Cabin Leak

W

WOODY12771

New Member
Oct 17, 2010
5
nj
Boat Info
300 Sundancer
Engines
5.7 300 mag W/bravo III drives
Hey all,

Just wanted to ask for advice. I have a 2003 Sundancer 300..I love my boat...I have been working some bugs out of her...One thing, I have a water leak from rain on the left side. The water is puddling up on the aft part of my galley countertop above the fridge. I was going to pull the left side windows out and reseal..I need advice in removing the interior ultra-suede headliner..I dont want to make the damage worse. Do these boats have issues with leaking windshields? Its very troublesome...

Help...Thanks
Jay
 
Hello?? Anyone anyone...Bueller Bueller...anyone..
 
I have no clue... but I will be following the thread I have a leak too... that I can not find...
 
Both my sliding windows leaked... badly... I was going to pull and reseal as you indicated.. however I found a post on this site.

I posted what they look like below, there are cheaper places to get them, I forgot where I purchased mine but OMG...

They look good, easy to apply, and THEY FREGGIN WORK. For $30 both sides of my windows are fixed.

http://www.google.com/products/cata...um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=679930996540746044#
 
I don't know how your windows are arranged, but on my boat, they slide in a felt covered rubber track, called 'Flocking' by Taylor, the folks that made the windows. Mine as so dry and brittle that it was like a beer pretzel. I replaced it and corrected a previous owner screw up with the window gaskets and my leaks stopped.
Also, if you have weep slots in the window track, make sure they are clear so that water has somewhere to go besides inside the boat. Leaves, and dirt can clog them. On a boat as young as yours, I'd hope the frames are still tightly bonded to the boat, so try the simple things first.
Staying on the boat in a heavy rain with a flashlight is a good way to find leaks.
 
I also have a cabin leak which initially appeared in the forward starboard side of my V-Berth. Now it appears to be on both sides, port and starboard. I tried checking with a hose but no luck. I seems to happen after a full day of heavy rain. I'm thinking it may be coming from the hatch and trickling between the deck and the headliner.

Has anyone taken the hatch apart on a 2003 280DA?
 
The headliner is foam back vinyl. It will migrate anywhere it can. pull the hatches and windows and re-bed. the hatches and windows are in two parts, the inner ring and outer assembly. To pry off the outer assemble, first remove the inner ring, then take puddy knifes and gently pry the outer assembly off working your way around.
 
Thanks for the replies..I will pull the windows this weekend and apply generous amounts of rtv to them including the hatch...still not sure how the headliner and sidewalls come out..I dont want to ruin them by doing the wrong thing so this is why I ask for guidance..I work on helicopters for a living you would think this would be easy...lol...Again thanks for the help..Jay
 
Jay,

I don't think I would use RTV. Ask your local marina's service department what type of marine grade caulking would work best for the application.
 
On the 300 Sundancer I'd start with the windshield. The screws are hidden in the frame by a piece of foam, sometimes the screws are just loose. If you end up re-bedding windows or the windshield it means removing and replacing the old caulking for the new. It's a time consuming job but not too difficult. The windshield is a different story, I would see if the screws are loose first and maybe you can tighten them up. The caulking is most likely 4200 but check with the local marine store don't use 5200 because you'll never be able to take it apart if you have to. Good Luck!
Rob
 
Believe it or not, I had two leaks that drove me crazy. They turned out to be the result of the port holes having the tension latches weakening or loosing up. The mid berth and the starboard front berth. The leaks were gone after I tightened them, an easy fix!
 
I had a leak on the starboard side. i traced the leak to the water fill. The water was coming in from the side. I calked the spot and no more leak..

Good Luck
 
DMarcel said:
Believe it or not, I had two leaks that drove me crazy. They turned out to be the result of the port holes having the tension latches weakening or loosing up. The mid berth and the starboard front berth. The leaks were gone after I tightened them, an easy fix!
Click to expand...

I'm with DMarcel on this one. The tension latches need to be tightened with a screwdriver after each use to prevent leaking. Took me years to sort this out.
 
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