On the hard - leaking horribly

[GJD]

Close to purchase on an 86 53my -

Of serious concern is in the rear stb head after rain there's literally a flood of water on the floor, on the counter top and most suprisingly inside the cubby (behind sliding mirrored doors) is FULL of water (good 2"). Looked above on deck and indeed there is a drain at the stb wing door that is kinda mucked up with leaves, etc. and water had obviously pooled there - but how the heck would that get inside to the stb head?

BTW this happened 2 times - dried everything up 1st time, came back after rain a day later and voila - same deal.

Thanks lots for any comments.

 

[SKYCHENEY]

There are 2 possibilities as to the leak. On my 1985 53EDMY, I had a leak around the porthole in the aft head. I caulked the ring on the outside and all is well now. This leak was caught early and it just got a little water in the cabinet. That could be your source. Look at the trim ring on that portlight.

The other thing on a 53 classic is that there is a deck drain in front of the wing door. If the fitting has corroded or the hose is leaking here, this could be your water source. Hope that helps.

 

[GJD]

Thanks Sky - I too suspect it's the deck drain. If so, how the hell does one access it for repair?

 

[SKYCHENEY]

My deck drains are just aft of the pilothouse doors and are easily accessible in each engineroom. I'm not sure on the 53 Classic, though, as they must be behind the panel in the master closet for the port side and somewhere in the head or master stateroom on the stbd side..

 

[Angela]

The deck drains are a highly likely suspect, but leaks like that can come from just about anywhere. Recently, my crew medicine cabinet would all of the sudden flood with heavy rains. I looked all over the area above outside and could find nothing suspicious. I did see a tiny hole on the underside of the deck where the water was leaking to the inside, but that hole did not penetrate the outside on top. I had been working on the pulpit, removing the old caulking and preparing it to varnish. When I put the vinyl cover back on it, my cabinet flooding stopped, so I believe water was coming in from where I was working (caulk removed) and traveling down to that opening above the medicine cabinet, which is at least 8 feet or more away.

Sometimes these pesky leaks can be very frustrating to find the source!

 

[Pascal]

on my early 53 (1970) the deck drain is just fwd of the wing doors. on the stbd side, the hose, clamp, etc... is accessed in the medicine cabinet. Looks like you need to remove the miror door and open up the wood behind. I can see mine has been serviced in the past, the wood is cut and the hose visible when the miror is open all the way.

so much water has to come from the drain.

 

[Doug.T]

I had the same problem. Here's what the issue is. The scuppers either side of the wing door on the starbord side are right above the master stateroom medicine cabinet. On my '86 53MY, the scuppers connect to a spiral wound PVC flex pipe, used for pool plumbing, similar to a vacuum cleaner hose. The problem is that, with age, the PVC piping gets stiff and brittle. When my boat was hauled and placed on the hard, the slings were not positioned properly and the after end of the boat sagged a little. I can see a gap between the wet bar on the sun deck and the bulkhead.

I have attached photos of the area. The only way I can see to access the piping is to cut an access hatch in the top of the medicine cabinet. The drains run down alongside the medicine cabinet, between it and the shower wall, then go into the space under the shower bench and up to the sea chest. I haven't yet determined how to access the vertical run of the piping.

Doug
Beach Girl
1986 53MY

 

[SeaEric]

I did battle with that vacuum cleaner hose in several locations on a 58 LRC. Once we figured out what/where the problem was we just kept removing screws in panels and components until we accessed the compromised section. It's great fun.

 

[Dreamboat]

I had exactly the same problem as Doug T., except on mine the ceiling panel in the cabinet had been
made removable by someone, so I didn't have to get out the saw. In any case, it was tight quarters
in there for a pair of hands.

 

[Doug.T]

I had exactly the same problem as Doug T., except on mine the ceiling panel in the cabinet had been
made removable by someone, so I didn't have to get out the saw. In any case, it was tight quarters
in there for a pair of hands.

Were you able to access the pipe chase forward of the medicine cabinet? If so, please let me know how. Thanks,

Doug

 

[Dreamboat]

I repaired my hose at the same location of your cut-out. Just forward of the medicine cabinet the hose
drops down vertically and is visible through the shower seat access panel, but one can't reach up into
that space. I didn't follow it any further than that though because my leak was fixed. Sorry I couldn't
be of anymore help.

 

[Doug.T]

Thanks Jayce. I found another crack in the tubing just where it makes the bend around the corner of the medicine cabinet. I think I will slide another tube inside of the existing 1 & 1/2 inch until it gets below the cracked part.

Next year I will need to cover the boat, as there is no way to winterize the low points in the scupper drains, and we have some very hard freezes here in New England. In another season or two I will have heat on the boat that will keep me warm through New England Winters.