[Rhodes22-list] Leak at the bow....where to look first

[Reuben Mezrich]

John
Cutting the electrical cord was necessary because it was one continuous
cord from the distribution panel to the navigation light with almost no
slack. Jesse's boat had connectors that let him avoid the need to cut. I
had no such luck. But even with connectors I would have used Butyl tape
around the wire at the point where it entered the deck (which is just
forward of the bolt and under the leg's flange)
--Reuben

Reuben Mezrich
Pelican Cove in Sarasota
Cell: 410-499-8922


On Tue, Mar 9, 2021 at 12:00 PM John Carlson via Rhodes22-list <
rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org> wrote:

> My pulpit is leaky as well, so I'm going to have to do this. Many thanks
> for the detailed description. Any chance you have a link to the video you
> found useful? Also, now that you've done it, would you have to cut the
> electrical cords to use the butyl tape?
>
> --
> John Carlson
> Lillipelli (2004/2012)
>
> > On Mar 9, 2021, at 10:25 AM, Reuben Mezrich <reuben.mezrich at gmail.com>
> wrote:
> >
> > After receiving the many excellent suggestions on where to look for
> leaks I
> > started what ended being a 1 week process to find and ultimately repair
> the
> > leak.
> >
> > I first removed the cosmetic wood trim inside the forward cabin at the
> bow
> > to expose the attachments of the Jib chainplate and the Bow eye. I
> sprayed
> > water at the bow  and determined these were not the source of the leaks.
> I
> > then sprayed water on the foredeck and initially saw no water leaking
> into
> > the boat but when I came back to the boat the next morning found that
> some
> > water (about 1 - 2 cups) had collected at the bow (By now I had removed
> the
> > cushions and so could see the water in a puddle on the floor of the
> forward
> > bunk at the bow). I had some sort of a slow leak.
> >
> > I then had my wife spray water on the foredeck while I was on my back in
> > the forecabin and was able to see that there were leaks at each of the
> four
> > legs of the pulpit. The leaks would drip onto the carpeted shelf that is
> at
> > each side of the forecabin (behind a white fiberglass trim piece) and
> then
> > the water would slowly make its way forward to trickle down at the bow
> end
> > of the forecabin.
> >
> > The pulpit is attached by 3/8" bolts that are welded to each of the legs
> > and which extend down through holes in the deck and fastened with a flat
> > washer, lock washer and 9/16" nut. After unfastening the nuts the pulpit
> > lifted up easily. One complication is that the electrical wires that feed
> > the navigation lights at the bow extend through a seperate hole just
> > forward of the hole for the aft-starboard bolt. That wire seems to run
> back
> > to the distribution panel and has very little slack and so I had to cut
> > it.  When I did remove the pulpit I found there was some white sealant
> that
> > adhered to the deck but not the pulpit leg (which ends in an oval flange
> at
> > the bottom) as well as an O-ring around the base of the bolt.
> >
> > After consulting with Stan, who told me that his preferred method for
> > keeping water out is to just use an O-ring around the nut (and not to
> apply
> > sealant), I cleaned off the old sealant (a product called ReMov which was
> > recommended in a Practical Sailor review, worked great for this) I put
> new
> > O-rings on. Rather than putting an O-ring around the electric wire near
> the
> > aft-starboard leg I put some wraps of butyl rubber tape abound it.
> > I reattached the pulpit, tightened the nuts and had my wife spray the
> > foredeck again and sadly found that there was again a leak (perhaps even
> > worse than before) at each leg - but not where the electric wire entered
> > the cabin.
> >
> > I removed the pulpit again, removed the o_rings and this time used Butyl
> > tape to form the seal at each leg. Using a technique I found on You Tube
> I
> > cut a 3 - 4 inch length of the tape, rolled the tape along its length
> into
> > a tube (or rope) and then wrapped it several times about the base of the
> > bolt. The thickness can be adjusted by adding more or less wraps and I
> was
> > generous, using the entire 3 - 4 inch tape at each leg. I added more
> Butyl
> > to the electric wire.
> >
> > After putting the pulpit back in place and only moderately tightening the
> > nuts, my wife sprayed the foredeck again and this time - success - no
> > leaks!!
> >
> > I have become a big fan of Butyl rubber tape, which to be honest I hadn't
> > even heard about till last week!
> >
> > Of course now I have to splice back the electric wire for the navigation
> > light and replace the cosmetic wood trim I removed, but I am much
> relieved
> > that this problem is solved
> >
> > Thanks for your advice and support
> >
> > --Reuben
> > Reuben Mezrich
> > Pelican Cove in Sarasota
> > Cell: 410-499-8922
> >
> >
> > On Tue, Mar 2, 2021 at 12:49 PM <cjlowe at sssnet.com <mailto:
> cjlowe at sssnet.com>> wrote:
> >
> >> I like to tape paper towels around the suspected areas and see which
> ones
> >> show moisture first, then investigate further from there .
> >>
> >>
> >> Jerry Lowe
> >> S/V Country Rhodes '86
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>> Roger, Rob and Mike
> >>> Thanks for the good suggestions. I'll start by taking off that
> >> cosmeticsus
> >>> piece of wood at the bow and see what's behind. If nothing is loose
> I"ll
> >>> have someone aim a hose at the bow while I"m inside watching in the
> hope
> >>> that I might actually see where the water is getting in.
> >>> I really do hope I don't have to rebed everything.
> >>> Probably won't be able to do this till the weekend..I"ll report back on
> >>> what I find
> >>>
> >>> Reuben Mezrich
> >>> Pelican Cove in Sarasota
> >>> Cell: 410-499-8922
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> On Mon, Mar 1, 2021 at 5:15 PM Michael D. Weisner <mweisner at ebsmed.com
> >
> >>> wrote:
> >>>
> >>>> Reuben,
> >>>>
> >>>> I would check the bow eye. The wood backing block usually rots and the
> >>>> eye
> >>>> loosens up. Sometimes just lifting the boat using the bow eye will
> cause
> >>>> the eye to loosen as the wood compresses.
> >>>>
> >>>> Also, you may want to re-bed the bow pulpit rail deck fittings,
> chocks,
> >>>> etc.
> >>>>
> >>>> Mike
> >>>> s/v Wind Lass ('91)
> >>>> Nissequogue River, NY
> >>>> I’d rather be sailing :~)
> >>>>
> >>>> -----Original Message-----
> >>>> From: Rhodes22-list <rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org> On Behalf Of
> >>>> Reuben Mezrich
> >>>> Sent: Monday, March 1, 2021 4:08 PM
> >>>> To: The Rhodes 22 Email List <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
> >>>> Subject: [Rhodes22-list] Leak at the bow....where to look first
> >>>>
> >>>> As I mentioned a week or two ago, I installed a Marinco 3" Day/night
> >>>> solar
> >>>> vent at the bow, using the hole already in place for the anchor
> locker.
> >>>> It
> >>>> installed easily, seemed to work fine but a few days later we had a
> >>>> heavy
> >>>> rain and the next day the forward tips of the forward cabin cushions
> >>>> were
> >>>> wet. I removed the vent, replaced the deck plate, installed a new
> gasket
> >>>> under the deck plate, applied a generous amount of RTV silicone to
> both
> >>>> sides of the gasket and reinstalled the solar vent. The next day
> >>>> (yesterday
> >>>> actually) I used a hose to rain water on the forward deck, aiming at
> the
> >>>> solar vent for about 6 minutes and when I checked below everything was
> >>>> dry.
> >>>> I checked again in an hour and it was still dry.
> >>>> This morning there was about a cup of water, maybe two cups of water
> at
> >>>> the bow. There was no water in the tray that serves as the anchor
> locker
> >>>> and which is directly under the solar vent. The vent itself was dry as
> >>>> was
> >>>> the ceiling around the vent. The walls were also dry. I dried the
> water
> >>>> with a towel and a few hours later a small amount of water seemed to
> be
> >>>> seeping under a triangular piece of wood at the very  bow of the boat
> >>>> (see
> >>>> attached photo). I haven't removed that piece of wood yet but I'm
> pretty
> >>>> sure I'll find the bolts from the chain plate at the bow for the jib
> >>>> stay.
> >>>> My feeling now is that the solar vent was never the source of the leak
> >>>> but
> >>>> I've had a small leak for a while but never noticed because I never
> had
> >>>> a
> >>>> reason to go up to the very front of the forward cabin. As it turns
> out
> >>>> the
> >>>> bottom of the cushions, which are rubberized are stained, giving
> >>>> evidence
> >>>> that the leak is likely long standing.
> >>>> Those bolts would be my best guess as the source of the leak but I'd
> >>>> look
> >>>> forward to suggestions as to where else I might look.
> >>>>
> >>>> Its always something
> >>>>
> >>>> --Reuben
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>> Reuben Mezrich
> >>>> Pelican Cove in Sarasota
> >>>> Cell: 410-499-8922
> >>>>
> >>>>>
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