First day in the water and it leaks!

[stephen]

I just bought a 1986 16/2

When I purchased the boat and brought it home I found water under the carpet in the cabin.  When I elevated the trailer, lowering the stern, water flowed out of the scuppers. 

I originally thought this was because of rain.  The boat had been dry stored for months.  So after drying it out and sponging out all of the water, I was surprised after my first day on the water to find water on the floor of the cabin and a wet rug.  I've read the the caulking where the scupper drains exit the transom in a good place to look.

I've also noticed that where the drain lines enter the floor of the cockpit might be a source.

I also noticed that with the weight of two adults and the motor the when the boat heels over the scuppers seem to back fill the cockpit  just a little.

Does anyone have any experience with this?

[Gil Weiss]

I had a similar experience three years ago after I launched my 1990 CP16/3. Was very disappointing as our boat was very clean and we did not expect any leak problems. But I found the problems and cured them.

1- Leaky scuppers both where they entered the cockpit floor and exited the transom. Cure was to dig out all the old caulk, clean the joints and reseal with 3M 5200.

2- Had some leakage from the hull/deck joint. Cure was to remove rub rail, old white tape, scrape out loose dried up caulk, tighten fasteners, reseal with 3m5200, re tape with white duct tape bought from home depot and put the rubrail back.

3- My boat has 6" removable inspection ports on the cockpit seat back at the transom. By unscrewing these ports I could get into the rear bilge to sponge out water before the cockpit flooded. These port seals leaked too. I bough new ones at West Marine and reinstalled them to with 5200 sealant.

The boat first flooded at my home after I bought it. I thought I left the hatch open? When I put it in the water for the season we found it flooded after the first sail. Had to remove cushions again, take off covers and wash  and get the water out of the floor carpet. We were pretty unhappy at that point. Then I discovered the leaking scuppers - did the first fix in the water at the dock. That solved 80% of the leaks. We kept the boat in the water all season just sponging out the rear bilge each week, That fall after hauling the boat I did all the stuff mentioned above at home. This is our fourth season in the water and all is well.

We love our CP16, despite this initial leak problem. It is pretty common as the original sealant/ caulk dries out. Lots of old posts on both ComPac sites about the fixes.

Good luck . . .

[Mercrewser]

When i got my boat, it was already full of water.  Cabin was filled to the brim, spilling into the cockpit and over the transom.  It had been like that for 10 years, so I knew it WOULDNT leak!!

[Gil Weiss]

Hi Jim,

How is your "other" boat doing?

regards, Gil

[Mercrewser]

Coming along......  Maybe a test run Memorial Day weekend.  If not, the weekend after.  I havent gotten Lauren Beth on the water yet, although she is out of storage.

[stephen]

Gil,

Thanks for the info.  As I said in my post I thought the scupper vent might be a problem but the issue of the joint behind the rub rail would explain the dampness on the sides of the cabin neat the chain plates bolts.

After reading your post I poured a bucket of water on the fordeck and watched it run off the sides.  But after taking a closer look, I could see that a fair amount of it was collecting along the the rail in the narrow gap between the edge of the deck and the rubrail.

My next project will be to remove the rubrail and re-caulk the seam.

Thanks for your insight.

Sincerely, Steve O.

[Gil Weiss]

Hi Steve,

First let me say that I certainly can realate to your concern and frustration from experiencing these leaks. Some CP owners have had the chainplate mounts/bolts leak over time as the original caulking dries out. There are comments on this topic both on this site and the old Yahoo ComPac site. All boats develop leaks over time when old caulk dries out, etc. This problem is a part of boating.

If you do remove the rubrail, do this task on a warm or hot day as you will need warmth to stretch it back to reinstall. I removed the two stainless plates at the stern and left the bow points connected. You will be surprised at the dirt and bug collection you find. Overall it was not too bad a task.
Good luck amd good sailing. These are great boats!!!

[Mercrewser]

I second that on the rubrails.  I did mine on a hot day, and it was still tough.  I would recommend another set of hands.

[mhallas]

i resealed my rubrails last year, and i wa able to just pop off the rubrails in the middle to do the work.  I toook the fore and aft fittings off, and the rubrail was pop-riveted to through the joint of the deck and hull. I scraped the old sealant off, and used a few squirts of acetone before filling up with 5200. I put clear masking tape over it solely for the purpose of putting the rubrails on again while the 5200 was still tacky. 
ive read that some people had problems getting them back on, but it was a cinch for me.

matt hallas
'76 cp16 "sarlacc pit"

[mhallas]

okay, let me edit the above post. One of the rubrails was off for the season, and even after letting it roast on my roof all day in the sun, it was a cast iron bitch to get it on! Im  guessing tha the 5200 i put in will hold up for a while, and i sure am glad!!!

[stephen]

Gil,

Thanks for your help.  I've had the boat out of the water and on blocks for the last week while I finished some wood work and painted the bottom.  The local marina has a forklift that they use for boats that are dry stored and they were able to lift it off the trailer and block it in about five minutes.  Cygnet instantly became the envy of the yard.

Yesterday I followed your advice and removed the rub-rails, old tape, cleaned out the old dried caulking and bugs, re-caulked, re-taped and reinstalled the rub-rails.

Thanks to your advice and others who responded to my post, and with the help of a warm sunny day the rub-rails went back on it minutes.  I left them attached at the bow was able to stretch them as I pulled them back on.

One thing I noticed for the benefit of the next person to do this is that when you're stretching the rub-rail to put it back on, note where the bolt whole is that goes through the rub-rail and passes through the brass corner bracket.  It's a lot easier if, when you're stretching the rub-rail, that you stretch it past the point of alignment so that after you press the rub-rail back on you have a moment to position the bracket and the insert the bolt as it starts to shrink.

Again thanks, I solute you with the first cold beer after a long but pleasant day spent with my 16.