[Rhodes22-list] Center Board Well Leak

[david.walker5 at comcast.net]

Greetings to the list. 

I haven't been active on the list for a few years but have been actively sailing my boat, Windswept, out of Salem harbor in MA. I re-signed up to share with you all something I found this spring that I think should be brought to all owners attention. 

For the 11 years I have owned my R22 (bought from Stan in 1998 as recycled) I have been fighting a slow leak. Many helpful suggestions pointed at rainwater leaks, which I did have and were mostly fixed. However there was a consistent salt water leak that I could not find. I pretty easily ruled out the thru hulls and was left with the centerboard well. Two years ago I removed the cap and cleaned the mating surfaces, replaced the fender washers and removed a small block that was through bolted to the top of the cap (part of the 4:1 board raising tackle). This didn't make any change. 

Last summer returning to the boat (at her mooring) after a weeks absence I found water about a foot above the sole. The battery was under water and completely shorted out. Its unclear whether the bilge pump failed or the increasing leak rate caused the pump to discharge the battery. Anyway, I limped to the local marina where I winter store, pumped out the bilge with a home sump pump, had an emergency haul and had it blocked for the winter. (I was pretty discouraged and was about to leave on a 3 week trip). 

This spring I resolved to find the leak once and for all. When I opened the boat I found a little rain water in the bilge but nothing was leaking out. I filled the bilge to above the cap and a steady trickle started to run out of the aft end of the CB slot. I lowered the water with a pump to just below the cap seal and the trickle continued. I lowered the water level to about halfway from the cap to the bilge and the trickle stopped. Very strange. This eliminated the cap seal and the pennant thru hull as a leak. 

I removed the cap (fun job) and carefully inspected the inside of the well. At the aft end I found a piece of UHMWP in the shape of an upside down V wedged from side to side at the top of the well. My guess is its job is as a seat for the top of the CB when it is up to keep it from moving side to side. The critical thing is that this piece was screwed in place with long screws from the top of the piece, diagonally down through the side of the well from inside to outside. The tips of the screws were actually though the outside of the well about halfway up from the blige to the cap. After years of the board banging into this, the screws had loosened in the fiber glass and I could literally just pull them out with my hand. These screws were loose in their holes had provided literally two holes in the bottom of the boat. I took them out, dried out the area, ground it down and patched with epoxy and two layers of glass inside and out. 

My point in this post is that this may or may not have been done at the factory and I'm not blaming anyone, but it was present in my hull. If anyone has a slow leak in this area, it would be worthwile to check it out, and if you pull your cap for any reason definetely check it. Now I just have to finish all those pesky port light rain leaks!! 


Dave Walker