dampness in v berth area, stains on bulkhead in front of v berth area

[fshman54]

Hi everyone,
Just joined CSR today, great to be on board!I just sold my 88 amberjack last month and on the hunt for a 31 sundancer 1990-1994 range, have looked at about 12 boats in the last 2 months, what I noticed on the 31s is the staining on the area in front of v berth, probally a water leak at railing mounts, windless area or rub rail sealing. Also there is a definate "dampness" on the v berth cushions and combing area, with no apparent leaks/ dampness from above. I never had any of this in my amberjack. Is this a common problem on this model having water leaks, should the v berth have dampness in it, doesn't seem right? Thank you to everyone for your imput!

 

[Robb Watson]

Hi everyone,
Just joined CSR today, great to be on board!I just sold my 88 amberjack last month and on the hunt for a 31 sundancer 1990-1994 range, have looked at about 12 boats in the last 2 months, what I noticed on the 31s is the staining on the area in front of v berth, probally a water leak at railing mounts, windless area or rub rail sealing. Also there is a definate "dampness" on the v berth cushions and combing area, with no apparent leaks/ dampness from above. I never had any of this in my amberjack. Is this a common problem on this model having water leaks, should the v berth have dampness in it, doesn't seem right? Thank you to everyone for your imput!

I have a 1980 360 Express Cruiser that is constantly leaking through the windows both in the v-berth and the bunk room. I plan on taking the whole window assembly out this spring and clean and re-bed the frames. Hoping that works! I do understand that these boats were notorious for leading windows. Good luck with your investigation!

 

[techmitch]

Hi everyone,
Just joined CSR today, great to be on board!I just sold my 88 amberjack last month and on the hunt for a 31 sundancer 1990-1994 range, have looked at about 12 boats in the last 2 months, what I noticed on the 31s is the staining on the area in front of v berth, probally a water leak at railing mounts, windless area or rub rail sealing. Also there is a definate "dampness" on the v berth cushions and combing area, with no apparent leaks/ dampness from above. I never had any of this in my amberjack. Is this a common problem on this model having water leaks, should the v berth have dampness in it, doesn't seem right? Thank you to everyone for your imput!

Welcome aboard. V-berth dampness could be from clogged drian in anchor locker. Good luck in your search.

 

[The Bill Collector]

I have our HVAC running year around...

 

[Dani-Lu]

My memory is a little foggy, since I am going back many, many years ago. I owned a 1990 310 Sundancer that was getting the water stains as you describe. It was driving me crazy for a long time. If this is the same issue, there is water trapped in the front wall of your v-berth. I don’t think I was able to see it in the anchor locker, because there seems to be a hollow space between the front wall of the v-berth and the back wall of the anchor locker. The way I figured it out was I went on the v-berth with a flashlight and had someone go from idle to plane and as the bow came up, the water would run out of the sides of the v-berth.

This led me to drill a hole into the fiber glass as low as possible, in the front wall of the v-berth, and the water trapped in the space drained out. It was fresh water. I don’t think I ever figured out how the water got in there, but I don’t think I ever got more water in that area again.

Aside from this driving me crazy, the 310 sundancer was a great boat!

 

[boatmailster]

It should be dry but there is many possible leak places: clogged drain in rope locker, portholes (either dirty gaskets or loose knobs or damaged silicone around porthole), rub-rail (loose, broken screws, clogged drains), deck separated from hull (damaged silicone under rubrail), leaky nav lights on deck, leaky grab rail mounts, leaky deck hatch (if you have vinyl headliner water will saturate foam and leak will appear in strange places not related to point where water actually leaks).

 

[fshman54]

Thank you all for your imput and replies! I just don't want to buy a problem boat,,,,,,but then again I guess almost every used boat has its share of concerns!

 

[Mac-Daddy-Minnesota]

We have a 1990 310 dancer that has a leak next to the mirror for the windlass rope locker. Driving us nuts.... Re bedded the hatches. Rub rail is next