Water in the Bilge: Condensation?

[Highlander]

TAW02

Thats exactly where i get water coming into the boat too depending on which direction the wind is blowing if it is blowing the rain right into motor well I get more water inside if the wind is blowing from the bow less water ! inside . I believe someone on this site bought a seal kit some where that cured the problem

J

[TAW02]

TAW02

Thats exactly where i get water coming into the boat too depending on which direction the wind is blowing if it is blowing the rain right into motor well I get more water inside if the wind is blowing from the bow less water ! inside . I believe someone on this site bought a seal kit some where that cured the problem

J

J,

Honored and glad to be of help.

Big T

[1st Sail]

Check the transom hull to deck seal. On my 06' M there is a white vinyl plastic trim piece that is screwed over the edge joint. The dealer removed part of the trim piece under the motor motor mount of my Etec. Dumb idea. Every time it rained the cock pit and upper deck around the transom area drains down either to the motor well or collects on the step area next to the motor. The end result is the flat area on either side of the motor and under the motor mount leaked. I ran a bead of 5200 along the trim edge and now no more leaks.

Regarding chain plates and anything attached to the upper deck, consider them all suspect. The short cure is to shoot a bead of 5200 around all deck to hard ware edges. The long term cure is to remove all hardware and reseat and seal with 5200.
FWIW I was able to get a good seal and bead finish with 5200 at the surface of the deck hardware. With a visible bead you can at least see if there is degradation due to UV exposure. Under the hardware you will have to remove inspec but reseal less often.

[Hamin' X]

Anyone here ever use Siakflex 521 for sealing these trouble areas. It's would seem to be a perfect solution. Waterproof, elastic and UV resistant. I think that I saw it at Boaters World.

~Rich

[Oskar 26M]

I have used Sikaflex for sealing a range of locations. It works well.
Our major leaks come from the area where the SS tube for steering the motor passes thru the hull on the prt side of the M. If the boat is reversed upwind into the sea a lot of water splashes into the cockpit well and quite a bit of it finds its way through this hole. We shipped about 10 litres when being towed off stern first into the wind and chop after our recent grounding. Bedding was saturated

Some kind of seal or flange could help but so far I haven't figured out what to use

[Chinook]

Our dealer advised not using 5200 for sealing the chain plates, but good old silicon seal instead. The reason given is that the chain plates "work" and move a bit, and tend to break the seal when made with 5200, since it becomes rather hard when cured. It's also difficult to clean the old stuff off when resealing. The recommendation was to use silicon seal and consider it an annual maintenance check. Clean up and reseal regularly. The silicon is softer and will hold up to chain plate movement, but is more easily removed for resealing.

[bubba]

I agree that Cherl ( bwygirl ) of Blue Water Yachts in Seattle told us 2 years ago that clear regular bathroom silicone was best and to clean it out before reapplining to the chane plates to stop leakes. That reminds me to check mine before winter rains.

[c130king]

Big T,

Another question if you don't mind. I was looking at some pics and notice that when turned all the way to starboard the bolt at the end of the steering bar is right up against the hole. Does having that seal in place prevent you from getting "full range" of turn to starboard? I would guess we are only talking about a few degrees of angle here.

Just wondering.

Thanks,
Jim

[TAW02]

Big T,

Another question if you don't mind. I was looking at some pics and notice that when turned all the way to starboard the bolt at the end of the steering bar is right up against the hole. Does having that seal in place prevent you from getting "full range" of turn to starboard? I would guess we are only talking about a few degrees of angle here.

Just wondering.

Thanks,
Jim

Interesting. This means that no two M's are the same when it comes to steering geometry. From what you see of my pics on this, is how I measured the cut on the pipe insulation. That is, I ran my steering as far starboard has it could go, then I cut it accordingly. So yes, this is the maximum minimum on my particular application.

It may vary on different M's. Didn't think of that. Hope you can use the idea, if not, I haven't a clue as how to adjust the steering linkage to make it happen otherwise

Big T

[c130king]

I think it will be useable. The pics I saw were not my boat but somebody elses from another post. But I will check when I get back. Even if the bolt does go all the way I still think I can put in at least 1" of foam seal without any big issues. If it gets torn up over time I will replace it.

Thanks again,
Jim

[TAW02]

I think it will be useable. The pics I saw were not my boat but somebody elses from another post. But I will check when I get back. Even if the bolt does go all the way I still think I can put in at least 1" of foam seal without any big issues. If it gets torn up over time I will replace it.

Thanks again,
Jim

There is a possiblity (worst come to worst), you can fabricate a seal on the inside or otherside of the wall where the steering shaft travels through. But of course I don't know how well that would work.

Big T

[opie]

Do not caulk the rub rail. After all, it is not called a "deck-to-hull-seal" is it? The rub rail just protects the edges of the fiberglass joint there against collisions and bumps at the dock. The rub rail is secured by tension when installed and dabs of adhesive here and there underneath, just enough to keep it in place when the adhesive dries and just little enough that the rub rail can be removed for inspection underneath or replacement someday. The boat waterproof seal is designed to be in the deck to hull joint and the 156 small bolts (5/16th head and 3/8ths nut) that the factory installed to hold it tight together. Have you inspected your joint lately and tightened every one of those 156 bolts? If there is damage under there, you need to address it under there and not put gook and caulk on the top of the rail. Other than looking bad and fudged-up, the caulk is not supposed to be there.

[Highlander]

First Off

My 2008 mac26m rub rail has a top seal of 5200 all the way around it , it came from the factory like this !!!
I also know that Beene's 2007 mac26m bought from a diff. dealer has a top seal of 5200 all the way around the rub rail .

Anyway
I was looking for this & found it Jack Sparrow done this mod to seal the steering arm linkage in the motor well I think I will most likely do the same & will post the seal # when I do it rather than bond the seal to the motor well I will see about getting a seal retainer that can be installed which will allow removal of the seal fairly easy when it wears out . will likely be next yr though

http://www.macgregorsailors.com/modt/index.php?view=878

J

[ROAD Soldier]

On my I made access holes to get every through hull bolt on my boat so I could remove the floatation foam temporarily and get at the hardware. It was impossible before. However it is plain to see that this is going to be a ever so often thing to do to stop water intrusion. So as you do seal things take the extra time to make the job easier for next time because there will be a next time.

[opie]

Highlander,
Thanks for the update on rub rail caulking. I am not too old to learn something. I have not had the pleasure of owning a new Mac boat yet. If the factory caulks the upper rub rail surface then I will too. But I will only use a removable (maybe silicone) sealant as I want to be able to get the rub rail off easily if I need to. And my guess is that the primary purpose of that upper caulk is too keep out dirt and freezing water.

Getting back to the thread subject, if there is a leak opening in the deck to hull joint, then it needs to be fixed at the joint, not just caulked over on top of the rail, (but the caulking could buy time, though).