Water Under Aft Cockpit in 07 Venture

[TimButterfield]

Hi, williwaw. As I mentioned, we're out of the picture for this one. It is long distance for us and we're 0:2 on surveyors. The one I picked never showed. The one the broker picked didn't bother to take any pictures, which were specifically asked for. It may be a good thing we gave up on it. Since then, a gash showing cord in a tag tire on the motorhome has the full set of eight tires getting replaced as they are at 90k miles. That is eating a big chunk of my boat money. It seems that each time I'm about to buy a boat, something happens to prevent it. Oh, well.

Since I'm passing on it, I'll share what I know about it, though I have never seen it in person. This is the 2009 26 Venture at United Yacht Sales in Kemah, TX. It is described as near new, head never used, and in pristine condition. I was told there are some radius cracks in the gel coat where the cabin meets the cockpit floor. They are asking just a bit over high average Gulf Coast BUC value, though that is 10-12k less than PNW BUC value. It does not have the bottom paint, radar, or heat I would want, though that can be added. Maybe someone here can make use of it or just flip it up north.

[mathias999us]

Hi,

I am expecting to take delivery of the 2009 Venture 26 that Tim was referencing in mid-May. I am having a full survey done on 5/8, and have let the surveyor know about this specific issue. I think I will make a point to remind him about this one last time shortly before the survey though. The boat does not have inspection plates currently.

One of the first things I intend to do when I get the boat (assuming nothing bad shows up during the survey) is install inspection plates. I have a few questions I'm hoping you guys can help me with:

1. Does anyone know if a 2009 Venture 26 has a spar/support running down the center of the cockpit deck? I'd like to install one of the plates between the gas tanks if possible.

2. I'd like to install two inspection plates total. One in the rear of the cockpit, preferably between the gas tanks. The other in the cabin sole. I had planned to put the plate in the cabin aft, just in front of the entry door from the cockpit. The boat will spend most all of its storage time on a trailer, which I can raise in the front to send water aft and remove if necessary. Does this seem like a reasonable plan? Any reason I would want a second plate in the cockpit, or that I should put a plate as far forward as possible in the cabin between the v-berth area?

3. Has anybody considered just putting a larger inspection hatch in, and trying to get some storage out of it? Something like this perhaps: http://www.westmarine.com/buy/bomar--inspection-hatches--P024_720_002_502 ? I know it's not too tall under the deck, but maybe tall enough to store some line and other smaller or "long and skinny" items? Maybe this is a bad idea for other reasons I haven't considered, as they didn't install something like this direct from the factory...

Thanks for your help guys. We're very excited to get this boat. We're driving from Minnesota to Texas and back to get it.

Mathias

[thataway]

The only issue I will address is the installation of the Bowmar hatch. They will leak. Do you want more water in the bilge? The only hatches which will not leak are the aluminum ones with full dogs, and a good gasket.

[neilc]

My boat, Rose Budd II is currently in the boats for sale section here. I did have a water problem and I've written there what I had done. The problem with these boats, mine is to 2007, is that there is no way to access water if it should find its way under the cabin or cockpit floor. The water also has no path to escape. My boat had no stringers under the cockpit floor, not sure about 2009. I was advised by the shop that did the repairs for me that there wasn't enough room under the cabin floor to safely install a inspection port so we created a path under the aft cabin bulkhead and a inspection port about 10" aft of the cockpit door. There is some foam blown in under the cockpit floor which could be a problem for drainage. On my boat, we put 2 longitudinal stringers under the floor and foamed and sealed the areas outside of them leaving the center with no foam.

I have a question if someone knows. Has the factory addressed these problems on the current 26' Ventures? If so, what did they do?

[mathias999us]

Thanks guys, that's helpful information.

I'm presuming the circular screw-in type of deck plates will not leak, and are suitable for this purpose?

I too would like to know if the factory has addressed the design issues in the newer ventures. Perhaps I don't even need to add the inspection plates. But something tells me, if there's a false floor with a cavity, water will find its way in there one way or another over time, and it is left with no ability to escape, and becomes trapped.

I guess for the spar, I'll have to just try some soundings with a small hammer, and then take a chance drilling an off-center hole between the tanks, and then probing for the presence of a spar using a bent piece of wire.

Thanks for the help,
Mathias

[thataway]

The screw in plastic inspection ports are OK. Put a light coat of silicone grease on the "O" ring as you screw the ring back in. I have seen more problems with the clear than the opaque, white plastic.

[mathias999us]

Bob - presumably you've seen more problems with the clear plates because... they are transparent.

Ok, that was just bad. Ignore my terrible humor.

[thataway]

Ok…but there is a reason..there is more UV degradation in the clear, than in the opaque, screw in plates.

[mathias999us]

That's a great observation Bob. I'm already certain the rigging of my boat will turn out a great deal better than it would have without your advice. Thanks.

[jennykatz]

We have an 06 Cape Cruiser with the dreaded water in double hull . There are really 3 compartments that water collects in the venture 23. v-berth /cabin /cockpit
Things we have done .
1- Inspection plate white plastic between fuel tanks in rear cockpit
2-put an inspection plate in cabin before V-berth
3-Put in large forward hatch in v-berth area
4- make sure no water is coming in through anchor locker or hand rails or anywhere else for that matter.Also make sure cockpit to cabin is sealed with boat life or similar product

We still had water in all 3 compartments
So this week we put in a larger inspection plate as you go into v-berth then put hole in bulkhead so water can transfer from inside cabin to v-berth area .So hopefully when boat is at rest the water will flow into v-berth area and we put a 1100gallon pump there
to pump the water out . If we still end up having water in the cockpit area I will do the same thing and open up another way for water to go from front to back or visa /versa I'm hoping this finally is the end of problem .

[mathias999us]

I should have replied to this thread after I got my 2009 26 Venture. Turns out I didn't need to do anything to address this issue.

The 26 Venture has an inspection plug in the floor just inside the entry door to the cabin. Upon removal, I found the void under the cabin floor to be bone dry.

The void under the cockpit floor is accessed via a drain plug that is in the fore vertical wall of the aft bilge sump. I cannot see it, but I discovered it when I was doing some work on bilge pump itself, and I felt the plug with my hand reached back into the bilge sump. It is a brass square drain plug - the exact type of drain plug you find at the base of the transom for the main hull drain plug. I removed the drain plug in the bilge sump for inspection when I discovered, dreading that water would come pouring out, but there was none. To be safe, I stuck a dry rolled up paper towel in the drain plug hole and rubbed it around in the bottom of the space under the cockpit floor, and it was completely dry when I pulled it out.

I assume someone else would have known about / found this drain plug on the cape cruisers, so it looks like this is an area they improved upon with the Venture 26.

[Wefings]

Thats because we fixed it at Wefings when it was new! There was no drain plug originally .
It was collecting water when it was delivered to us from the old Triton factory .
Marc

[Riverjohn]

[chimoii]

I can't give you a specific year, only tell you about our 2008 Venture 23. This was a Fluid Marine boat and an actual Venture, not a Cape Cruiser. It was kept in the water since new.

We bought the boat new and I was concerned about this issue having read the thread on C-Brats. I talked with Port Boathouse who were then the dealer here. They told me that there had been changes in how the cockpit floor was sealed. I could find no openings for leaks in that area. I asked whether I should fit an access port and was advised not to do so as horizontal hatches are seldom a perfect seal. It was suggested that I would hear water sloshing in the hull if there was a problem and could think about a hatch then. That made sense.

I checked the opening in by the water tank next to the forward bilge pump with a light and a mirror and everything I could see was dry. This I continued to monitor all the time we owned the boat and never had any water. I even put a humidity gauge there and noted nothing unusual. In the anchor locker I made sure the drain was clear. Since there is a joint across the aft end of the locker and others had noted water intrusion I sealed with epoxy and then painted. No water accumulated and I didn't find evidence of water in the V-berth.

We traded the boat a couple of months ago and became TugNuts. One reason to go with Ranger was our experience with Fluid Marine and the Venture.

[My IRA]

No problems with our 2013 23Venture.