Moisture in V berth area - sign of a leak?

[Nicolina]

My 27 has always had a little humidity around the corners of the V berth, but recently I noticed that it was getting a bit worse, particularly in the aft starboard corner (basically, where the V berth meets the hull and the main bulkhead (cabinet), on starboard. This is of course a corner that gets little air and ventilation, so condensation etc may just accumulate there, especially over the winter months when the V berth gets little attention. Nonetheless, it seemed a bit too wet for my taste there. I cannot find any sign of a leak, but there is a liner against the hull (the white "wall" with teak stripes on it), and I cannot see what's going on behind it. If, say, the hull-deck joint were leaking, I may not see any direct evidence. In terms of bilge water levels, the boat is water tight.

So question to you, experienced C-27 captains: have you any experience with moisture, mold, or leaks in this area? What is this hull liner and what's behind it? Any suggestions for further investigation?

Thanks!

PS: I noticed a number of people writing ehre that they own 1986 C-27s. Mine is hull number 6. I suppose our boat know each other from pre-school ...

[wes]

I'm the brand new owner of my 1988 CP 27 (hull #74) and have never sailed her yet, but that won't stop me from having an opinion. I've got her mostly taken apart in the boatyard at the moment. In my quest to remove the shroud chainplates so the hull can be painted, I discovered that the v-berth wall trim can be removed for access. You do this by unscrewing the long teak trim pieces along the top and sides of the panel. The panel itself is not attached to the hull - it just sits in a groove molded into the fiberglass below the panel, and the skinny teak trim pieces keep it from falling out. Photo below - this is port side of the v-berth area with the trim panel removed. You can see the backup plate and bolts through the hull holding the chainplates. The forward-most chainplate is near the aft end of the v-berth (this is the one shown). The other two are farther aft - one is behind the trim panel in the saloon area behind the "bookshelf" area, and the other is almost behind the bulkhead separating saloon from v-berth.

Sounds to me like you might need to remove and re-bed your chainplates to stop the leak. If you're going to do one, I'd do all six. Also inspect the plates very carefully to make sure there is no cracking or corrosion. Replacements are still available from Hutchins.

Wes

[Koinonia]

Wes,

   Was it grounded from factory or did you ground the chainplate?

[Nicolina]

Wes, you may not yet have sailed your C-27, but you're steps ahead of me in terms of figuring out her bones - and in taking her apart. Thanks for this very helpful (and quick) response. I'll take a look at the chain plates this weekend.

[wes]

K - I found the grounding in place when I removed the panels. Can't say for sure that it's factory original but I would guess so. Very thorough - every chainplate all around the boat is connected, as well as swim ladder.

N - if your moisture is right at the bulkhead, that's where the center chainplate is bolted (the one for the upper shroud). It is easiest to access by removing the trim panel in the saloon, rather than the v-berth. Unfortunately the thin teak trim strips in the saloon are nailed with small gauge brads, not removable screws like the ones in the v-berth, so to reassemble you ideally need a pneumatic brad nailer.

Wes

[wes]

Hey Nic - here's another photo, this one of the center and aft chainplate backup plates seen from the saloon side of the bulkhead, with the trim panel behind the "bookshelf" area removed. You can see the center plate almost directly lined up behind the bulkhead, and the aft one a little further back.

I used a thin putty knife slipped under the teak trim strips to pop them off so I could remove the trim panel. Normally I bless the names of the Brothers Hutchins and Brother Bob Johnson for the stellar design of every detail of this boat, but this was a rare example of swearing my most foul sailor talk at them. It shouldn't be so hard to get to this hardware for inspection and/or occasional rebedding.

It should come as no surprise that I found tons of old mud dauber nests behind both panels. Yikes. I'm trying the Irish Spring solution, which has worked effectively (so far) on my 19.

At the moment I have Miss Unnamed almost totally disassembled, prepping for sanding and painting the deck and hull. A great time to provide pics revealing the deepest mysteries of the CP 27; keep those cards and letters coming.

Wes