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Message board > Care & maintenance > A sopping problem!

Message 15 of 15
Posted by member Mike Insall on Friday 15 January 2016

UPDATE 15-1-16 The boat has still remained pretty dry despite some heavy rain, but the other day I found that the bucket I had placed under the port side where there is a bend in the top of the freeboard had about a good litre of water in it. I think that this is where most of the rain was coming in, so I hope my re-trimming of the boat has sort of solved the problem! It's just a pain having to keep moving the ballast about! I do though notice a lot of condensation on the underside of the canopy under certain weather conditions, but I doubt there is anything I can do about that. MOBI

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Message 14 of 15
Posted by member mike insall on Saturday 21 November 2015

UPDATE 21.11.15 Well after A fair amount of rain the boat has remained pretty dry inside, so I'm hoping that by getting the stern and sbd side down it may have solved the problem! Only more rain and time will tell! It is though a real pain having to keep moving all the ballast around! MOBI

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Message 13 of 15
Posted by member mike insall on Tuesday 10 November 2015

Hi Martin, thanks for that, I'll have a look! Mike

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Message 12 of 15
Posted by member Martin Cadman on Tuesday 10 November 2015

Mike there seems to be excessive condensation on that window? Has the navigator window frame channels with drains at their base to allow condensation to drain outside the boat. If there are such channels are they clogged up with grunge Tends to build up and requires cleaning out from time to time. Good Luck. Martin.

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Message 11 of 15
Posted by member mike insall on Monday 9 November 2015

* Yet another update and a photo! Went to the boat yesterday and the floor was still very wet although some of the water had drained into the sump. The underside of the canopy was also very wet but that was due I'm sure to condensation. I have a feeling that water is coming in at various places, including the side of the canopy as marked by the square on the photo. I aim to take steps to tackle this. The actual amount of water is not that great, but it's still a pain. I tried to get the stern down and tilting a bit to S/bd by shifting most of the ballast aft, but that is also a pain for obvious reasons! At least if it is down the water should drain in to the sump better. I think also some water was coming in through the bottom of the aft canopy zips, so I've tried to plug them with plastic bags! Due to the size of the new OB there is not much I can do about the gaps there. We shall see, but needless to say we have had no rain since yesterday! It looks like it may be a long wet winter! Mike

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Message 10 of 15
Posted by member mike insall on Saturday 7 November 2015

Thanks Clive - I'll try to get some photos tomorrow. I went down yesterday in heavy rain to try and find out where the leaks were, but it was difficult to see any particular problem! The canopy was fine, but the floor was again sopping wet! I think there are various small leaks that spill on to the S/B side seat and thence on to the floor as the seat was a bit wet! I used a spirit level to check the lay of the boat, and it was as I suspected just tilting to port! It is also still slightly bow down do I've added a bag of ballast to try and get the stern down so that the water goes in to the sump! The top of the inside of the freeboard was wet all around, as was the top of the OB cover, but where that came from GOK's as it's under the canopy!! Luckily all of the main cabin is dry as is the "dashboard" area. I can't really put a tarp over the boat as I want to use it during the winter and that would be just too much hassle! For sure I think that water is coming along the bottom ridge of the superstructure (where there are small bits of wood fixed) and coming in that way;perhaps the wood was put there because it was leaking? Any ideas on that?

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Message 9 of 15
Posted by member Clive ffitch on Thursday 5 November 2015

Hi Mike, Sounds like you are having a bit of wet fun there... have you got any pics of boat and cover you can post? Might help us with thinking of causes or ideas to assist? Clive

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Message 8 of 15
Posted by member mike insall on Friday 30 October 2015

Today after early heavy rain the canopy was dry, but the aft area was again sopping wet! I just could not see where all the rain was coming in! So, it's back to square one!! I'll just have to try and go down to the boat during a rain storm! What fun!! Mike.

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Message 7 of 15
Posted by member sydney on Thursday 29 October 2015

Mike, Save it for next year/time........then it will be even better value! Glad you found this useful. Sue

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Message 6 of 15
Posted by member Mike Insall on Wednesday 28 October 2015

Well it looks as if the Fabsil worked! This morning after some heavy rain the underside of the canopy was dry as a bone! I only actually used half the tin, so don't know if it's worth giving it another coat? Certainly worth the £13.95! Thanks again for all the advice etc. Mike

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Message 5 of 15
Posted by member Mike Insall on Monday 26 October 2015

UPDATE! I now think that the canopy is probably leaking, so have just bought some Fabsil from Force4 that I hope to apply this week weather permitting! I'll post the results on here! I thought at first the droplets on the underside of the canopy was condensation, but it was there yesterday after a cold night and some rain. I still think there are some leaks elsewhere, and have taken some action on them! Mike Insall

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Message 4 of 15
Posted by member mike insall on Wednesday 30 September 2015

Thanks for your replies and all noted! However, I now think the leak was in a small gap at the bottom of a zip by the side of the OB. It's there because when the canopy was made the OB was much smaller! As the stern was West facing it got the full brunt of the rain. I think the water then travelled along the inner ridge of the inner side of the freeboard before going down on to the seat and thence on to the floor! I think all the water droplets on the canopy was condensation! I need to come up with a plan to close the gap and then wait for thr rain! Certainly the waterproofing treatment will be a good idea in any event. Force 4 sell the stuff BTW! Had the stern been lower it may not have happened! Thanks again for your replies. Mike

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Message 3 of 15
Posted by member Robert Sneddon on Wednesday 30 September 2015

Hi Mike, just to back up Sue. The canopy on my Family Pilot is getting near its sell by date so I clean and waterproof every year with Renovo canopy cleaner and waterproofer by brush. It seems to do the job. The only time I get the odd droplet on the inside of the canopy is when it's laid up for the winter and that's only due to a little bid of condensation depending on the weather, but not very often. As Sue said its low cost and will also help preserve the condition of your canopy over the years. Regards Robert.

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Message 2 of 15
Posted by member Sue on Thursday 24 September 2015

Hi Mike, The cover probably does need waterproofing and we always used Fabsil. You can get this (or similar) easily at caravan shops or on websites. I used to go for the 'apply by paintbrush' can as you can get a good saturation and you can apply it just where you want it. They do a spray can version but it needs to be a wind free area and of course can go in other places depending on how good you are at the even spray technique. Not an expensive solution but worth a try! Sue

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Message 1 of 15
Posted by member Mike Insall on Wednesday 23 September 2015

I have an early Navigator with a full canopy as opposed to having a hard cockpit roof. This suits me as around the Solent you need a very good all round view ALL the time! Early in the year I had a zip installed just aft of the support strut to make it easier to remove and refit the canopy and give the option of keeping the cockpit roof on. While I was advised the zip may leak, until recently there was no real problem. But suddenly, a couple of weeks ago the floor was sopping wet after it rained and because of the trim of the boat the water did not go in to the aft sump when on the berth. When it happened again I assumed it was the zip, so installed a small groundsheet to try and funnel the water in to the sump, but to no avail. So, I adjusted the sheet and the trim a bit but when I went to the boat today, after some rain yesterday, the floor was really sopping wet! There seem to be a lot of droplets of water on the underside of the canopy, but it’s quite new (a couple of years old) in good condition and fits well! I cannot understand where all the water is getting in. Alright we had some heavy rain, but since I had the zip done we have often had heavy rain! I have now put a temporary sheet over the zip to see if that works, but it's a pain to fit! What I would like to know is – could the canopy be leaking that much after just a couple of years, and if so would using one of those waterproofing application I’ve seen solve the problem? The zip does have rubberised lips either side resulting in only very small gaps! HELP please! Confused of Hedge End!

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