Hi All,

A curiosity <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

My girl has recently started to take some water on and I have tracked the problem down to the inspection ports.

I have siliconed (is that a word?)around them and replaced the rings and took advantage of the thunder storms today to run a test to ensure they were the source.

1st down pour... everything done up ready to sail, result..aprox 2litres per hull.

2nd down pour... the same, except some gladwrap over each port.. result, not a drop.

I have not come across this in my mono-maran days.

Any thoughts? <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

Cheers

Simon,

It seems that the hatch covers don't seal at all <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />.

Are the hatches flat or bent to the deck curve ?

If they are bent then remove silicone, screw hatch cover onto hatch, inspect for sealing then apply complete assembly to deck. Don't worry that it doesn't follow the deck shape. At least it will seal. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

Regards,

Peter

Thanks Peter.

I think you're right. They are a little distorted to the shape of the hull, and by the look of the colour they are the originals, which makes them 10-11 yrs old. Probably a bit brittle. Might be quicker to put some new ones in.

Cheers

Simon,

They shouldn't be brittle. They should be made of UV resistant polypropylene or similar with a small amount of talc. If they have lasted this long and not cracked or snapped they should be good for some time yet. Try taking the complete assembly out then check that the seal works by visual inspection. If OK then simply re-silicone the complete assembly to the deck then wait for it to set.

If it ain't broke then don't replace it. I don't know about the quality of some of the newer plastics but from what I have seen come in from overseas the UV resistance isn't what it's supposed to be. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />

Regards,

Peter

Hi Simon,

some of the old hatch designs where not real good. If you can get new Holt Allen hatches I would go with them. The HA's have a coarse thread that doesn't cross thread easily and water can't sit in thread area, so have been leak proof so far <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

But as Pete said don't fasten them down just use a good quality silicone and push them into place and leave to set with hatch screwed in.

Simon,

I found (the hard way) that all the "ports" used here have a very small (1 to 1.5mm dia.) O-ring in the part mounted to the deck. As the color is white it's very hard to distinguish. On close inspection, knowing the port was the culprit of our leak, I found one side (of our second hand, 13 year old boat) was missing the O-ring. We typically leave the caps off to provide air movement within the hulls, and stuff the trap handles through the ports for transport. I suspect UV exposure and speeding down the highway caused the loss of the O-ring.

I couldn't attribute it as a cat only problem. Got to thinking...I just never owned a uni-maran more than 5 years old. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />

Thanks everybody for the input. Just have to find a 72hr break to let the silicone set. Bit hard with all this good wind around. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Cheers