Tiny leak into front hatch.

[Anonymous]

I have a tiny leak of water, finding its way into the bottom front hatch of my Wayfarer Mk1a. I’m told the baulkhead should be completly sealed but right at the bottom, between the keel part of the hull, where it is recessed, it has water leaking through.
Any suggestions as to how I cure this and is it a common fault?

Thanks

Paul Henley
Wayfarer 9362

[Anonymous]

Hi
Being brief here but
1. Could your bungs be old and leaking
2. Is the water leaking from the bilges into the front compartment eg if you are taking on a bit of water through the bailers or over the gunwhale,… or rain water after a period on land and the boat has not been draining properly?……..
or 3. is it coming through the hull (along the keelband)

I suspect if water is leaking from the bilges into the front compartment some silicon sealant would do the trick

Personally being pragmatic it all depends how much water and whether you want to use the area for storage and what sort of sailing you are doing. A very small bit of water does not bother me ………sponge it out at the end of the sail.
Dave

[Dave Barker]

You could consider John’s suggestion (from a similar thread) of Captain Tolley’s Creeping Crack Cure. The down-side to this and other techniques (e.g. Dave’s silicone – Hi Dave, how’s the knee?) is that they may leave a residue which could perhaps make preparation of any subsequent repair that little bit more lengthy…

[Gerbyrne]

It is not unkbown for the bulkhead to come loose. Dry the boat out, put in the bungs, lift the floorboards then put a hose into the bouyancy conpartment via the hatch and look to see if any water comes out at the base of the bulkhead. Personally, if that bond is gone, I would glass it in again for a job that will last. The bulkhead has a flange which is either glued or taped down to the hull and repair involves removing any damaged material, roughing up the flange and floor to accept resin (and putting a layer or two of narrow tape (or cut strips of glassfibre cloth) down. You can use polyester or epoxy resin. Polyester hardens quicker, is cheaper, doesn’t degrade with sunlight but is more prone to failure becasue it doesn’t always bond well with polyester (which is what the boat is made from). Epoxy is expensive, takes up to 24 hours to harden (depending on temperature) and needs a coat of paint to protect from the degrading effect of UV light. But it sticks beautifully to almost anything.

Don’t want to alarm you but I have seen a mark II (former sailing school boat so there had been lot of collisions) where the entire bulkhead moulding (which includes the top of the bouyancy compartment) had come adrift. We managed to fix using me under an upturned boat, another holding a funnell and a hosepipe outside pouring epoxy resin through it which I then directed into the area of the flange via the inside of the bouyancy compartment.

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