Where is the water getting into the cabin?

[Nancy]

Twice now, after a heavy, driving rain, I've found the cabin carpet wet below the hanging locker and beneath the head partition. Where does the cockpit sole go after it disappears beneath the head sole and the hanging locker? Where could this water be coming from? Nothing else in the cabin is wet - only the sole.

[RobS]

What do you mean by "beneath the head partition" ?
Is the floor in the head wet too?

If it's JUST the carpet in the cabin, it could it be that your fwd bilge pump is not cycling properly and the water is filling the fwd bilge and coming up through the center floor hatch.

And, as far as where the water is coming from that is getting into the fwd bilge, I would bet almost all of it is coming from overflowing deck drains at the gutters around the cockpit floor hatches.

[Nancy]

"Beneath the head partition" means where the head partition meets the cabin floor. If you stand in the cabin with your feet right in front of the head door, your feet will be damp.

The head sole is dry, and it's dry behind the toilet.

Only the starboard side is wet, and I'm very sure that the water isn't coming from an overflowed bilge. That would be a lot of water!

[special k]

nancy, have you been using the shower in the head? on my 2002 28te the caulking in the head partition walls let water from the shower on to the cabin floor as you described. personally we rarely use the head to shower.

[Nancy]

K, yes, I do use the shower in the head, but I'm 98% sure that the cabin floor only gets wet after a driving rain. But I'll check the caulking and run the shower and see what happens - thanks.

[Mike Ebert]

Nancy, I have exactly the same problem. I ran a bead of sealant on top of the rub rail in that area. It seemed to help for a while but I still have the problem. I have been thinking about pulling the rub raill off the whole boat and then re-caulking. It only rains in the winter here so I pull the carpets and let the water drain into the forward bilge area. If you figure it out, please post because I know this is a common problem.

[Nancy]

Mike,

I think I tracked this down yesterday. The wall joints and the wall-floor joints in the head are caulked. I ran the shower in the head and squirted water at the wall/floor joint to the left of the toilet and at the wall joint between the head cupboard and the head door. Lo and behold, water seeped out onto the cabin floor from beneath the partition. So using the shower definitely will cause the cabin sole to be wet.

We often leave a window open in the head, so if it rains in, the water will find its way to the cabin sole. We're expecting thunderstorms today, and I closed the port, so I'll be interested to see if the carpet is wet. If it is, I'll try squirting a hose at the head window and see if it gets in.

I've had the access port in the head sole open and looked underneath to see how things are constructed, and I don't think there's any way for water to get onto the cabin floor from the starboard side of the boat other than seepage through the caulked joints in the head. And assuming, of course, that the bilge isn't overflowing, but if it is, there are bigger problems!

[Nancy]

I found one more place where rain was getting into the boat - the port above the hanging locker. The rain was coming in there, flooding the shelf just below it (top of the hanging locker), and running down every little opening, down the interior walls of the hanging locker, and out onto the cabin sole.

The cause of this was self-inflicted. That port will not open if the cam is attached to the window bolt - there's not enough clearance. In order to open that port, you have to remove the cam entirely. So when the window was closed, only one cam was in use, and that wasn't enough to seal the window closed.

Both cams are now in use, and the port doesn't open. Take your pick - air or wet, stuffy or dry.

[DougSea]

Nancy,

You might want to try rounding off the lower edge of the flange on the port, thereby letting it clear the cam and swing open. (This assumes I'm picturing the issue correctly and you have the plastic ports that we had on Sonny III)

[RobS]

Install A/C, you'll never open the ports again, but you'll need a genny for the nights on the hook

[Nancy]

Thanks, Doug, one more project!

Rob, we have A/C, and I have no idea where we'd install a generator!

[RobS]

Rob, we have A/C, and I have no idea where we'd install a generator!

[Nancy]

Rob, perfect! Thanks for reminding me that my dad has a 1000W Honda he's not using that I need to liberate. It won't run the AC, but it would at least charge the batteries.

Where do you store it when it's not on the swim platform?

Nice grab bar on your transom. We need one of those.

[RobS]

Actually I didn't use it for A/C. It was charging the batteries, making coffee, using the microwave, etc..
On the hook the need for A/C is not so great.
Passenger's footwell at the helm when not on the swim platform.

Here's a post where I included details on that handle. Thanks for the compliment.
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=4573&hilit=handle

[Spfoster]

Hi Nancy,
I have not used the head shower and still have the exact problem you describe. I first attributed it to water coming in the port above the closet and on to the shelf. I removed the carpet to dry it and did not replace it for several days hoping the area would dry completely. It did seem to be until we had a heavy rain, and the next day I saw that water was again seeping beneath the head partition. The port had been closed, so I don't think water came in there. I wonder now if it is coming in around the windshield and following the head wall down, (hidden between panels or behind trim?). At this point I am seeing water staining on the nice cherry trim of the head partition.
Steve F.