Water leak from the Binnacle?

[Kirk Garner]

After and during a good rain I am getting water in the aft cabin and appears to drip from screw holes overhead in the ceiling (I have the inside torn out so no screws in place). This looks to be approximately underneath where the Binnacle is mounted in the cockpit. Has anybody out there taken the binnacle and wheel up to replace or rebuild? I am wondering if there are rubber gaskets at the base I need to replace and how difficult it is to reach them?

Thanks, Kirk

[Jim Hardesty]

Kirk,
No gasket.  Just sealer, 3M 4200, or something similar.  Its not too difficult to take off, but it's a lot of time and work, and I doubt that the leak is at the base.  Do you have a pedestal guard?  That would be my first suspect.  If you have wires and no drip loop and grommet thats another place.  If you don't cover your wheel and pedestal try covering them even if you use a garbage bag or tarp that may keep water out till the real fix.  If you think that the leak is at the base just run a bead of sealer around it as a temporary fix.
The problem is more important than a wet bunk.  Water getting into the plywood core of the cockpit sole will cause rot and make for a much bigger repair.
Jim

[Steve Sayian]

Kirk,

Also check the weather shield that's between the base of the cmpass and the binnacle.  Mine has a few spots broken off and I just ordered and got a new one from Ritchie, P/N: WS-P, Navigator Weathershield, 5 inch.  Cost is 19.00.

Steve

[Kirk Garner]

Jim,

There are wires running up through the stainless to the Navpod but not sure what you mean by 'drip loop and grommet'. Interestingly enough I just recently removed the Binnacle cover for repair and don't remember having nearly this amount of water prior (though I was so involved with other projects I was not paying alot of attention). I'll go down tomorrow and cover with a garbage bag temporarily to see if that helps. I should have figured out this myself, thanks for the input.

Steve, I'll take a good look at the weather shield tomorrow as well. Thanks!

[Ron Hill]

Kirk : It's important to cover the steering station.  As you found out water can and will be a problem.  Probably more importantly is that the UV from the sunlight will craze the plastic dome of the compass.

It's a simple task to take some Sunbrella material and make a "sack" to throw over the entire wheel and pedestal.  Just make sure you put a draw string in the bottom so the wind can't blow it away.  A thought

[scotty]

Drip loops are really simple and effective.  Anytime you send a wire through a hole (from a wet environment) allow a section of slack wire.  This wire can then "loop" downward before going back up into the hole.  Water that is traveling along the wire will drip off and not come back up and inside the hole. It works pretty well.  To really finish it off, use a rubber grommet (it's like a washer that the wire runs through) to plug the hole. 

[Ron Hill]

A drip loop as Scotty explained is easy - here is an example:
Running the the coax cable up the inside of the mast exiting the mast just below the mast cap and attaching to the antenna that is secured to the outside of the mast.  
You'd make a drip loop in that wire so it would go down an inch exiting the mast before it would turn up and attach to the base of the antenna connection.  
I used a grommet to protect the wire going thru the mast and also a black securable wire tie screwed into the mast to hold the "drip loop" in place.

Clear as mud?