? rain leak in BC 23

[Chris and Sandra]

Hi, Have recently bought a BC 23, n 21 I think. Moving it to SW Scotland has revealed that if it rains the rear port and the forward starboard births become wet. Sit in it during rain and water can be seen trickling down the inside of the hull from the junction of the deck scupper recess and the hull.  I can not see any defect in the seals at deck level though. Has any-one else had any experience like this?

regards

Chris and Sandra

[Andy Dingle]

Hi again Chris and Sandra.

I confess to being a little concerned reading this problem of yours. I can't really think of a reason for these leaks.. Have you checked the lockers underneath the berth cushions to see if there is water inside them? Water can 'migrate' about through the little wiring holes/grommets through bulkheads under the berths.

One thing perhaps. Do you have a water tank deck fitting? (Mine is port side just forward of the galley area). If you do I wonder if that is leaking rain water inside? Easily taken out and resealed using sikaflex (I actually use CT1 from a local builders merchants, wonderful stuff and a lot cheaper/better than marine sikaflex and will go off when wet/underwater).
I may be wrong - probably am, but is your boat the one with a stove inside? With a little chimney?
(I only say this as I was talking to a brokers who said they'd sold this particular 23 and she'd gone to Scotland). If so, again, there may be a leaking deck fitting?

In any event I think this problem needs referring back to Matt who I am sure will be most concerned and may offer a solution - we'd be all interested in what he says about this?

Regards.

Andy
BC23 No. 25 Equinox

[Chris and Sandra]

Hi,
Thanks for the advice. Towing with outboard in would certainly make slip side easier. Do you lash it down in any particular way? Had wondered about the long lines to turn boat round and use stern ladder option. Sounds like that is the way to go. 
Yes it is the boat with a stove. How on earth doid you know that.Brought it up from Ipswich first week-end of the year. It least we now know it tows well in snow and is stable as HGVs power past!
The leak is weird. It defiantly comes down the side of the hull from the junction of with the deck where the scupper recess is. No water around the stove chimney cabon side or the water pipes. Was not sure about the stove. Screw in its chimney extension and we look like a canal barge but given the weather am warming to it so to speak. Have e-mailed Matt so will see if he has any wise thoughts on the matter.
Out side it is snowing again. We are supposed to be mild this side of the country. Oh well


regards

Chris

[Charles Scott]

Could it be condensation rather than a leak?
  Charles Scott-Knox-Gore
  BR 20 Augusta Thomasina (no chance of condensation for us!)

[Andy Dingle]

Chris.

Re your leak - I'm as stumped as you are. As far as I'm aware the deck and hull are two separate mouldings, the join is where the top wood rubbing strake is. This would be the place where it could leak I suppose.
How about chain plates? In all boats, leaks are normally caused by leaking deck fittings and water migrates to the strangest places. Eg, even from around the tabernacle/mast support then it runs under the headlining to the sides of the boat.
Maybe some experiments with some water in a bucket on a dry day poured onto the deck to see if you can see where it leaks through?
Scuppers not blocked?

Let us know what Matt says please?

Andy

[Al Beckhelling]

Hi guys; I'm new to the Swallow world (having just bought a BC23) but have been racing and self servicing J109's for some years now.  We had two leaks, both of which originated some way from the visual sign of said leaks.  One source was from a coach roof mounted hand rail which made the core very sodden before running down and materialising just above a side berth.  Fact is, anything that is fixed to or through the coach roof (or deck) has the potential to leak if not sealed adequately enough.
The BC23 has a fair amount of insulation/panels lining the inside of the boat, which may allow water to run fair distances. Not ideal, but may have to start stripping back.
Will keep a watchful eye on mine now.
Rgds
Al

[Rob Johnstone]

Regarding leaks - Vagabond had an occasional leak on the port side. I eventually traced it to a poor seal on the centre cleat on that side. Silkaflex and a spanner was the fix. She also had severe leaks on the foredeck but these were caused by the people at Swallows forgetting to seal the fittings of D rings fitted to secure the dinghy.....

[Chris and Sandra]

Hi all many thanks for the thoughts on this matter. Selective use of a hose showed that the leaks were from around the deck scuppers. Sort advice from Swallow and yes this can occ happen to boats of that vintage. Suggestive approaches were to pries off the steel grate and either completely fill the space with thickened epoxy and re drill hole later or perhaps to seal in small plastic pipe. Have been up to Glasgow and now possess black marine adhesive sealant. Said grate however looks very firmly attached and it started to rain so have not yet taken the destructive step!
regards

Chris

[Rob Johnstone]

Hi Chris and Sandy,

Rather than go to the drastic extent of carving out the scupper "plates" may I suggest you start by glooping sealant around the washers and screws that you can see from the rectangular scuppers on the sides of the boat? It may be that the leak lies there rather than between the deck and the scupper.

Rob J

[Chris and Sandra]

Hi,
Well we seem to have good news regarding leaks. Smearing sealant every where a finger could reach seems to have done the trick.  Thanks every one for the advice.
Regarding adjusting the trailer. Have just done battle with lots of very solid bits of wood and  then see sawed the trailer via the front wheel to adjust rear rollers out so they the cradles centre on the bilge keels and the rollers miss.
Then watched the easy launching on the Swallow yacht YouTube and am left wondering whether  I should have been moving them both onto the mid line aiming for the rollers to miss medially? I wonder if I have now made it harder for the trailer to pick up the front of the boat on retrieval. Can I ask what has worked best for the rest of you?

Chris

[Rob Johnstone]

HI,
I'm pleased you have fixed your leaks. It remains to to be seen if Riff Raff suffers from that condition.
Regarding the Trailer roller set up: I'm using the trailer that was supplied five years ago with Vagabond so the following only applies to that ype of trailer. I know that later trailers (and I don't know when the changes were made) have a different rear roller configuration.

None the less, this might help: with Vagabond (and now Riff Raff) I found that the optimum arrangement was for the rollers at the back end of the trailer to be set so that the width between the inside edges of the outer rollers was no more than 20mm greater than the width from the outside edges of the "bilge keels". That set the "bilge keels" just inside the outer rollers but not centered between the inner and outer rollers.

When recovering the boat, it all looks a bit drastic as the bows push against the low part of the U shaped rear pivoting support. That brings the rollers towards the bows and, with a bit of grunt, she will climb onto the rollers. The U shaped pivoting support now assume a more normal (upright) stance  stance and the boat can be winched fully into the cradle. The winch is pretty good at keeping the boat on the centre line*. It helps if you have an assistant near the stern, armed with both a boat hook and a stern line, to provide pushing and pulling lateral guidance if required. The boat then sits nicely on the trailer.

When launching, the boat now rolls back almost too easily and you have to hang on to the bow line, other wise there can be quite a noisy clunk when the bow drops onto the middle of the U bend of the rear roller support as she leaves the bow rollers. I intend to experiment with tying a line to the bottom of the U bend to pull that forward at "just the right time".

So far this has only been used on a steepish launch and recovery ramp. I've yet to see how it will work on a shallow ramp like the one at Mylor.

* particularly if it is electrically powered. Electric powered kits, including winch, battery battery box, solar panel and remote control are available, should you want one.  Mast raising adaptor as an optional extra. POA c/o Riff Raff. Delivery in 2020. E&OE etc etc

[Chris and Sandra]

Hi,
Thats sounds roughly what I have done. Hopefully will find out lunch time.Planning our first over-night trip in Wigtown Bay, though dead calm and misty just now.Rforecast seems a little better. That sounds like quite a launch/rigging system you have gone for!

regards

Chris and Sandra