Water coming in from ????

[Troppo]

From time to time I get water leaking out of what looks like a defect in the fibreglass. From tapping on the area there appears to be a cavity there. Below just seems like solid hull. However, I can't find the cavity when I look in the cupboard above.

Once the water was almost fresh then after getting lots of salt water on that side of the deck above the leak was salty. I suspect it is coming in via a deck fitting.

Should this area have a proper drainage hole or something? Anyone have an idea what is going on here? Worried me at first when it looked like it was coming straight through the hull .




Oh, this last photo has nothing to do with the problem but it shows why I enjoy being out on the water.

[Troppo]

So far, it doesn't seem anybody knows where the water is coming from. Can I assume nobody else has a drain at this point or had this problem?

[Dolphin]

Don't worry Louis, somebody will have had the problem and know how to fix it.
I think it is a leak from a deck fitting and the water is getting in behind the liner, particularly as it is sometimes fresh and sometimes salt.

Just stay tuned.

[Phillip]

Louis,

This is a common problem with Mk 2 & 3's because of the liner. You do have a leak as Greg said in one of your deck fixings but as to which one, that is the problem!

I have recommended to others before that you get some food colouring and some play dough to form a small dam around each fixing, pour in the food colouring and wait to see if the colour comes out in the cabin. Of course you will have to go around each fitting one at a time.

I know of one Top Hat owner who has been chasing a leak for some YEARS, so good luck.

Do you have this problem Bear?

Phillip.

[Troppo]

I can understand that there is a leak, already I have done some emergency type fixing of a couple just using silicon from Big W. One leak was directly over the v-berth and when it was raining I had to have an ice-cream container on the mattress beside me as I slept and I would empty it during the night. Drip, drip drip.

What puzzles me is the way it seems to be pooling behind the wall. In my other boat (Endeavour), all the spaces behind the walls had drains that all lead to the bilge. Water did not pool in anything but drained all the way through. In my Top Hat, there seems to be very little of those behind-the-scenes pathways to carry water down to the bilge. One problem on the Endeavour was that all those little tunnels were impossible to clean the mold out of so no matter how much cleaning I did, the mold smell was stronger than I have experienced on my Top Hat. Don't know if over time I will change my opinion about the Top Hat 'smelling' nicer but so far so good.

[bearmcnally]

Phillip I have many problems ? But not with my head liner ! as all Mk 1 owners know you don't need to hide anything on a Mk 1

Regarding leaks ? I have one that's been a pain !
Troppo ,Egret II has but will be gone one day ! The leak is coming out between the bunk side where it is glassed to the ply and the hull.You might find that there is a small gap between the bunk side the hull and the glass holding the ply( bit like a void that acts like a little pipe) .I think my is coming from a deck bolt and dripping down behind icebox and tracking in between the glass bunk side and leaking out the 3/16 hole I drilled.
What Phillip suggests is a good idea .

Check 1 The bolts around the harbour Bridge
2 Anything that has a hole in it

You will be surprised how much water will come through a pin hole

Cheers Bear

[bornfreee]

On my first Tophat i was a sleep in the forward berth it was pouring outside i got up to get a drink and straight away found i was standing in ankle deep water, nice little surprise quick as a flash i taste it and to my relief found it to be fresh, it took 2 weeks of detective work to find were that much water was coming from, first i traced it to the port settee berth where it was coming through the glass similar to troppos photo then it really became hard to find but the answer was the locker out side on the port side it had drain holes with copper pipe fitted through then a hose led it to the cockpit, one of those hoses had come off and was funneling it straight into the locker were it finally came through the glass into the cabin soul, boy was i relieved when i sorted that one out

[Troppo]

Bornfree, it is amazing how it can be so hard to track down where the water is coming from. But feels good when sorted out and fixec : ).

[bornfreee]

Hi Louis were abouts are you on the hard stand? i would like to give you hand if you are not to far away, can understand your predicament and would hate to be stuck as well, i am not a ship wright but better to have two heads on a problem cheers William