[Rhodes22-list] Leak at the bow....where to look first

[Reuben Mezrich]

John
The youtube video on using Butyl Tape to rebed stanchions is at :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Upksj19lyU

Reuben Mezrich
Pelican Cove in Sarasota
Cell: 410-499-8922


On Tue, Mar 9, 2021 at 12:00 PM John Carlson via Rhodes22-list <
rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org> wrote:

> My pulpit is leaky as well, so I'm going to have to do this. Many thanks
> for the detailed description. Any chance you have a link to the video you
> found useful? Also, now that you've done it, would you have to cut the
> electrical cords to use the butyl tape?
>
> --
> John Carlson
> Lillipelli (2004/2012)
>
> > On Mar 9, 2021, at 10:25 AM, Reuben Mezrich <reuben.mezrich at gmail.com>
> wrote:
> >
> > After receiving the many excellent suggestions on where to look for
> leaks I
> > started what ended being a 1 week process to find and ultimately repair
> the
> > leak.
> >
> > I first removed the cosmetic wood trim inside the forward cabin at the
> bow
> > to expose the attachments of the Jib chainplate and the Bow eye. I
> sprayed
> > water at the bow  and determined these were not the source of the leaks.
> I
> > then sprayed water on the foredeck and initially saw no water leaking
> into
> > the boat but when I came back to the boat the next morning found that
> some
> > water (about 1 - 2 cups) had collected at the bow (By now I had removed
> the
> > cushions and so could see the water in a puddle on the floor of the
> forward
> > bunk at the bow). I had some sort of a slow leak.
> >
> > I then had my wife spray water on the foredeck while I was on my back in
> > the forecabin and was able to see that there were leaks at each of the
> four
> > legs of the pulpit. The leaks would drip onto the carpeted shelf that is
> at
> > each side of the forecabin (behind a white fiberglass trim piece) and
> then
> > the water would slowly make its way forward to trickle down at the bow
> end
> > of the forecabin.
> >
> > The pulpit is attached by 3/8" bolts that are welded to each of the legs
> > and which extend down through holes in the deck and fastened with a flat
> > washer, lock washer and 9/16" nut. After unfastening the nuts the pulpit
> > lifted up easily. One complication is that the electrical wires that feed
> > the navigation lights at the bow extend through a seperate hole just
> > forward of the hole for the aft-starboard bolt. That wire seems to run
> back
> > to the distribution panel and has very little slack and so I had to cut
> > it.  When I did remove the pulpit I found there was some white sealant
> that
> > adhered to the deck but not the pulpit leg (which ends in an oval flange
> at
> > the bottom) as well as an O-ring around the base of the bolt.
> >
> > After consulting with Stan, who told me that his preferred method for
> > keeping water out is to just use an O-ring around the nut (and not to
> apply
> > sealant), I cleaned off the old sealant (a product called ReMov which was
> > recommended in a Practical Sailor review, worked great for this) I put
> new
> > O-rings on. Rather than putting an O-ring around the electric wire near
> the
> > aft-starboard leg I put some wraps of butyl rubber tape abound it.
> > I reattached the pulpit, tightened the nuts and had my wife spray the
> > foredeck again and sadly found that there was again a leak (perhaps even
> > worse than before) at each leg - but not where the electric wire entered
> > the cabin.
> >
> > I removed the pulpit again, removed the o_rings and this time used Butyl
> > tape to form the seal at each leg. Using a technique I found on You Tube
> I
> > cut a 3 - 4 inch length of the tape, rolled the tape along its length
> into
> > a tube (or rope) and then wrapped it several times about the base of the
> > bolt. The thickness can be adjusted by adding more or less wraps and I
> was
> > generous, using the entire 3 - 4 inch tape at each leg. I added more
> Butyl
> > to the electric wire.
> >
> > After putting the pulpit back in place and only moderately tightening the
> > nuts, my wife sprayed the foredeck again and this time - success - no
> > leaks!!
> >
> > I have become a big fan of Butyl rubber tape, which to be honest I hadn't
> > even heard about till last week!
> >
> > Of course now I have to splice back the electric wire for the navigation
> > light and replace the cosmetic wood trim I removed, but I am much
> relieved
> > that this problem is solved
> >
> > Thanks for your advice and support
> >
> > --Reuben
> > Reuben Mezrich
> > Pelican Cove in Sarasota
> > Cell: 410-499-8922
> >
> >
> > On Tue, Mar 2, 2021 at 12:49 PM <cjlowe at sssnet.com <mailto:
> cjlowe at sssnet.com>> wrote:
> >
> >> I like to tape paper towels around the suspected areas and see which
> ones
> >> show moisture first, then investigate further from there .
> >>
> >>
> >> Jerry Lowe
> >> S/V Country Rhodes '86
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>> Roger, Rob and Mike
> >>> Thanks for the good suggestions. I'll start by taking off that
> >> cosmeticsus
> >>> piece of wood at the bow and see what's behind. If nothing is loose
> I"ll
> >>> have someone aim a hose at the bow while I"m inside watching in the
> hope
> >>> that I might actually see where the water is getting in.
> >>> I really do hope I don't have to rebed everything.
> >>> Probably won't be able to do this till the weekend..I"ll report back on
> >>> what I find
> >>>
> >>> Reuben Mezrich
> >>> Pelican Cove in Sarasota
> >>> Cell: 410-499-8922
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> On Mon, Mar 1, 2021 at 5:15 PM Michael D. Weisner <mweisner at ebsmed.com
> >
> >>> wrote:
> >>>
> >>>> Reuben,
> >>>>
> >>>> I would check the bow eye. The wood backing block usually rots and the
> >>>> eye
> >>>> loosens up. Sometimes just lifting the boat using the bow eye will
> cause
> >>>> the eye to loosen as the wood compresses.
> >>>>
> >>>> Also, you may want to re-bed the bow pulpit rail deck fittings,
> chocks,
> >>>> etc.
> >>>>
> >>>> Mike
> >>>> s/v Wind Lass ('91)
> >>>> Nissequogue River, NY
> >>>> I’d rather be sailing :~)
> >>>>
> >>>> -----Original Message-----
> >>>> From: Rhodes22-list <rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org> On Behalf Of
> >>>> Reuben Mezrich
> >>>> Sent: Monday, March 1, 2021 4:08 PM
> >>>> To: The Rhodes 22 Email List <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
> >>>> Subject: [Rhodes22-list] Leak at the bow....where to look first
> >>>>
> >>>> As I mentioned a week or two ago, I installed a Marinco 3" Day/night
> >>>> solar
> >>>> vent at the bow, using the hole already in place for the anchor
> locker.
> >>>> It
> >>>> installed easily, seemed to work fine but a few days later we had a
> >>>> heavy
> >>>> rain and the next day the forward tips of the forward cabin cushions
> >>>> were
> >>>> wet. I removed the vent, replaced the deck plate, installed a new
> gasket
> >>>> under the deck plate, applied a generous amount of RTV silicone to
> both
> >>>> sides of the gasket and reinstalled the solar vent. The next day
> >>>> (yesterday
> >>>> actually) I used a hose to rain water on the forward deck, aiming at
> the
> >>>> solar vent for about 6 minutes and when I checked below everything was
> >>>> dry.
> >>>> I checked again in an hour and it was still dry.
> >>>> This morning there was about a cup of water, maybe two cups of water
> at
> >>>> the bow. There was no water in the tray that serves as the anchor
> locker
> >>>> and which is directly under the solar vent. The vent itself was dry as
> >>>> was
> >>>> the ceiling around the vent. The walls were also dry. I dried the
> water
> >>>> with a towel and a few hours later a small amount of water seemed to
> be
> >>>> seeping under a triangular piece of wood at the very  bow of the boat
> >>>> (see
> >>>> attached photo). I haven't removed that piece of wood yet but I'm
> pretty
> >>>> sure I'll find the bolts from the chain plate at the bow for the jib
> >>>> stay.
> >>>> My feeling now is that the solar vent was never the source of the leak
> >>>> but
> >>>> I've had a small leak for a while but never noticed because I never
> had
> >>>> a
> >>>> reason to go up to the very front of the forward cabin. As it turns
> out
> >>>> the
> >>>> bottom of the cushions, which are rubberized are stained, giving
> >>>> evidence
> >>>> that the leak is likely long standing.
> >>>> Those bolts would be my best guess as the source of the leak but I'd
> >>>> look
> >>>> forward to suggestions as to where else I might look.
> >>>>
> >>>> Its always something
> >>>>
> >>>> --Reuben
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>> Reuben Mezrich
> >>>> Pelican Cove in Sarasota
> >>>> Cell: 410-499-8922
> >>>>
> >>>>>
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