Leak or animal nest?

[Pete]

For the first time in several weeks I opened the hatch to the storage area under the step on the starboard side of my R 27 cockpit. That's where I store spare lines. To my surprise I found the area, dirty and damp with quite a lot of leaves and other plant matter.

I keep my boat on a lift here in Florida with overhanging trees, so plant debris falls on the boat. We've also had heavy rains this summer and perhaps during a storm, water is finding its way into that space but I can't imagine there's an opening big enough for leaves to go through. The other possibility is that some animal has access to this area. When I reached inside (very cautiously) I realized there is an opening at the top and side. Don't know where that leads to but might be an opportunity for an unwelcome guest to enter.

Anyone else have this problem, or any ideas what might be causing it?

Pete

 

[knotflying]

It does sound like an animal making a nest. I believe that compartment does have small openings to the gunnel and to the head

 

[Pete]

You are probably right. Unfortunately it seems the Ranger, like a lot of boats, has access points for small animals, not just to the outside storage areas but also to the boat interior. So far I've seen no indication of a problem inside the boat and I'll now get serious about vermin prevention/eradication. Here in Florida rats in particular are a major issue, especially for boats on lifts.