Water Leaking into V Berth

[Aussie Mike]

I have fresh water entering the V Berth.

There is evidence of it coming under the mirror behind the bedhead and there is water pooling under the bed and in the storage nooks.
I suspect the water is coming from the either the anchor locker or the windless.
Any advice is much appreciated.

 

[FF]

Get a really powerful flashlight and some great towels and wait for a heavy rain , or use the local hose .

Slow leaks may take hours to finally show up.

All bedding compounds eventually wear out so is a PM job.

Every 6-10 years its time to renew your favorite goop.

I use Dolphinite as its easiest to scrape off to get a clean surface , the hardest part of the job.

Never 5200, it is glue not a bedding compound .

 

[wkearney99]

The usual tactics apply when it comes to tracking down leaks. If you haven't already, it's good to check the status of any gaskets or caulking of various hardware on the deck above it. Caulk and gaskets do fail over time. So make sure your windlass is properly sealed to the deck.

Anchor lockers have drains that often get blocked by debris pulled up with the rode. If the drains get blocked, water may collect and spill out if there's inspection hatches or other openings. Make sure your locker drains are clear. It sometimes helps to use some lawn string trimmer line (the orange plastic stuff) to poke/prod into the drain lines. Do this from BOTH sides, but start at the outside first. Likewise some water pressure from a hose (NOT a pressure washer) may also help dislodge debris. You want to avoid running higher pressure water into anything as that might cause hoses or other connections to pop loose.

You'll likely have to pay out the rode in order to gain decent access to the locker. This might be a good time to check the overall condition of the rode and where it attaches to the boat.

I cut and put down several sections of Dri-Deck mesh tiles on the floor of my anchor locker. This to raise the chain off the bottom to allow better drainage. Now when I run a hose into the locker the crud will have more room to get moved around instead of clumping up under the piled links of chain.

Likewise check to make sure any stanchions or other hardware is still properly attached and sealed.

Once you've checked topsides it's sometimes useful to lay down some paper along potential drip paths. Use some blue painter tape to keep it in place (but not enough to block the water flow, of course). Then run a hose topside and check to see if any of the paper has gotten wet. Plain white paper is a good choice, or the brown kind used for commercial bathrooms. You want to avoid colored paper as you don't want to add cleaning dye stains to your To Do list. Once the paper gets wet it'll pucker/deform leaving signs of the water. So leaving it there will help signal if there's a slower leak.

Always remember water runs downhill. It will come out at the lowest point. Which may not be directly below where it entered! Water coming in father "uphill" may then run in-between materials before coming out somewhere lower. Keep that in mind when back-tracking from where the water shows up.

 

[C lectric]

In addition to checking that the drain in the locker is clear and working have a good , hard look at the locker itself. I just went through this.
V berth cushions soaked. I did not have the higher parts affected though but the anchor locker could account for the cushions.

After emptying all from the anchor locker a close examination revealed fiberglass that held the bottom to the hull sides and bulkhead of the locker but was not water tight. There were pinholes and thin spots. It wasn't going anywhere but it was not waterproof. The bulkhead and the bottom were plywood.
The bulkhead was dry but the bottom was wet I got it dried.
The drain hose was plugged also so the water would pool and find those pinholes.

I opened the drain hole a bit so the drain fitting was recessed so water could not pool at the locker bottom.

I fully fiberglassed, epoxy and Nytex, the bottom and up the sides about 6" paying special attention to the corners with thickened epoxy so the Nytex was held leaving no gaps. Then I applied a final unthickened coat of epoxy over the whole area as a last attempt to seal and provide a smooth surface.

In the process I ensured the drain fitting mounting recess was also epoxied and clothed and the underside of the plywood to farther out than the nut diameter of the through hull used so even if a bit of water gets through it won't be trapped between the through hull and the plywood.

Sounds worse than actual although it was a few hours work.

With your lockers and such getting wetted then of course the windlass, the bow anchor platform, deck cleats and so on should be pulled and resealed.

FF 's suggestion of a hose and towels will help although maybe , depending upon location, you only need wait for the next rainfall.