MacGregorSailors.com

much to my stress I have another leak some where in the aft berth area of my mac can everyone chime in and tell me what they have found in their boat for wet spots in the aft berth? check my email in a fev days going sailing

I hope to put my boat in the water for the first time tomorrow. WIth school finishing up and a bunch of projects (including fixing the last leaks) I had a delayed start this year.

The last 3 leaks I had were:
1) The left fuel locker inner joint. I just put a full caulking gun full of polysulfide goop in there and opened the drain hole with a dremel. I found the leak by covering both fuel lockers with plastic and duct tape and then removing each one at a time over several weeks of rain storms and observations.
2) under the steering console - where the wires go through. I fixed this by caulking around the little PVC upright piece which did not fully fix the problem. I opened up the side panel in a driving rainstorm and found taht water was dripping from above and running down the steering tube and through the deck hole. Next day I shot a bunch of expanding foam in the hole and that fixed it.
3) I decided to replace the mast light deck connector this year because it was not making a good connection. WHen I removed the old one I found that it was leaking and was indeed the source of the leak along the port wall just in front of the sink. THis was a small leak which had eluded me for years. the water would travel along the headliner and exit at the joint by the window.

Hello:
My Mac had the following leaks:
1. Port forward window not fitted / mounted properly (factory)
2. Main halyard turning block not mounted properly (BWY)
3. Hull to deck joint after 6years use (factory)
4. Port aft hatch rail screw loose & not sealed (factory)

The assembly that maks a right angle for the swing board line. The nuts on the back side were loose letting water drip on the table. These nuts IMHO are not easy to get to, tighten or caulk. Plus you can't do it with one person as someone has to be top side with a screw driver.

Cam cleat port side, when I pulled out the Circuit Breaker Panel the nuts on the cam cleat were wet. Tightened them up and covered them with caulk.

I found the PVC loose where it was supposedly glued to the floor inside the pedestal and reglued it. I was sure this was the source of the leaks- it wasn't !

Not sure what Craig means by "steering tube and through the dock hole" I hope he can elaborate. Maybe he is talking about the same holes thru the base of the pedestal that I am.

All this because this Spring we found the cushions in the aft cabin soaked. Never had a leak here before and wish we had taken the cushions out over the winter.

When I crawled under there and removed the plastic plugs around the pedestal, water would weep out. It acted like the foam above was saturated. I also would catch the water dripping off the lowest point of the cables coming out of the pedestal.

I have not noticed leaks since I put the Bimini back up . But... I do not think the Pedestal is very water proof.

Also I noticed that the snaps mounted on the cockpit seats for the cushions were mounted with sealant. If these are loose and they are thru holes they could add to leaks.

I was told that with a bigger sail boat you have more leaks !!!

-Don B

leaked under steering ped,where cables went through deck,,cleaned area,covered hole with plastic,covered that with silicone caulk extending past plastic,lots and lots about 2-3 inches high,caulked around ped,,,no leaks in a year,

Sorry about the type. "Dock" hole should have read "deck" hole.

The water would run down the tube from the rotary helm steering. This tube is almost a vertical run down through the deck PVC hole thing. The water went straight down through the hole. This was my third attempt to seal that leak and I finally got it by spraying half a can of stuff it expaning foam down the hole and also I made a little plastic cover out of a 2 liter pepsi bottle and shmuked it on top of the foam. You really have to be aggresive about sealing this leak or it will continue to leak. I also cover the helm with a nice outdoor furniture cover I picked up at Lowes. But the cover does no good over the winter when the mast crutch is in place to hold the mast.

Going sailing tomorrow finally!. Packing and prepping is such fun in 100 degree heat! I think I lost 5 pounds today.