Leaky front cabin

[ljmcpa]

I have a 1994 32' tourninment with a leak in the port bow. there are not many places where it can be leaking from, does anyone have any ideas? I opened up the underside and am trying to locat the leak but have not found it as of yet.

[Douglas Fairchild]

You say Port side, do you mean below water line, or higher like a poor hull/ deck join. Where exactly is the leak

[ljmcpa]

it is comming from above somewhere ? but the rails seam fine and it is not the front hatch either, since that looks fine as well. when i remove the fabric the fiberglsss is wet though and I am puzzeled.

[Douglas Fairchild]

Does leak occure while boat is at rest or does it leak while you are in motion. Are there any salt crystals in water stains. If leaks occure while in motion and there are salt crystals you probably have a bad hull/deck join. Very hard to repair from what I hear. Check buttom of rub rail for any rust stains or damaged sections in area of leak. Look inside rope locker where hull is exposed. Any signs of water leakage from the hull/deck join. If it leaks only at the dock then it probably is fresh water from rain. Does leak occure during after rain/snow shower or when washing down the boat after use. Have someone hose area down with hose while you examine area from inside. Good Luck

[flbluerunner]

I have had to caulk the top and bottom of the entire rub rail to stop leaks.

[seacaballo]

I find moisture arrounf the two big shelves on the upper sides of the bed. I don't see any caulking between the rubrail and the gunel of the boat so I am going to use fast curing 3M 5200. Has anybody done that?

[CaptainJR]

I've caulked above the rub rail, but never below, thinking that if any rain water gets in I'd like it to drain out below if possible. Does anyone else caulk below the rubrail?

[irishrogue]

determing if it is fresh (rain/washdown) water or salt water will help to diagnose/pinpoint.

if it is seawater, check carefully under/around the pulpit - we had a gap that needed to be caulked.

if it is the hull to deck joint/rubrail, you are in trouble. caulking the rubrail wont work well and will look pretty crappy....rubrail removal to expose the seam would be major....cant imagine how hard it would be to reinstall the rub rail....

we actually have a slight leak at the hull/deck joint above the starboard pullman berth....

[dpdash]

I find moisture arrounf the two big shelves on the upper sides of the bed. I don't see any caulking between the rubrail and the gunel of the boat so I am going to use fast curing 3M 5200. Has anybody done that?

yes, I've caulked above/below the rubrail, looks fine, can't even see it.

[seacaballo]

I agree with you that it looks fine. I did last Sunday but it has not rain. Did the leaks stop for you?