newbee Sun Cat owner

[M3]

Hi new to the cpyoa,too.. I just bought a 2010 Sun Cat - it's still on the trailer as i have discovered some serious cabin leaking.. ugh.. It appears to be leaking between the cabin liner and trunk cabin - which means teak eyebrow trim, handrails, blocks or the cabin hatch trim on trunk cabin.
Anyone else have this problem?? I'm excited to get sailing but want to clear this situation up, as it's easier to fix on the trailer.
It really has been raining here on Pine Island - thanks for your replies and info.. Mary M3

[bfelton]

The first thing to check is the forward hatch.  Remove the inside trim ring and see if water has been leaking.  Mine leaked there as a result of a screw coming down from the top which went no where but straight down to nothing.  So water dripped in and traveled between the head liner and the underside of the deck.

I am still trying to track down fresh water leaks myself.  I am pretty sure my port port is leaking; I'll be removing it tomorrow and resealing it.

It should not probably be a problem, but put vaseline on the rubber gaskets to keep them from hardening up.

I am surprised you have leaks from rain water since your boat is almost new.  Have you called the factory; they are very helpful.

If I can be of any further help, give me a call at 510 703 7050.

Bert Felton

[oddduck]

A friend of mine always finds (above waterline) leaks by making an adapter to connect the discharge of a shop vac to the interior of the boat.  All areas where pressure would normally escape (cockpit lockers, hatch boards, etc) are taped with masking tape.  The result is a higher pressure in the cabin.  A spray bottle of soapy water is then sprayed around all areas that could possibly be leaking, just like checking for LPG line leaks.  Where there are bubbles...

Dennis

[capt_nemo]

M3,

Are you on the Pine Island near Ft. Myers, FL?

If so, there are at least 9 other Sun Cats (including mine, a 2010) around Charlotte Harbor. Enough to help in any way and whenever we can.

Welcome to the Sun Cat Family - hope you enjoy your Sun Cat as much as we do!

capt_nemo

[Tom Ray]

Welcome to the cat herd. I hope you will attend the 2012 Sun Cat National Championships this fall. Date to be decided.

Bert is right that the forward hatch is a candidate, as are the others you mentioned. Not wanting to try to find the leak(s) on ours, I have kept it under a tent.

[M3]

Thanks to all of you for your replies and useful info. not sure I'll go with the bubble idea but it is a good one. Gerry H was helpful . we plan on re bedding teak eyebrow trim (carefully) and the rest of the likely suspects. So hope all goes well and this is solved. We will keep our boat in the water so tenting it is not an option. WE have family guests so all this is now on the back burner i was hoping to take them sailing on 'Stray Cat' but will have to use my current picnic cat. Which i will be selling when i get the sun cat going.
  We live in Bokeelia and I would LOVE to attend the 2012 nationals. I didn't know this existed. Please keep me posted or i'll check back with you all.
all the best and thanks again,  Mary

[bfelton]

Be sure to check the seal around the mast is not broken. 

Bert Felton

[bfelton]

I thought my port port needed to be resealed, but it turned out water was coming in around the mast seal and running down on the inside of the hull liner.  I just sealed it with 4000, which is the new version of 4200.  I do not like using 5200.  It is supposed to rain tomorrow; hopefully I'll have no more leaks.

Bert Felton

[Galnorth]

I had a leak around that mast that I discovered after buying my suncat last year.  The leak had evidently been in place for some time and as a result water had saturated and ultimately delaminated the plywood supporting the mast step.  Eventually the mast step pushed through the fiberglass covering the plywood.  If you have had a leak suggest you check the area under the step.

[ourcat]

Hi new to the cpyoa,too.. I just bought a 2010 Sun Cat - it's still on the trailer as i have discovered some serious cabin leaking.. ugh.. It appears to be leaking between the cabin liner and trunk cabin - which means teak eyebrow trim, handrails, blocks or the cabin hatch trim on trunk cabin.
Anyone else have this problem?? I'm excited to get sailing but want to clear this situation up, as it's easier to fix on the trailer.
It really has been raining here on Pine Island - thanks for your replies and info.. Mary M3

I bought a 2000 Suncat in 2006 and water was coming into the cabin from I didn't know where.  I thought it might have been the ports, or maybe the toerail, or the hatch or maybe just a hard rain that got past the hatch boards.  After thoroughly checking the above, it seems that the caulking on the several cabin top pieces of hardware - plus the handrail - was no longer working and water was coming into the space between the cabin top and the liner, then swishing around and coming into the cabin at various places that were not indicative of the source of the caulk failure.  So I solved the problem by removing all hardware and handrails, recaulking with 5200, and the boat has been dry since.

I also have a story about the keel rubber washers leaking which I can relate at a later time if anyone is interested.
Ourcat.

[Salty19]

Ourcat-- I'm sorry to hear you used 5200 on your hardware.  That's going to be a nightmare to remove anything in the future.It will eventually leak as the glass and wood/metal fittings expand and contract over temperature changes.

Gys..please don't use 5200 on your boat!

Article about this in Good Old Boat this month about it.  They pretty much agree.

[bfelton]

For sealing anything to the deck, I highly recommend Life Seal.

Bert Felton

[ourcat]

Ourcat-- I'm sorry to hear you used 5200 on your hardware.  That's going to be a nightmare to remove anything in the future.It will eventually leak as the glass and wood/metal fittings expand and contract over temperature changes.

Gys..please don't use 5200 on your boat!

Article about this in Good Old Boat this month about it.  They pretty much agree.

I wanted to give newbee an idea of where the leak might be originating by talking about the leaks on my sc. I didn't expect my suggestion to morph into a debate about what caulk to use.  I don't think newbee has gotten to the point of using any kind of caullk as he doesn't know where the leak is coming from.
Anyhow, since you seem to want to let me know that using 5200 is a bad thing, you really should have given me that information when I first started using it in 1979.  I've never, never, never, had a [leak] problem with it.  And you are correct the metal fittings will expand and contract and that is why 5200 is and remains flexible.   Of the hundeds of fittings [no, not Lexon or "plastic"] I've used this on, I've had to remove probably 3.  As for removing - that's why they invented razor blades ([a/k/a mechanical removal).
Again, I was hopeful that my contribution would be a discussion and to ideas of solving the source of this person't leak.\Please don't reply to this as I am no longer on board.

[Billy]

whooaa Salty,
you did it now! Seriously Ourcat, I don't think Salty was trying to be offensive, just sharing his experiences as well.

I used 5200 in replacing the bow eye for my trailer strap with good results (5 years ago) but I do agree that life caulk is much better, and much easier to use. I didn't know about life caulk at the time.

I didn't see the article in G.O.B., maybe I'll go back over the mag and take a second look/

[Salty19]

Correct Billy, no offense was intended.  I never intentionally would do that here on the forum. I save that sort of activity for work . Now I'll kid around some, sure..but usually I've met the member,sailed with them, or have known them for a long time.

Our cat, no need to leave over something like this, but I see you already left. You're welcome back anytime.

Still I hold firm to avoiding 5200...why glue when you want to seal?