rusting steel (if it gets wet, it rusts) expands, which might tend to block off water getting through. The rusty water (if any did get through) would also leave an easily visible rust trail, which you have not mentioned. Ah, the mysteries of the sea...

 

[captain jack]

First question: was the water salt or fresh? That may help direct your investigation, though fresh water might get salty from mixing with salt on surfaces too. Sponge out the water and see if you get more accumulation. It would probably be difficult for enough snow to blow in there to get that much water, but with this winter, who knows? Since you say that the whole area under the cockpit is open to the bilge where you found the cup of water, it could very well be condensation. It is a large surface area: the hull sides, the cockpit sides, the deck, seats and the cockpit bottom could easily total more than 50 square feet. Water might also be able to leak or be wind-driven in there through the cockpit seats. The steel plate could be suspect, depending upon where exactly it is, but rusting steel (if it gets wet, it rusts) expands, which might tend to block off water getting through. The rusty water (if any did get through) would also leave an easily visible rust trail, which you have not mentioned. Ah, the mysteries of the sea...

it's berthed in the chesapeake bay, just south of baltimore. when there is a long dry spell in the summer, it can get brackish enough for jellyfish. but, it's not been dry or summer. so, the water wouldn't be salty either way.

i have kept the boat clear of snow all winter. no way snow could have blown in, anyway.

it did just rain. however, i noticed the moisture thursday night....before it rained.

it is a largish area, however, it's not the entire cockpit. the bulkhead kind of splits the cockpit. the (former) engine compartment and the two quarter berths take up half of that space.

the quarterberths are a part of the heated space around 70 degrees F). the engine compartment isn't directly heaed but is indirectly warmed by being next to the heated space.

the space on the other side of the bulkhead, where the small puddle that is trickling down to the engine compartment is, is completely unheated.

i couldn't hazard a guess as to the square footage. the boat is probably 6 feet across, at that bulkhead. there is probably 5 feet from the bulkhead to the transom. no idea how high it is. at the highest, maybe three feet under the sole with the space under the benches being higher. at it's lowest, it might be two feet; with the benches being higher.

not a huge space but still sizeable, i suppose.

the puddle of water might contain two....maybe three cups... of water. hard to be sure because it's fairly shallow. mybe a half inch and no bigger than 8 inches around. the puddle is very still. i didn't see any signs of movement that might suggest it's actively coming in from somewhere. so, if it is a leak of some sort, it's very slowly seeping.

unless i get a phone call saying that the boat is sitting low in the water, i won't be back until thursday. i will check it then. the puddle is just deep enough to barely trickle through the drain hole towards the bilge. if it is condensation, i would expect the find just a little water, maybe a few tablespoons at most, in the engine compartment and the puddle behind that bulkhead should be no bigger.

if either or both puddles are noticeable larger, i do have a problem.

 

[RichH]

If your quarterberths are heated and your bilge and engine compartment arent heated (thermal gradient) and ---- this winter on the east coast being one of the coldest, wettest, snowiest, most humid since records were first kept ---- most probably condensation.

On my boat (Worton Creek) during this winter, I picked up about 1-1.5 gallons per month of condensation - quite unusual.

 

[captain jack]

If your quarterberths are heated and your bilge and engine compartment arent heated (thermal gradient) and ---- this winter on the east coast being one of the coldest, wettest, snowiest, most humid since records were first kept ---- most probably condensation.

On my boat (Worton Creek) during this winter, I picked up about 1-1.5 gallons per month of condensation - quite unusual.

a gallon a month! wow. that's a lot. i suppose a cup or two over the course of the winter isn't such a crazy idea, then. makes me feel a bit better.

 

[Gladrags1]

If it is condensation then there would be moisture on the inside of the bulkhead separating warm and cold areas. My vote is on the steel plate. Sorry.

Tod

 

[Ajax_MD]

I'm in your area, and my boat has been sopping wet from condensation.

 

[captain jack]

I'm in your area, and my boat has been sopping wet from condensation.

yes. you are. hmmm. i guess i am lucky. i have kept the interior heated. 65 to 70 degrees, depending on how cold it is outside. no condensation in the living area at all. just that section under the cockpit, which is not heated.

 

[captain jack]

If it is condensation then there would be moisture on the inside of the bulkhead separating warm and cold areas. My vote is on the steel plate. Sorry.

Tod

i couldn't get down to the boat today to see....unfortunately. i missed getting to spend the night aboard. i look forward to thursday nights.

i only saw the water after it had warmed up, outside, and there was no condesation on the exterior walls or anywhere else. there could wel;l have been condensation on that bulkhead, but, i'd have not seen it as i didn't look til the condensation on the sides ran down to puddle at the bottom and it was warm enough not to have condensation.

anyhow, the weekend should tell me if it's the plate or not.

 

[captain jack]

it was, indeed, condensation. dry as a bone now. thanks for the replies. you guys were very reassuring and comforting during my moment of WTF