BB marine
Well-known member
- Joined
- Feb 1, 2016
- Messages
- 2,905
- Fluid Motion Model
- R-21
- Non-Fluid Motion Model
- Mainship 34 Pilot
- Vessel Name
- PORT-A-GEE
After 2 years of an intermittent leak in the berth area of our C26 I finally located it. This leak would come and go. I had it narrowed down to running in rougher water, driving rain with wind, or trailering in the rain. Even in these conditions it still didn't always leak. Last summer we were on board and it was raining hard and very windy. A good day on the boat to watch a Netflix series. There it was a full stream of water running down the ledge of the liner in the berth area soaking the cushion. TV was off and my screw gun was out and I removed all the interior pieces in the bow area to find the leak. I can now find where it is coming from. Here is what I found.
This is the first picture taken, I suspected the leak was at the rub rail because of lack of sealant. I saw below the anchor chute 2 black lines and water sitting.
The water puddled and depending on the attitude of the boat floating determined where the water would run. Sometimes it found its way to the bilge and some times to the berth area.
After finding out where the leak was I needed to find out how the boat assembly would cause this. Was it neglected in the quality control at the factory or was it a failure in the deck because of stresses from the anchor.. I emailed Cutwater and was assisted by them with assembly pictures which helped me in determining where the leak was and what I had to do to repair it.I removed the anchor protective shield and the anchor roller finding the defect.
There was a poor fit( anchor roller to deck) no sealant applied, an improper bond between the anchor chute and the hull. There was two large voids present that were over looked three times during assembly. 1) when bonding material was applied the technician did not review his workmanship. 2) when the gel coat application was applied the technician should have seen the void during application. Over looked it and applied gel coat right over the void instead of repairing it.3) When the anchor roller was installed the technician should have seen and repaired the void but didn't! Quality Control!
I sent Fluid Motion pictures of my findings and they agreed to assist me with Gel Coat and the wood shelf that was water damaged. I was also assured that the pictures were passed along to the assembly personal to prevent this from happening in the future. I was told that my boat is the only boat that experienced this issue. I hope it is but felt I should pass this along to other owners that may have an intermittent leak. It took two years for me to find this.
I cleaned old Gel coat to get area ready for repair
Start the build up of epoxy with filler glass
I built the hull up to match up with the anchor chute to prevent water from sitting under roller and add support.
Applied several coats of factory gelcoat
Finished with shield installed
I am now fitting a different anchor roller that will work with the Rocna 22lbs anchor I will post pictures when installation is complete.
My objective is not to condemn the Fluid motion product. Cutwater is a well built boat and the manufacturer intentions are to build a flawless boat. A manufacture that builds a quality boat with a limited dealer network needs to go above and beyond to make sure every boat that leaves the factory is turn key ready to go. I believe that every effort is being made to accomplish this. I hope that this is viewed as constructive criticism and helps a Cutwater owner (if any) that is experiencing a similar issue.
This is the first picture taken, I suspected the leak was at the rub rail because of lack of sealant. I saw below the anchor chute 2 black lines and water sitting.
The water puddled and depending on the attitude of the boat floating determined where the water would run. Sometimes it found its way to the bilge and some times to the berth area.
After finding out where the leak was I needed to find out how the boat assembly would cause this. Was it neglected in the quality control at the factory or was it a failure in the deck because of stresses from the anchor.. I emailed Cutwater and was assisted by them with assembly pictures which helped me in determining where the leak was and what I had to do to repair it.I removed the anchor protective shield and the anchor roller finding the defect.
There was a poor fit( anchor roller to deck) no sealant applied, an improper bond between the anchor chute and the hull. There was two large voids present that were over looked three times during assembly. 1) when bonding material was applied the technician did not review his workmanship. 2) when the gel coat application was applied the technician should have seen the void during application. Over looked it and applied gel coat right over the void instead of repairing it.3) When the anchor roller was installed the technician should have seen and repaired the void but didn't! Quality Control!
I sent Fluid Motion pictures of my findings and they agreed to assist me with Gel Coat and the wood shelf that was water damaged. I was also assured that the pictures were passed along to the assembly personal to prevent this from happening in the future. I was told that my boat is the only boat that experienced this issue. I hope it is but felt I should pass this along to other owners that may have an intermittent leak. It took two years for me to find this.
I cleaned old Gel coat to get area ready for repair
Start the build up of epoxy with filler glass
I built the hull up to match up with the anchor chute to prevent water from sitting under roller and add support.
Applied several coats of factory gelcoat
Finished with shield installed
I am now fitting a different anchor roller that will work with the Rocna 22lbs anchor I will post pictures when installation is complete.
My objective is not to condemn the Fluid motion product. Cutwater is a well built boat and the manufacturer intentions are to build a flawless boat. A manufacture that builds a quality boat with a limited dealer network needs to go above and beyond to make sure every boat that leaves the factory is turn key ready to go. I believe that every effort is being made to accomplish this. I hope that this is viewed as constructive criticism and helps a Cutwater owner (if any) that is experiencing a similar issue.