[Rhodes22-list] leaks

[DCLewis1 at aol.com]

Rory,
 
I was out at the boat yesterday poking around.  The clean-up campaign  has 
started and I'm prepping our slip.  But I also spent time looking  for our 
leak(s) and this post is a progress report.
 
I hosed down the lazz hatch hard and didn't get water in the lazz.  I  have 
to try it again, but frankly I was surprised and encouraged.  Of  course, your 
situation may be different.
 
I'll try hosing it down again the next time I'm out there, with a different  
geometry, but my concerns about the lazz hatch have assuaged considerably.
 
But the lazz did take in a little water in almost real time, and  in a way 
that was good because it facilitates my leak checking.
 
I checked the cockpit drain as per John Lock.  At first I thought  that was 
it, but then found that when that drain connection was sealed  some sealant, or 
whatever, dripped down that hose and dried in a way that  makes it look like 
a fresh wet streak down the hose, but on close inspection it  wasn't wet or 
leaking.  If the hose in your boat looks like it's leaking I  encourage you to 
evaluated it carefully to see whether it's really substantial  fresh wetness, 
looks can be deceiving.  Ultimately I tied a piece  of paper towel around the 
joint, closed the lazz and hosed the area  thoroughly - the towel remained dry, 
it did not wick water.  
 
My current kick is the cockpit floor, and specifically the table mount in  
the cockpit floor.  The cockpit floor gets a lot of water and the lazz can  take 
a fair amount of water in a good rain.  I took the winter tarp off the  boat 
and just sealed the cockpit floor table flange.  We're supposed to get  a real 
soaking rain starting tonight (2") so I'll check the boat for leakage Mon  or 
Tues.
 
If you have a table mount in your cockpit floor, you might examine it  
carefully and even wet it down to see if there is leakage.  I think I found  that if 
I hosed that area water would subsequently leak back into the  lazz.  The 
water appears to be coming into the lazz back from the cockpit  area (i.e. from 
forward), as opposed to running down down the length of the lazz  from the 
transom (i.e. from the drains, fuel hose port, lift web slot,  etc) - but its  
hard to be sure.  Also, getting water in the lazz  when I hose down the floor 
flange is not totally conclusive - that water will  subsequently go to a lot of 
places.
 
We also have a crack across our cockpit floor near the forward  bulkhead.  
I'd bet that's not the source of our leak the winter because I  covered it with 
waterproof tape in the fall.  That area has been  exposed to substantial rain 
and snow when the lazz remained dry.   Nevertheless I think I should fill and 
seal it when the boat goes back  in the water, just to be sure.  Do you have 
cracks in your floor?
 
Please let me know how your leak checking is progressing, we may have very  
similar problems.
 
Dave



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