C-28 Hatch Latch O-ring replacements

[jkhiser]

Continuing chasing leaks in my new used boat, all the hatch latches in my cockpit leak. One is perfectly positioned over the primary fuel filter, and has corroded the paint off the top of the filter. One leaks directly onto the inverter. Other leaks go into the generator compartment and the port battery locker.

Sealing appears to be provided by three o-rings. After five years, they are totally baked out. There appears to be a piece of some plastic inside the main casting, which does not want to come out. I am hoping that replacing the three o-rings, and some waterproof grease, will restore watertight seal.

However, these are extremely small o-rings, maybe 1/32 or 3/64 diameter, one has ID about 5/16, other has ID about 5/16. No luck so far in marine stores or hardware stores.


Has anyone figured out where to procure these?

Next will be replacing all the rubber around the circumference of the hatches, which is coming loose in areas and compressed to the point it no longer seals.

Editorial comment -- don't know why a five year old boat would / could have so many leaks. Both battery compartments and the generator compartment are black inside from the standing water and mildew, worse than my 15 year old 1989 egg harbor at purchase. If the wood under the port batteries is not rotten, it will be shortly if I cannot get the compartment dried out. And cannot be good for batteries to sit in water continuously.

Next leak up is unknown source into mid-cabin, then running forward through a limber hole and ending up around the shower sump, an area without bilge pump coverage, which has to be manually mucked out after each rain or washdown.

 

[William Thomas]

Can't help but ask....Did you have this boat surveyed before you bought it?

You are reporting some really serious stuff here!

Have you discussed with the factory Reps?

Many parts can be ordered from Richard Becker in the parts dept. at Fluid Motion,( 253 8395213 )

Good luck with the leaks....must be very frustrating to say the least.

Bill T.

 

[Andrew Custis]

Hello,

Thanks for reaching out and sorry you are having these issues. I’ve never ordered the o-rings for those lock assemblies but you can still get the entire set if you want to simply replace them. Bill is right that Richard in parts is your best contact. More than sealing those compartments with new hatch locks and rubber gasket, it’s very important to make sure the scupper drain screens are always kept clean. On mine, I remove them and flush water through them frequently to make sure nothing is clogged. Also, be sure your compartments are draining to the bilge and you don’t have a clogged limber hole. You’re welcome to email us directly at the factory to discuss a potential for the mid cabin if you would like.

Thank you,

 

[BB marine]

Continuing chasing leaks in my new used boat, all the hatch latches in my cockpit leak. One is perfectly positioned over the primary fuel filter, and has corroded the paint off the top of the filter. One leaks directly onto the inverter. Other leaks go into the generator compartment and the port battery locker.

Sealing appears to be provided by three o-rings. After five years, they are totally baked out. There appears to be a piece of some plastic inside the main casting, which does not want to come out. I am hoping that replacing the three o-rings, and some waterproof grease, will restore watertight seal.

However, these are extremely small o-rings, maybe 1/32 or 3/64 diameter, one has ID about 5/16, other has ID about 5/16. No luck so far in marine stores or hardware stores.


Has anyone figured out where to procure these?

Next will be replacing all the rubber around the circumference of the hatches, which is coming loose in areas and compressed to the point it no longer seals.

Editorial comment -- don't know why a five year old boat would / could have so many leaks. Both battery compartments and the generator compartment are black inside from the standing water and mildew, worse than my 15 year old 1989 egg harbor at purchase. If the wood under the port batteries is not rotten, it will be shortly if I cannot get the compartment dried out. And cannot be good for batteries to sit in water continuously.

Next leak up is unknown source into mid-cabin, then running forward through a limber hole and ending up around the shower sump, an area without bilge pump coverage, which has to be manually mucked out after each rain or washdown.

If you use a caliber and measurer ID,OD, and thickness of the o-ring you will be able to "procure" the small orings at Grainger Industrial supply.

As Andrew has stated the drains can cause issues. I personally left the drain screens alone and make a point to clean them when I clean the cockpit. Less chance of getting the drain hose plugged. Another issue I corrected is the drain fall. The factory installed drain hose had an improper drain fall. It had High and low sections and when it got to the transom drain the hose was lower then the hose fitting connection of the transom thru hull and the drain water had to flow up to drain. The hose was split also leaking deck drain water into the bilge. After rerouting the deck drain hoses with proper fall and repairing the split hose the deck drained better and I was not getting water in the aft bilge area.

As far as cleaning the "limber hole" I use an old teleflex shift cable jacket to clean the holes, works good for cleaning the center hull drains from bow to stern and compartment drains.

The plywood under the batteries is sealed on the top with Gelcoat but the bottom side is not.(I know this because the dealer I purchased the boat from moved the auto pilot pump and used 1 1/2 " screws to refasten it to the plywood and the screws went into the hull 3/8". I had to cut holes in the plywood to make fiberglass repairs) Water can get under the plywood if the compartment gets a lot of water. There is an air gap bottom of plywood to top of hull bottom, approx 3/16 at the outboard side and the gap increases as you move to the center line. It may be a good idea to cut a few holes in the plywood to see if water is sitting under the plywood and help dry it out.

Your editorial Comment: The water leaks may be excessive but honestly we all have them somewhere, its a boat. When I see water I look for a leak and repair it. If I see a area in the bilge with water I pump it out . If I see some mold I would clean it. It sounds like the previous owner of your boat did not take care of it. Hopefully you got a good deal on it and when you are done fixing it you will have an awesome boat. With the many issues I have had with our C26 I still think its a great boat.

 

[jkhiser]

I have several sizes of o-rings on order from Grainger. Will report the size that works best. (And the first tool overboard from our new boat was my nice brass caliper.)

Thank you for the recommendations on the cockpit drains. Will check those out. I clean out the screens and drains every time I am on the boat.

Yes, we had the boat surveyed, and two different brokers claimed it is the best maintained used boat available. Surveyor does not see the leaks (see my post on holes under the toe rails), and difficulty of problems that are several levels deep. For example:

- Survey says the start battery is dead. No problem, five years old, seller replaces start battery (and we replace the remainder). Still going dead if not continuously on battery charger. Haven't had time to finish troubleshooting this one, but I have found the accessory fuse blocks from thruster battery and engine battery have been swapped -- an interesting clue implying a deeper electrical problem that was covered up. (Connections are correct at battery end.)



- Survey says steering needs attention. Bleed entire system, replace garmin auto pilot pump. The boat will still not hold course, requiring continuous helm rotation to stay straight. More investigation necessary.

Surveyor does not catch things like all stainless setscrews are loose, so in shipment to us (admittedly through the nor-easter), the sport rack, solar panel, all-around light depart the boat.

Surveyor does not catch that the rudder was never included in the bonding system.

Surveyor does not catch that the prior owner "ripped out" the AIS 600, leaving unterminated NMEA terminal, disabling the engine alarm, and other miscellaneous wiring problems that have to be corrected inside the helm console.

&c., &c.

 

[Cutwater28GG]

sorry for your poor experience 🙁

I have the same issue on my hatch dripping onto the fuel filter. so looking forward to your solution 😀

there are a few posts on tugnuts on the autopilot issue. its been a gremlin thats plagued a few people. I recall one thread recently that found the solution and I think they didnt need parts to be replaced. some folks replaced pumps that I think werent needed. so definitely have a read of those threads before spending money on new parts.

the AIS 600 was a bad catch from the surveyor. that should be pretty obvious if they looked at the electronics. The rudder bonding issue I could forgive as its right behind the black water tank and not easy to get to.

 

[jkhiser]

Good call on the limber holes. The hole under the stern thruster, the hardest to reach, was totally plugged with something with the consistency of styrofoam. I was not able to pull it out, but ended up pushing it up into the compartment under the batteries. About 24 ounces of the foulest smelling water came out.

Looking from this angle, I can now recognize that what appeared to be dirt and mildew is really a bathtub ring, several inches up the batteries. Appears this compartment has had significant standing water in the past.

Looks like I will be pulling out the wood under the batteries to clean up the mess. Not only that, I can see that the bonding wire to the port-most swim platform support has come loose -- the nylock nut is backed off to the end of the bolt.

 

[jkhiser]

Success.

Ordered a number of o-rings from Grainger, thanks to suggestion from BB Marine.

#901 was best fit for the small o-ring. Ended up getting the larger o-ring at True Value, 1/16" diameter, 5/16 ID. (The closest from Grainger, #11, was a loose fit on the shaft.)

Be careful removing the center rubber housing -- I have not found where to replace this.

Problem is getting the smaller o-rings over the long expanse of threads without destroying.

Take a break, go to 7-11, get a slurpee, and several extra large straws. Cut one straw slightly longer than the threaded section, then cut lengthwise. Roll it so the o-ring fits on, then expand one end over the shaft threds. Pull onto the shaft, and the o-ring rolls right to the top.

Step 1: o-ring on custom tool


Step 2: 1/2 way on shaft


Step 3: rolling to top:


Completed with new o-rings, ready to reassemble:


Heat baked old o-rings:


Liberal application of water proof grease outside and inside the center rubber housing before reassembling. I also used a clear non-silicone sealant under the latch and around the bolt heads to stop other water routes.