Water
leaks into a boat may seem to be merely aggravating, but most
often they end up turning into a calamity. Every week I detail
tens, even hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of water
damage caused by leaks in the boats I survey. At years end,
if I totaled them all up, we'd be talking millions, so this
is no picayune issue.
I'm reminded of this every year when rainy
season rolls around, for that's when the problems really show
up. This year we had three tropical storms dump around twenty
inches of rain on us so that if a boat had leaks, they tended
to show up big time.
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| Damage
from a deck join leak on a four year old boat. Value of
damage: about $8,000. |
The fact is, most boat owners never bother
to look, or if they do notice a leak they're too busy to bother
to do anything about it. That's a big mistake because leaks
can cause very costly damage, so it's wise to keep your eye
open for them and to stop trouble before it gets too expensive.
Frankly, I wouldn't care at all but for the fact that I'm
the one that usually delivers the bad news to them.
I see the crestfallen looks on their faces,
as well as the jolts of recognition that tells me that they
knew about the problem all along, but chose to do nothing
about it other than merely smear a little silicone around,
which is like putting a Band-Aid on bullet to the head wound.
Leaks tend to occur in the same areas in
all, or at least most, boats for common reasons. One
of the worst is the hull/deck joint. Deck joints tend to leak
since this is a huge joint -- in a 30' boat it will be about
75 feet in length -- because it is highly stressed, and because
it is hard to seal in the beginning.
Deck joint leaks can cause a lot of damage
because when water comes in, it runs down the inside of the
hull. That causes problems with dampness and mildew because
water gets trapped in places where it doesn't get pumped out,
but evaporates, raising the interior humidity level, thereby
facilitating mildew growth. Even worse, are the various structures
that are attached to the hull sides. This includes things
like shelves, cabinets, lockers and (hope you're ready
for this) your bed.
I see many owners who resort to putting dehumidifiers
aboard that to me are a sign that fairly shouts "Look
for the Leaks." Or there are those cans of Damp Rid
scattered around, or they leave the AC running most of the
time.
 |
| This obvious
deck leak was allowed to fester for years. There is
a lot more damage than can be seen in this photo.
The end result was a $500K boat becoming a $200K boat
in just a couple years. Leak repair cost would have
been perhaps $2,000. |
Some of the most common damage is to berths
in the forward cabin which are glassed to the hull sides,
usually incorporating the berth structure as part of the hull
structure. Water comes in through the deck joint, runs down
the inside of the hull until it meets with the horizontal
bed foundation where it puddles and does its damage. Here
we're usually dealing with plywoods and veneers, cabinet work,
and none of it cheap stuff.
This leakage often goes unnoticed because
there is some kind of liner on the hull side, like foam backed
vinyl, where the water runs under the liner hiding the leak.
This can go on for a long time until someone lifts up the
mattress and discovers all the damage it has done, Damage
like rotting the mattress bottom and the plywood foundation.
But it also leaks onto and into fine wood structures such
as vanities and cabinets where the damage can become very
costly to repair.
Boat owners should make it a point to check
for leaks occasionally. Check under the mattress and look
all around at the various cabinets, shelves and so on. Water
stains and discoloration signal the presence of leaks even
when no water is present.
Interior mildew problems almost always signal
interior water leakage. Thousands of boat owners automatically
assume that this is an atmospheric problem. It may be that
excessive amounts of water standing in the bilge, which the
pumps won't remove, can cause excessive mildew, yet more often
than not it is a water leak.
Back in the mid cabin area, deck joint leaks
often show up in galley cabinets and shelves. The first telltale
evidence usually comes from rust strains from steel cans and
colored foot prints from the bottoms of packaged goods
boxes. This can be true of any storage area that water is
getting into.
Repairing Leaks at Deck Joints
Now we come to the main reason why boat owners
prefer to ignore leaks; they can be difficult and costly to
repair, but not always. If a leak has been existent for any
length of time, it will have left a trail that will lead to
its source. At least most of the time. The trouble is in getting
at the area to locate it since nowadays in most boats there
is little or no access to the deck joint. Builders build boats
based on the assumption (or the disregard) that they'll ever
need repair.
The best way to repair a leaky deck joint
is from the inside. But barring that, an attempt can be made
from the outside, which is better than nothing. Removal of
the rub rail is likely to reveal suspect sources for leaks.
These should be caulked with 5200 (forget silicone and most
other caulks because they won't work) and then the rub rail
put back on. Good idea, too, to caulk the screw holes as the
screws are being driven in. If you can get at the inside,
it is best to do the caulking from there.
Note that water can enter in one place, but
come into the boat three or four feet away from the point
of entry. This is due to the nature of the lap joint itself.
Thus, a fairly large area should be inspected at the outset.
Just because you see one potential leak spot doesn't mean
that there isn't another.
Repairing Leaks at Hardware Attachments
Railing stanchions are the most common culprit
due the tremendous leverage that gets applied to rail stanchions,
plus it's very difficult to design structures that can carry
these loads adequately. To make matters worse, stanchion leaks
and deck leaks can often appear to be coming from the same
area, making it harder to determine which it is. This usually
necessitates dropping a small part of the headliner and/or
removing some valences.
One can also try a water test with hose pressure
since the deck joint leak most often only occurs while the
boat is underway, but that will depend on what type of joint
it is. Water will usually NOT come in with a vertical lap
joint, but it will come in with a horizontal lap. That is
because with the vertical lap, water has to be pushed up from
below, whereas with the horizontal joint it can enter
from above. While this is not an absolute rule, it holds true
most of the time.
Once you get at the underside of the hardware,
it will become glaringly apparent whether it is leaking or
not.
Engine Room Leaks
These cause more damage in $$$ than any other
type. The most common results from water being thrown around
the engine room by a rotating part, such generator flywheel
or shaft or coupling. That so many boats suffer from this
kind of damage tells me that there are a lot owners who just
hop aboard, start their engines and go, without ever checking
the engine room. Because, if they had, they couldn't fail
to observe the damage these leaks were causing.
The telltale evidence of this type is excessive
corrosion occurring. When you see it, you need to do something
about it pronto.
Another source of leaks is from above, usually
involving the hatch covers of whatever type. These can be
a little harder to identify. The way to do is to check the
engine room either while it is raining or after washing down.
Since such leaks are usually fresh water, the evidence is
not always as apparent, so what we need to be looking for
is wet spots and water in places it shouldn't be.
Now you know why I rant and rave about engine
room access so much; if you can't get into an area to see
what's happening, such things tend to go unnoticed.
Bottom line: You can check occasionally
and pay a little now, or ignore your boat and, come time to
sell it, have some surveyor tell you that your boat has tens
of thousands of dollars worth of water damage and lose the
sale as well. It's your money, your call.
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Is
Your Boat a Leaky Tiki?
