Leak in the cave

[pugtug613]

It seems we developed a leak in the cave this season. There is a water stain coming down the mouse fur and a small spot on the floor is stained from water. If you travel straight up, it lines up with the aft edge of that window over the cave. Has anyone ever had to re-seal the windows? There is no stains up by the window, it's coming down the wall and dripping on the mouse fur.

 

[Spinner]

You may want to pop the lenses off of the exterior courtesy lights in that vicinity. Seal them with clear silicone sealant. That was the solution for a similar occurrence....

 

[knotflying]

As stated it could be the light lens leaking. You need a thin utiity knife blade to pry it out. Make sure you pry it out evenly. There are prongs that hold the cap on and it is the sockets that those prongs go into that are often the culprit. Squeeze a bit of silicone in the holes and then reinsert the cap.
Another area that could be the culprit may be the window seal. You boat is fairly new and it is doubtful, but one never knows if the original seal was properly installed. Take a look around the edges of your windows in that area and see if you can see tell tail signs of the gasket around the edges. The gasket material is a strip of EPDM weatherstrip door sealant applied around the edge of the window. I have replaced these before on another boat that had leaking issues. Two strips around the perimeter is what is required. My observation on the original installation was that the gasket either was not installed properly around the turning point of the window or perhaps it may have shrunk over time. The boat I worked on was seven years old.
Let us know how you make out.

 

[pugtug613]

Today it's raining. Perfect for chasing leaks. I would bet on the window. The light is not outside? Unless I'm thinking of another light.

 

[Spinner]

The lights are those small flat courtesy lights that are on the outside of the boat....

 

[pugtug613]

I did find that light. I need a VERY small square drive to remove the lens. I have a #1, but it's not small enough. That is the simple fix, if that is what it is. I will do that and see what happens.

 

[knotflying]

If you have the same lights we all seem to have the issue may be the seal between the fixture and the boat body, but the usual issue is the holes that the tabs from the lens cover go into, so don't forget to put a squirt of silicone in those holes.

 

[Cruzerboy]

I'd think twice before sealing anything with Silicone Sealant. Here's a great article on sealing deck hardware:

http://www.pbase.com/mainecruising/rebedding_hardware

Tom
Life Savor

 

[SGIDAVE]

I'd think twice before sealing anything with Silicone Sealant. Here's a great article on sealing deck hardware:

http://www.pbase.com/mainecruising/rebedding_hardware

Tom
Life Savor

Tom and others,

I've been using pbase's 'bed-it butyl tape' for years with very good success. I've purchased similar butyl tape from Sailrite.com but theirs is not as good. The 'bed-it' product is very pliable without being TOO sticky. The Sailrite.com butyl tape is TOO sticky...like chewing gum on hot asphalt in the summer when you accidentally step in it :cry:

My boat lacks these particular lights, but I use the 'bed-it' stuff for most above-the-waterline deck sealing projects.

This sounds like I'm a shill for pbase, but no...just a satisfied customer steering those interested toward a great product. I have NO financial or other interest in the pbase enterprise. And NOTHING against Sailrite.com...I regularly patronize their website for my canvas sewing projects.

FAir winds and SEALED deck penetrations (and in a Julia Child voice...DON'T FORGET TO CHAMFER! {that'll make sense after to read through the pbase tutorial link above})

dave

 

[knotflying]

I'd think twice before sealing anything with Silicone Sealant. Here's a great article on sealing deck hardware:

http://www.pbase.com/mainecruising/rebedding_hardware

Tom
Life Savor

Under normal situations you are corrects. However, the cap tabs is where the problem occurs and silicone is a better application. If one was setting the fixture to the hull then silicone is not the appropriate sealant.

 

[pugtug613]

What if you have to take that cap off sometime? Those tabs would probably just snap off if you "glue" them in w/silicone. What if you need to change the bulb?

 

[knotflying]

It is LED, if you need to change the bulb then you change the whole thing. If you need to remove the bezel again you should be able to pry it out. Silicone won't hold like other adhesives. And if you fix this you shouldn't have to remove the bezel except to replace the unit and at that point it won't matter if you break the tabs getting it off. Other than silicone I really can't think of another product that you could squeeze in there and get a seal and then be able to remove the bezel again without having a removal issue.