water in cabin

Jake B · Posted: Tue Jan 29, 2013 11:34 am Post subject: water in cabin

So this is the first winter I have had the dory. I have been keeping it covered until 2 weeks ago when I got started on winter projects (radar, rocket launcher, fix sink and stove ect.) it has been raining here off and on lately. So the last two nights I have got home from work to mess with boat there has been about a cup of water on the starboard side up against door and cabinet? There are no water "trails" that I can see to show where water is coming from. So my only guess would be that it is getting past the cabin door possibly? I was just wondering if anyone else has had this kind of problem before. Also trailer is tilted up to help with water run off while I am working on boat. thanks for any help

Ray · Posted: Tue Jan 29, 2013 11:51 am Post subject:

A tip on finding "water trails":

Put down a very small amount of chalk-line powder (actually snap the line if you have room) perpendicular to the way you think the water may be running.

Leave it out in the rain and come back and look for telltale streaks or breaks in your chalk line.

If you don't mind a little post-project cleanup, you can put lots of lines all over the place and pretty much trace the water all the way to the source!!!

rogerbum · Posted: Tue Jan 29, 2013 12:00 pm Post subject:

I had a similar problem one time on my 22. In my case the water was coming from a poorly sealed water fill cap. On my 2002(2003?) CD-22, the fill cap for the water tank was just in front of the bulk head on the walkway where you'd go forward. Just behind it was a fiberglass rise designed to route water off to the side (as opposed to coming into the cockpit). That created a little pool around the fill cap. Water would leak in behind the aft seat on the port side, run down the wall and under the cabinet and pool about where you describe.

That said, water can come from anyplace and pool there if that's the low spot on the boat.

Jake B · Posted: Tue Jan 29, 2013 2:20 pm Post subject:

thanks i will check the seals on the outside of the boat. wherever it is coming from is in the rear of the cabin, may try the chalk trick to if I cannot locate it. thanks for the tips I will look more this evening when I get home.

colobear · Posted: Tue Jan 29, 2013 3:16 pm Post subject:

I had a similar leak in my 2006 22. There would be about 1/2 cup of water on the cabin floor after cruising. It took me a year to find the source, a poorly drilled and installed fresh water vent. I was also concerned about leakage from the cockpit into the cabin via the joint along the rear cabin bulkhead or from the small "bilge" at the rear of the cabin where a second bilge pump is installed. I resealed those entire joints and had the vent redone (under warranty when we still had those). That fixed the problem. I would check the water fill and vent (port side) plus the diesel fill and vent (if you have one it will be on the starboard side).

KickerDRB · Posted: Tue Jan 29, 2013 10:02 pm Post subject:

I have a similiar problem. The water is coming from the bottom of the door under the latch. The door is slightly warped and does not fit tight against the weatherstriping. I was getting water in the cabin, and on both sides of the bildge pocket. Still working on a cleaver fix, it is on the list of winter projects. I picked up a long piece of aluminum C channel and will try glueing/screwing on the latch side. hopefully that will stiffen it up a bit.
regards,
Dave

rogerbum · Posted: Tue Jan 29, 2013 10:59 pm Post subject:

mgarr682 · Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2013 8:56 am Post subject: Newspaper.

Another trick for finding very small leaks is newspaper. Just tear it into strips and lay it against the areas where the leak may be. Any little bit of water will turn the newspaper dark. A plumber showed me how to do it when trying to find a very slow leak on a toilet. Trying to see a faint bit of water on a white background was impossible. As soon as he laid the strips of newsprint against the side of the tank the tiny bit of water leaking turned it dark instantly. Leak located. I've used the tip since then a few times to locate small leaks and it worked quite well.