Sealant replacement or maintenance?

[Dan Corcoran]

I still get a little bit of water into my boats nav station seat in a good rain, and sometimes can be seen on the ceiling near the nav station. I have already removed and resealed the hand rails. My next thought is to replace the sealant that circles around the top of the upper deck from the companionway hatch and forward.

Looks like a project. Has anyone done this, or tried something last drastic first?

[Vento Solare]

Remove the head liner and have someone spray a hose topside while you look for the leak below. It could be any of the fasteners holding deck hardware for clutches, winches, handrails, etc. The water leak will always flow and exit at a location that is different from the source to where it ultimately appears!

[35601]

I have same issue. Mine is coming from jib track.

[35601]

Hey Dan
I plan on taking them of counter sinking holes a bit and bedding with Buytal stuff last forever

[TSweather]

As Bill alluded to, the headliner allows leaks to travel far beyond where they actually get in. Last year I thought my companionway hatch/sea hood was leaking, so I took it off, filled the holes with epoxy and re-drilled them. After sealing it back on the leak remained. Turned out the leak that was coming down over the galley actually originated at the salon center vent hatch frame.

I also had one coming in from the stanchion base above the nav station that was dripping behind the circuit breakers. Re-bedded the stanchion base with Sikaflex 291 and it has been dry since.

Only note about the headliner is that it helps to put a few pieces of blue masking tape along the edge before taking it down so that you can more easily line up the screws when putting it back up. Each half of that liner is amazingly cumbersome on its own.

[Dan Corcoran]

Thank you, I will do that. Blue tape to mark the edges of the headliner before I remove it, and spray water.

Yes, I love that Butyl tape, carry it on-board always. Never know when an emergency repair becomes an opportunity to get it under a fitting.

[carlbraden]

Guys - I replaced both the port/stb saloon headliner and when doing so put a couple of clear coats of water sealing varnish on the marine ply so if there was any future water ingress the board would not rot like the old liner did.
Cheers
Carl

[Dan Corcoran]

Looking under the headliner I have two questions
(1) Do they come completely off without removing the outside hand holds?
(2) Looking up to where the wires come down from the companionway instrument cluster, I can see the water dribbling in. I temporarily sealed the screw holes that hold the instruments and resealed the wires as they come into the instrument cluster, and that did not stop the water. Question. If, from the underside of the liner I remove and replace the sealant that is there, can I call the job done (or) will that just cause the water to pool up there, and instead I have to find a leak elsewhere?

[Vento Solare]

On hull 266 the handrails do not need to be removed to take off the headliner. Some boats may be differently configured as this changed during production on the number of sections that made up the headliner.

Without seeing the water source, It's difficult to answer your leak question. Generally better to stop a leak from the outer surface to prevent internal pooling.

[Dan Corcoran]

Yea, I was thinking it would be better to get above that too.

How to get access above that spot? Can I unscrew that whole large part of the boat that the instrument panel screws into

[Vento Solare]

Yes - screws on side of the spray hood attach it to the cabin top.

[Dan Corcoran]

Thinking of replacing the existing sealant.

Before I embark on this project, any advice on how to make the new seal look as good as the old?