Leak Tracing?

[Jonny2tanx]

Hi all

I am looking at a 2000 Mac 26x to replace one I am in the process of selling. The boat I am looking at has a small hole drilled through the fibreglass bulkhead underneath the step down to the cabin, and this has sealant over it. When the sealant is removed, loads of water floods into the cabin.

I looked into the rear bilges and found they was about an inch of water in there. The boat has been standing over winter and has no doubt been rained on a lot. Has anybody any idea where this water may have come from? I never had any such problems with my old boat, so dont have a clue where to start looking. Obviously if it's something hard to fix then I shall look for another boat

[Catigale]

These boats tend to leak around the chainplates (where the shrouds attach to the hull) if they arent sealed with Silicone or other 'flexible' sealant. I had a leak in the cockpit at the base of the pedestal (sealant failure around the wiring tunnel.)

I would pump out the bilge, get it dry, then spray the boat with a hose for 15 minutes, all over, and see if you can trace where the water is coming in.

As long as the hull isnt breached, the boat is probably worth looking at - the leaks you can fix on your own time, imho.

[captronr]

That sealed over hole is supposed to remain open, so you can tell if you are taking on water. The theory is water runs out that hole, onto the floor, so you know you have water in the bildges.

ron

[Brunosafari]

Jonnny 2-- I had some frustrations sorting out the leak theories in my new M last year. Admiral Cat is right on the diagnostic technique, confirmed for me by the nice folks at Blue Water Yachts. Put a pressure nozzel on a garden hose and have a mate throughly spray all points of joinery on the outside of the hull while you (already limbered up, clad with protective cap and knee pads) methodically monitor every nook and cranny with a bright flashlight. My rudder mounts were void of sealant so don't rule out things which seem unlikely. In the long run, I'm glad for the experience because it quickly familiarized me with the boat. So be patient and keep your head up... I mean down.

Bruce

[Brunosafari]

Oh I forgot to mention--Be sure to wear rubber gloves when drying out the bilge cavities. My boat has some "raw" fiberglass shards that can effectively draw blood. Yes...these boats can get under your skin! B

[RickJ]

I bought my X last October, and it got well rained on over the winter while standing on my driveway. It had been taking in rainwater when I got it, and first thing I did was seal the chainplates.

However, it still took in water in heavy rain, and I eventually found several places on the deck where water was getting in. My boat is 10 years old, and more than half of the screws holding things to the deck were actually loose. One big culprit was the turning block for the centerboard line, I took these bolts out and completely re-sealed (you have to take out the plugs in the liner ceiling in the cabin to get to the nuts).

There were also leaks through the screws holding down the hatch slides, I was able to tighten up most of them just with a screwdriver from on top, which was enough. Same thing with the cleats, they needed tightening (I'm not sure if they were actually leaking). Finally the windows - all the window bolts needed tightening because water was leaking round the edges.

I'm now almost rain-water tight. It takes patience

Cheers, Rick

[40Toes]

I ran into the same thing with my 2000 X. Popped the plugs out on the interior bulkheads and deckhead and layed the pressure washer to the exterior, nano seconds later I was able to identified the areas that needed to be resealed.