Water Leaks in 1998 270 DA

[N369RM]

I have water under my waste basket located under the step.

After every rain there is enough water running into the waste basket well area to soak a shop towel. I have NO IDEA where this is coming from.
There are also two additional leaks:

#1…..There are two stanchions on the port bow rail that I believe are leaking into the boat on the port bow area. However, that water is running into the wall between the dinette table and the front left couch cushion and has soaked the bottom wood. Does not appear to be running into the waste basket well area.

Instead of doing the "caulking" around the base I want to pull both stanchions and reseal them properly. Do I just "unscrew them" and lift the stanchions off and properly re-caulk them? I cannot believe it will be THAT simple....I am betting that I have to pull the interior out to get to the BOTTOM of the stanchions in order to get to “bolts” that probably hold the bow rails. There is NO visible way to remove the interior to get to these stanchions.

#2….. I have a NEW leak in the worst place possible (of course). It is coming into the rear below deck sleeping area on the starboard side. In essence in the little space I need to crawl into on all fours with no room to turn around and just the side wall. So now I need to take out that side wall. I see there are screws along the bottom but I just know that this is not going to be THAT easy as well. So how do I take out that starboard wall so I can work a flashlight into the side to locate this leak?

I am thinking that this leak “may” be coming from the speaker hole under the throttle as the sleeping area is below the speaker?

 

[Lazy Daze]

Stanchions: The stanchions are, indeed, through bolted. (A) Look for small discs (a little smaller than a hockey puck) covered in the same material as your headliner on the ceiling -- pop them off. (B) Look inside cabinets, storage compartments, etc. Really, they shouldn't be too hard to locate since you know where they are on the outside of the boat.

Trash bin leak: My first guess would be the head portlight. Water can run down between the head's fiberglass liner and the hull. Remove portlight and reseal.

It's possible the midcabin leak is related to the portlight. Typically the access panel you are referring to removing is just held in with a few screws - maybe one in each corner or so. You just have to feel around for the screw heads as Sea Ray does a good job at hiding them. Is the wall covered in a soft material or vinyl?

As far as finding leaks, you just have to be systematic about it. Use the spray setting of a hose and go area by area, starting at the lower areas first.

 

[Xplicitlnck]

I had the same boat. But 99 wide beam. I had the same leak under the basket since I bought it. I also had a leak around the port side port hole. The port. Hole caused wet floors under the port aft closet right in front of the aft berth. This leak made me pull all port holes and reseal. That fixed that problem. But not the water under the basket. I also had water under the forward birth. This was from the nav lights and horn. There should be a "screen" in front of the horn to stop water from coming in since you cant close off the hole or you will get no sound from the horn. I made my own screen out of felt. Kinda stoped it but not really. I bought all new nav lights, resealed and repleced. Still didn't stop the basket leak. But did stop water from entering under the berth. As for the bow rail rails. Best of luck to you. They are hidden very well and a couple are very hadd to get at without taking apart your entire interior. As far as the water under the basket ive searchhed and searched and taken apart and reinstalled and resealed just about everything I could and never ever found it. Extremely frustrating. I even replaced the sump box. I had somebody stand outside soaking the entire boat for hours on end (I actually got yelled at by the marina . The owner watched me for a good 4 hours of wasting water) and never found it. Then it came time to winterize and when I was done the water was pink. Therefore i think it has to do with the water system (atleast in my case) I was fed up and left it for spring time. Then sandy came along and ended the search once and for all and totalled her. This is a known problem with that boat. I did a lot of research and found a handfull of people with the same problem so try a google search and maybe if your lucky somebody found it. Best of luck to ya

 

[emb301]

I had water there and found it was a leak from the cold water supply to the head sink. It also showed up as a wet spot on the carpet between head and galley. Boat is 1996 270.