Skip

I followed a similar process while chasing a leak earlier this year. I
finally found the leak to be at a wooden box where the heater chimnet
exits through the deck.

I caulked and re-bedded the box, and the external part of the chimney
but no luck. As it turns out. there were several small cracks in the
wood of the box that allowed water to come in. A little clear caulking
and so, far the leak is cured. I;ll keep watching it for the next few
weeks, just in case. (yes, I;m a little paranoid at this point)

Matt


Skip Gundlach wrote:
snip

When you get a chance, unless you already have, please post a detailed
account of how you re-bedded "stuff". That's where I'm at, at the
moment.
LOL..I've shut off most of the water, but gentle rains still fill the
bilge.
Norm B

Hi, Norm, and group,

I took off literally anything which had a bolt through the deck, and
filled those bolt/screw holes with Plumber's putty while I did other
things. Those were stopgaps, as water got in in some substance.

When it was time to rebed, two things: First, each hole was
countersunk. That way, when tightening, the caulk is forced down the
hole, as well as acting like a compression washer.

Secondly, each item was liberally coated underneath, and as much as
possible, any hole (like wiring, e.g.) forced with caulk. Then, each
was merely snugged down. You can do even more, but we didn't: you can
put a washer under each fitting, at the screw's edge, under the screw
(not around it!) and tighten down, then remove it in the next step.

After the caulk has had a chance to cure (several days), go below and
retighten everything. That has the effect of making a gasket. You can
prove that by trimming off all the extra caulk which comes out the side
after the first step. When you tighten again, you should have a band
of caulk at the edge of whatever fitting it is you're tightening. Both
in the first step and the second, you should also have had caulk
climbing up the bolt head on the outside, though much less in the
second, of course, cuz it's cured.

In both cases, unless simply impossible, have the topsides person hold
the bolt in place, and tighten from below. That avoids stripping the
caulk out of the hole as it turns.

Once you've done that, pressurize your boat with a yard blower, shopvac
on blow, or the like, put into a convenient hole, such as a hawse pipe,
or, if none convenient, make a companionway dashboard replacement out
of cardboard or light plywood, and put it through a hole in that. Then
go around the boat and spray a very light soap mixture on each and
every screw and bolt head, mast, port, and anywhere else water may
intrude. Bubbles will result in any leak.

If you find a leak, fix it and keep on trucking. Water won't
necessarily go from the leak point directly down, so chasing leaks is a
real bear without doing something like this. You'll have some
down-the-mast inevitable water accumulation - but even a mast can be
mostly sealed up, if you just are aggressive about it, with grommets
and caulk on every wire entry, and caulk on every screw (see above),
some of which will even act to prevent dissimlar metals woes.

HTH...

L8R

Skip, refitting as fast as I can, and off to pre-op, flying up and back
to HotLanta cuz I can't spare the time to drive!

Morgan 461 #2
SV Flying Pig
http://tinyurl.com/384p2 - The vessel as Tehamana, as we bought her

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you
didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail
away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails.
Explore.
Dream. Discover." - Mark Twain