TomCat 255 Rain Water intrusion front and rear

squidslayer

We had record rain fall in California this year
After 2 months setting on a trailer...getting tuned up and polished..I launched last Monday at Bodega Bay and put it in my berth. When I got out...it was listing to one side. I opened her up and it was full of water!! Both front areas under the berth had about 20 gallons each and the rear of the boat had more!
No water on the inside of cabin.
Thinking I had a severe leak in the hull and with two of my bilge pumps needing repair(I was going to repair them soon) I ran and got an emergency bilge pump and started pumping. To my relief when I tasted the water pouring out ...it was FRESH water. Those heavy rains !
My boat has been rained on before while in its berth for years...never had any real water issues in the bilge or front...there must have been several hundred gallons of fresh water in both hulls.

After I pumped out..dried up every thing...... I hose sprayed the hull heavily ...filled the fish-boxes..the back deck.. With water every place I could think of and...NO water in the main back bilge. I saw just a little on the top groove under the berth. The only thing different is that it was on a trailer during these storms rather than in the water.
Go figure...I've got all the bilge pumps fixed now. And always have a manual pump on hand.

Where would the most likely spots for rainwater intrusion occur on a 2007 Tomcat? No water came in to the cabin area.

Any info would be deeply appreciated

DickE
"ShirleyMae"

DickE

matt_unique · Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2011 8:28 am Post subject: H20

Hi Dick,
There are a few opportunities for water entry - the rub rail and the hole under your windlass where your rode drops in. (Don't feel like I can really call that hole on a Tomcat a hawse pipe).

I suspect the water under the bow area came from the windlass hole. It can run right in and down into your sponsons if your rode locker is not totally sealed. The water from this source could only run back aft in your sponsons if it built up high enough to get through the cable access hole about 6-8" off the bottom. (If you look inside your bow sponson storage area you will see the cable hole I am talking about).

Water can also come in from behind your rub rail. I found on Napoleon some of the plastic inside the rivets were punched out and a few rivet holes were drilled all the way through allowing fresh water to run in. You can check by taking a good flashlight and looking at the inside of the sides where the rub rail rivets come in. You will likely see a tell tale mold waterfall. I took a picture of an example on my vessel.

In my case it was only coming in on the starboard side so I removed the rubber insert and injected some 4200 into the holes. I will check again as I do spring prep to see if that prevented the water from coming in. I don't recall any water last season. If I do find evidence I was thinking of running a thin bead of clear sealant along the top edge of the rub rail.

drjohn71a · Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2011 6:09 pm Post subject:

Dick,

One place to check is those rotating latches on the elliptical ports in that forward berth area. I could not figure out why I was getting water coming in down around the back of the dash and sometimes under the cushions.

I was just turning them enough to engage - not turning them until tight. Apparently there is a beveled base under that latch that makes the seal tighter the further you turn them.

I could not actually see a leak until I sat inside while another person sprayed the windows with a hose sprayer. And, the water just formed a very thin layer going down the inner hull surface - hard to see unless you had a light shining just right on it.

John

Dreamer · Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2011 6:35 pm Post subject:

I just recently found all the screws on those porthole frames loose. Several took a couple of turns to tighten.

I recently drilled limber holes in the bulkhead at the rear of the under bunk storage areas. When parking the boat, I raise the trailer tongue as far up as it will go and leave the plugs out of those holes. Any accumulated water drains to the rear of the bilges and out the transom plug holes.

Boats do get water in them some how. To me, it's just a matter of dealing with it rather than try to find every pin hole leak.

squidslayer · Posted: Fri Apr 01, 2011 2:36 am Post subject: thanks

Thank you all for the help......
I will be addressing the windlass..bumper trim.....And the drain hole in the front bunks looks like a great idea.....
California King Salmon season starts This Saturday!!!!...But with 15 Ft swells and 25 kt winds...... we will have to punt and wait for mother nature to settle down!!

thanks again

DickE