leak on port side

[Bobg]

I have water on the shelf (after a hard rain) in the head, the upper shelf behind and to the left of the toilet, I re bedded the stanchions with buytl tape last year so I am confident the water isn't coming from there, that leaves the rail where the jib sliding block is on as a suspect, my question is, to remove that sliding track do all those screws/bolts need to be removed? that would be a nightmare, or is there a few key bolts to remove, appreciate any ideas, thanks

[glennd3]

I am thinking nightmare

[Stu Jackson]

Bob, could it be the fixed portlight?  In 21 years here I haven't heard of anyone having issues with their tracks.

[Fred Koehlmann]

Hmm, on our Mk II that was a pretty dry spot, but perhaps the earlier model is more vulnerable to leaks? The leak issue we had on the port side was at the vented stanchion behind the electrical panel (bad place for a leak). All I might suggest is after cleaning the shelf out nice and dry, place some clean paper towel down and then hose the deck down. However, hose down each deck area separately. Porthole, stanchion(s), handrail...  Basically isolate the through deck fittings, moving outward from the area above the shelf. Then monitor where and if you get a leak. For all you know it might be migrating from some other area.

[oldcatsailor]

My 1990 prev. owner covered sliding doors above chart table kept finding water in the head rotted shelf behind head , water was coming from  stanchion vent for holding tank.also spreading a coating of talcom  powder can help track a leak.

[Bobg]

thank you all, will investigate further, Stu says in 20 years he has never heard of this, that's good news to me Stu as I value your opinion and expertise, I will do what you say Fred, was leaning towards that anyway, I suppose it could be still my re bedded stanchions, let you know in the spring, boat is on hard and covered for the winter and marina water drained

[ewengstrom]

I can't help but to chime in here. This past Saturday I removed all 8 stanchions and both inside sheet jib car tracks. I've always been an advocate of re-bedding hardware and I like to do it early in my ownership to either catch problems or get ahead of them early. Both inside tracks were leaking (not the windows). Removing them really wasn't bad IMHO, my wife held a screwdriver and I used a battery drill with deep socket to get the nuts removed. I then switched the socket for a #3 screwdriver bit and backed out all of the screws. Complete removal of all the screws took minutes using this method. These tracks are bedded in silicone and it peels right off the deck with a little effort,  I just used a scraper and acetone to clean the track itself.
Re-bedding was accomplished with an even layer of Polyurethane/Silicone Sealant.
The hardest part of this chore is that the track once installed has a slight curve to it, but it straightens right up once removed. I would install screws and my wife was the lucky sap who had to keep bending the track so the holes would line up. She really appreciated that chore.........
I wasn't able to finish the second track so I filled all the stanchion penetrations and the second track penetrations with fast drying silicone as a temporary sealing measure. Saturday night it just POURED all night long and well into the morning but when I went to the boat yesterday she was dry as a bone....except where a new leak had developed in the port side rope clutches....THAT was a bit of a surprise as this hadn't leaked a drop until Saturday night....but it was the only wet spot in the entire boat.
Anywhoo, these tracks can leak and they aren't all that hard to seal back up.

Hope this helps,
Eric Wengstrom

[Geoffreykwright]

Another possibility - the grab rail on the deck is bolted thru the deck into the cabin.  There is one bolt in the head.  In my case - the bolt over the nav stations was leaking.  I backed them off and sealed under the grab rail on the outside with some 4200.  Do you think its possible that water is coming thru that bolt and travelling inside the head cabin to the shelf?