It has been perfect weather in the Northeast for finding leaks.
Leaks found:
1) Chain plates. Drilled out rivets on cover plates and sealed with silicone.
2) Swim ladder. The bolt flange did not quite match the angle of the hull. Bent the flange slightly and sealed well with 5200. Added larger backing washers.
3) Stantion holes for the Navigation light wires. The rubber grommets that the wires for the Stern and Bow light pass through do not stay in the holes. Any water entering the holes follows the wires into the bilge. Sealed the holes well with 5200.
I found a big leak in the gas tank lockers.
I was in the rear bearth while washing Figment 2000 26x
Big leaks from gas tank lockers, silicone peeled off in big strips.
Clean joint and sealed with PAR_BOND. No leak now
I love to be in the boat in the rain so when we started getting some of the effects of Alberto I had to go out and sit awhile.....found out the port front window leaks...next on "to do ' list. Anyone done this??? Looks like they should be raised, cleaned and resealed.
To anyone with an X who has drilled out the chainplate rivets for resealing; do you replace the rivets with screws for strength? Or does the factory just use the rivets to locate the chainplates before bolting them to the hull?
The chainplate rivets arent load bearing on my , they just locate the chainplate through deck metal. The load of the shroud is borne by the hull down behind the liner...I dont think changing to screws would change this.
My X leaded in the front "winshield" from the factory. I traced it with a running hose to the screws. I removed and applied silicone to the screws and retightened. One year later, another leak appeared and it was in the lower right corner on the starboard side from the bedding. Rather than remove the whole peice from the boat and rebed, I cleaned very well the groove around the outside edge of the acrylic panel, with detergent and vinegar, rinsed, dried. Cleaned well with acetone, let it dry. Then I used masking tape to cover the top of the acrylic. I then filled that groove around the edge of the "window" with black GE 50 year silicone. While wet I smoothed it down with a wet ice cream stick so the groove was filled but the surface was flush with the deck and window surface. It's been almost seven years now and no more leaks. The port side has never leaked.
Chain plate surrounds. I drilled out the rivets, cleaned and rebedded with white silicone last year after they began leaking a small amount. I sugges that this be done only when the rig is up, so the chain plate covers are positioned and rebedded while the rig is under tension.
There is no stress on the rivets, it's just a cheap and easy way of holding on the surrounds.
Just to clarify, terms..... all the CHAINPLATES are vertical tabs of thick metal, hold the stays to the hull... there are no rivets in any chainplates...
...the "cover plates" or "surrounds" are horizontal thinner metal rounded edges and have a slot in them for the chainplates to go thru, and are fastened with rivets to the hull, unless they have been drilled out and replaced with screws.
