DaySailer.org Forum

Purchased a '82 DSII a couple of years ago. Researched here all the potential issue and fixes I could find. Despite a thorough overhaul, hull and CB paint job, disasembly of the entire CB mechanism, re-rigging of lines/stays/hardware, inspection of the uphaul/downhaul holes (visually/manually), I STILL take on water underway. To the point where its just not enjoyable to use. Its not the scupper (no entry to the bilge on mine), not the bilge drain (replaced and resealed) I have filled the hull with water on the trailer and nothing appears until the level reaches just above where the CB pin is on top of the CB trunk and water then pours from up in the CB trunk externally fore. (no bolt on mine-trunk is glassed in with a dowel that drops down with the CB when the retention plates are removed.) In that area was a layer of rotted wet wood when I purchased it. I cant see or feel any holes in that area.
So...
What was that wood "spacer" that i had to remove and did it provide some some of seal bewteen the hulls? If so, any suggested repair? Has anybody else had the isssue? Where else could the water been entering? Again, the CB holes do not have any gaps/crack/or splits that would allow water to enter as is apparently common in the DSII.
Thanks in advance....
Mark

And a visual inspection of that area of the CB from below shows no cracks or damage of any kind...

Contact Tim Webb, his boat used to leak like that and he got everything sealed. You could be getting water coming in to the bilge thru the CB trunk hull/deck joint. As I recall, a bilge leak can also occur from the auto bailer in the stern if it has gone bad. One way to check if it is the hull/deck joint in the CB trunk is to see if it takes on water when the boat is just sitting in the water (at a dock etc.). When underway water is moving around inside the trunk. On my boat it squirts out the uphaul line hole about 18".

John

Nothing at rest, autobailer doesnt communicate with the bilge. And only leaks when the hull is nearly 3/4 full of water while on the trailer. So it has to be a hull/deck issue or something in the CB bunk area, thats where the water starts gushing out..As in not subtle. There isnt any water ever coming out the ..haul holes into the boat underway

Mark, the culprit is almost certainly the uphaul through hole. What occurs is over time, the filler material that's pushed up in there between the inner CB trunk and outer CB case during manufacture breaks down (or never reached the opening to begin with), resulting in a void that's open to the bilge. Underway, with the CB down, water is literally pumped into the bilge through the hole and via the void. That's why you're not getting any water squirting into the cuddy - it's going into the bilge instead. The link to the fix no longer works, but it basically involves putting a threaded brass pipe in there, which is what I did and it solved the problem.

Tim,

Here's a thread with some of the info you posted a while back:

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=4378

Mark,

I agree with Tim about the cause. The cutaway drawing at the beginning of the thread linked above shows how the problem occurs. At the point labeled "pendant holes," water that splashes up into the centerboard trunk enters the aft hole (the one in the hull molding), then runs down into the bilge. In some cases (as with John's boat), the water gets all the way through to the cuddy. In my boat, it all went into the bilge.

Tim's solution (a threaded fitting through the uphaul cable passage) is elegant and permanent. Mine was quick and dirty because I ran out of time, but it worked as a temporary fix. In desperation, I stuffed pieces of air conditioning pipe insulating foam into the hole where the uphaul cable passes through the cuddy bulkhead. I managed to surround the cable and block most of the water from getting into the bilge.

I was getting maybe eight inches of water in the bilge after an hour of motion (motoring or sailing) on choppy water. Once the foam was stuffed in, I got less than an inch of water in the deepest part of the bilge, even after a longish trip (Meeks Bay, Lake Tahoe, to Emerald Bay and back).

The foam should at least make enough of a difference to isolate the problem. Once you've got it pinned down, I recommend using Tim's method as a permanent fix.

Got it. That issue, which I have seen and reviewed the fix for, was number 1,2, and 3 on the list. But, I can put my finger through the holes and feel, and see through the holes visually, that the foam sandwich is intact. No gap, no void, 360 deg perfectly cylindrical hole into the CB trunk. Am I missing something? But I will def try that temp fix, cant hurt....Thanks!

Hmmm ... well, ya got me then. You have the wedges/pin, so that rules out a CB bolt leak. Do you have *any* other holes in the cockpit pan (including the cuddy) that might be open to the bilge? I did, and plugging them all helped keep water that would come over the side (spray, dipping a rail, etc.) from getting into the bilge.

Regarding that filler material: when I did the CB UH, the gaps and voids were easily visible once I popped the plastic donut outta there. However, when I replaced the bailer in the stern, it *appeared* that the hole was sealed off from the bilge, like the "360 deg perfectly cylindrical hole" you describe, with no gaps or voids, but it turned out that there *were* very fine cracks in it, and water was getting in, so I epoxied a piece of PVC pipe in there, and that has solved the issue. It always amazes me how much water can find it's way through such small gaps in so little time!

There isnt a bolt, the wedges hold the "pin" in the CB trunk so definitely not an issue. There are no holes, and the bailer doesnt communicate with the bilge. Its solid something there. (and the drain isnt along the keel, its off to the stbd side) ( which by the way makes it a complete PITA to completely drain the bilge.) Definitely a bilge leak from the CB trunk area. Ive filled the bilge with water on the trailer. As the level just approaches where the CB bolt would be, where there used to be some kind of wood spacer between the two molds i think, the water absolutely pours out of the CB trunk onto the ground. I had noticed that area was constantly damp and rotting away so I removed the wet wood. Im guessing there is a seam there that I cant see or feel. Its hidden underneath a fiberglass lip. I have seen no mention of any wood type product in that area in any discussion. I also find it odd that I have no no CB bolt, that area is fully glassed over on both sides. Ill try and get some pics...

The inner outer CB trunk penetration that everyone is talking about can also exist at the down haul location. It is a little difficult to see, but there is about a 1/2" gap on one side on my down haul penetration. I will seal this gap when I reinstall my CB.



I would inspect the entire inner CB trunk for a hole that someone may have created before you owned the boat. I can see where several screws have penetrated the inner trunk on my boat from where cleats were attached inside the cockpit. These old screw holes will have to be sealed before my bilge will be watertight. You might have the same problem. Look under the uphaul cleat or any other attachment to the CB trunk.

doclounz wrote:There isnt a bolt, the wedges hold the "pin" in the CB trunk so definitely not an issue. There are no holes, and the bailer doesnt communicate with the bilge. Its solid something there. (and the drain isnt along the keel, its off to the stbd side) ( which by the way makes it a complete PITA to completely drain the bilge.) Definitely a bilge leak from the CB trunk area. Ive filled the bilge with water on the trailer. As the level just approaches where the CB bolt would be, where there used to be some kind of wood spacer between the two molds i think, the water absolutely pours out of the CB trunk onto the ground. I had noticed that area was constantly damp and rotting away so I removed the wet wood. Im guessing there is a seam there that I cant see or feel. Its hidden underneath a fiberglass lip. I have seen no mention of any wood type product in that area in any discussion. I also find it odd that I have no no CB bolt, that area is fully glassed over on both sides. Ill try and get some pics...

The early DS2's had a CB bolt, the later ones have the wedges/pin. My boat and ChrisB's boat were built within a year of each other. I have a bolt, he has wedges ...

The P.O. may have put the wood pieces in the CB trunk to block the water leakage which might be a gap in the hull deck joint.

John