The rain and chill and winds have arrived at Puget Sound. The days are short: sunrise ~745am and sunset just a bit after ~430pm. Temps hover in the 40s day and night.
I’ve settled into moorage at Poulsbo. The old center of town is right here at the marina and the Safeway is not that bad of a walk at about 2/3rd a mile. Being tied to a dock also means I have 120v, so an electric heater has SWALLOW’S cabin comfortable, and with few people at the marina the WiFi is FAST.
In all this comfort Mother Nature has found a way to get into the cabin by way of a leak.
There are many rules that define deck leaks on a boat:
- All decks eventually leak.
- All deck hardware will eventually leak.
- When there is a deck leak it will drip right above your berth.
- Where the water passes through the deck will be no where near the leak.
Yep, the leak is right above my berth and no where near any of SWALLOW’S through deck fittings!
If I can localize the source of the leak when it isn’t raining I can repair the hole/crack. First thing is to find the location!
My task today has been looking at all places water can be entering. The two best guesses are the cockpit bulkhead compass and a small location near the companionway that looks like a crack in the paint covering the house (cabin top).
I’ve done two things: tightened the screws holding the compass to the bulkhead in hopes this tightens the gasket behind the flange and applying duct tape over the crack in the paint. Now to see if the drip slows or stops.
I’ve not had this leak before and there is no evidence of it having occurred in the past. One reason it may be happening the current blow is bringing a Small Craft Advisory to the area. SWALLOW is tied to a dock with her stern facing south. The wind is blowing the rain under the cockpit tent on the aft portion of the house.
The good in this is the drip presented itself when I was on the boat (sleeping actually as the dripping water woke me up this morning). Finding this leak after being away for the day would have left me with soaked bedding and berth cushions.
S/V Swallow 
I’ll never forget the first night on my Allegra 24. It was poring rain and nasty. We climbed into bed and I looked over at my wife and smiled. We finally have a boat that doesn’t leak… at that exact second a huge shower of water spattered down on my face and we both had a nice laugh. Like you say, all boats leak. I’ve been bone dry since launching but today the port gasket over my galley gave up the ghost and no amount of fiddling can stop that annoying leak. At least I know where it’s coming from.
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Knowing where a leak originates is nice – means fix can be localized and conducted! You be well as a bit of strong wind is heading your way over the next week.
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Hi Dave, Tim says to check the weep holes on the tracks of the hatch cover. They may be stopped up. Otherwise, we always used the canvas covers to keep direct rain out of the cockpit. But you’ve probably tried that.
Best of luck…
.
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Are these the holes at the aft end of the sea hood or are there others I’m not seeing? Have cockpit cover up but wind blowing the rain horizontal! Water is running behind the house ceiling on the starboard of the companionway by the compass.
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