Brown water dripping from head hatch

[Baysider]

I've seen a few older posts about brown water dripping in the head but no resolution as to what might have caused the issue, so I'm starting a new brown water post.

This spring we had a lot of rain and I found that dark brown water had dripped from the outside edges of my head's hatch.  The hatch itself is not leaking.  When I put up our dodger I noticed a significant reduction in the amount brown dripping (there seemed to be no let-up in the amount of rain and I'm told it often has hit with hard winds coming from the direction of the bow) but it still happened.  I ran water around the base of the hatch for about 20 minutes... no leak.  I did the same thing, one at a time, around the platforms the winch, the rope clutch and the traveler sit on. Nothing again.  I ran water directly on top of those and nothing.  Finally, I ran water in the track the companionway cover slides in.  Nothing.  There are no other openings higher than the hatch and am at a loss as to where the water is entering. I'm considering the idea that, with large amounts in the track for possibly hours during storms there could be a leak there. Does anyone have experience with this situation?

Thanks everyone.

[waughoo]

Brown water would lead me to look for an entry point somewhere "above" the hatch that is traveling through the plywood core and coming out at the hatch.

[Ron Hill]

Bay : Look at ALL of the thru the deck fittings and start rebedding EACH one!!! (I'd recommend butyl rubber).

A thought

[Baysider]

So I had drenched all of the fittings above the hatch level and saw no resulting leakage.  Are there any others that I hadn't mentioned in my post?

[Jim Hardesty]

So I had drenched all of the fittings above the hatch level and saw no resulting leakage.  Are there any others that I hadn't mentioned in my post?

From your description, sounds like you have a leak into the core somewhere, could be anywhere above the leak.  The water gets in then takes some time to show below. The core is wet for a long time, very bad. 
I suggest you rebed all the deck fittings in the area, along with drying out the core as much as possible.  May take days to dry.
Jim

[ghebbns]

No solution but exact same problem.  I even notice some in the aft cabin. Like you, it pretty much disappears when the dodger is up.  I will keep you posted if I find anything.

[Noah]

 The small handrail above the head?

[rjabara]

Same problem on my 1990 1.5.  Seems these are all early 90's boats on this "brown water" thread.  Mine still comes in when the dodger is up.  I don't know where it is coming from but it shows up pooled in my shower drain. It appears to be coming in from behind the head (composting, so not coming from the head).

[rjabara]

I spent a few hours yesterday trying to track the brown water leaking into my head.  I couldn't figure it out, but took a picture to see if anyone had any ideas.  It is not at the hatch, and not from the handrail above the head and seems to be lower than that (you will see that the upper shelf is dry)  It appears to be getting into the underside of the lower shelf (pictured), pooling there and then releasing, mostly through the stain line that you see, but sometimes releasing in locations further aft, near the shower seat.  The area where the staining is is soft and wet.  Thoughts?

[Noah]

Genoa track? Or perhaps the stanchion base with water finding the lowest, easiest, gravity-assisted path. I would flood with water at deck level and wait. Then go higher up. Leaks are annoying to find/trace.

[ghebbns]

I think I may have found the source of my leak.  It is very slow so it takes a few days after a rain to start to puddle in the head floor.

I followed it back today and discovered that it is coming in from the stanchion above the nav table.  There is a ledge along the hull that the water followed back to the wall between the head and the main cabin.  It worked its way down along the bottom two points you have marked in the photo above.

Rebedded the stanchion with butyl tape and hopefully the problem will be solved.  Guess I will find out the next time it rains :)

[Noah]

I hope you put a backing plate under it.

[rjabara]

Thanks for updating on this.  I will rebed this weekend and let you know what I find.

[Baysider]

I still haven't found the source of the brown water leak in my head but may be on to something.  I borrowed a moisture meter from our marina's mechanic and found moisture in the port support tower for the traveler.  It seems like an easy removal/caulking/replacement but I noticed that on the port side there is a gap on the left side of the support.  The traveler sits solidly on the right side.  I thought that maybe the traveler was bent but it definitely has an upward bow across its length.

Picture is attached.  As I look at it now it seems the end sits on the tower but that may be a function of the angle.  Either way, the traveler sits flush on the starboard tower. 

Bottom line is that I'll remove an re-caulk the traveler but wonder what the community's thoughts are as to the gap. 

[Ron Hill]

Bay : It's a "Hell of a job", but you are going to have to rebed every thru the deck (above the head hatch) hole one by one until you hit the one that is leaking.  Good Luck!!!
Maybe it's the one that the moisture meter indicates??

A thought