Windshield/deck liner leak

[frankn88]

So I finally found the source (ok, the 3rd! source) of my wet carpet and condensation troubles for the past year... In addition to the cracked cockpit drain fitting, and the missing middle dog on the fwd port window, water has been leaking thru the damaged gasket on the middle vent window (in the windshield), where it should route around the inside front of the windshield/deck liner and drain safely overboard, but has instead found some damaged caulk?/gasket material? (like a spongy black string about the thickness of a pencil) that seals the gap between the windshield frame and the deck. The water then travels hidden under the roof liner and drips down behind the power panel (nice!), then down behind the sink cabinet, or drawers, across the step and down into the shower sump/bilge where it fills and wets the carpet on the floor. Mystery solved!
So - has anyone replaced this windshield gasket? Do they make a gasket for this, or just use caulk? Assuming I could even get a caulking gun up in there - it's a very tight little space. Dealer's checking, but she didn't sound too confident that she even knew what I was talking about.

 

[frankn88]

Oops, thought I was in the general maintenance forum when I posted this. :smt021 Admin - can you move for me please?
Thanks.

 

[Lazy Daze]

Trying to find the source of a water leak is crazy, isn't it?:smt021

I'm not sure, either, what you mean by that "pencil-thick" stuff. But..... Just to throw an idea at you that may or may not help.... When I can't get a caulk gun into tight spaces, I'll use a sandwich bag. Dispense the caulk into the bag, then snip the corner off to allow the desired bead thickness. Then, use it as a baker would to ice a cake.

If I'm understanding you correctly, you could also just loosen the windshield screws so you can raise it up a bit, then squirt the caulk underneath. Maybe you need some caulking in the screw holes, too?

You know better than I do what you're dealing with - hopefully my advice isn't confusing.

 

[frankn88]

A picture's worth 213 words, isn't it? Here's the center vent window - the water leaks in around the dogs where the gasket is damaged, then drains down onto the dash and forward into the little indent under the windshield/frame and then outboard where it should go overboard. Instead, it's getting past the obviously loose gasket (on port anyway and maybe on starboard too). The gasket feels just like foam weatherstripping. It doesn't seem like it would be too watertight? Not sure how the windshield attaches to the deck, but not sure I want to try to remove it either unless absolutely necessary!

 

[Lazy Daze]

Concerning the dogs... I've never worked on those, but if it's just a failing rubber gasket, maybe try to match up the current one at your local home center. If not, you can buy rubber gasket material and cut your own.

For the foam stuff under the windshield - sorry, can't be of much help there, either. Other than to say to maybe check with Taylor. Who knows, maybe foam weatherstriping that you can get from a home center would work as well? If it was me, I'd just loosen the windshield a little and squirt some silicone underneath. You can do this from the outside to make it little easier.

Windshields are pretty easy to remove. I've only taken them off (part way) a few times over the years, but they're just screwed in (sometimes there's a through bolt in the last one - the one furthest aft). Just pull out the black insert that's on the outside of the windshield and the screws will be right there.

 

[wingatesl]

Peter, believe it or not I found I have the exact same problem. I am trying to find a place that sells the black foam that covers the scres on the windshield with no luck. I found it on the Taylor site, but no way to buy. Talk about banging my head against the wall. I finally had the wife stand for about an hour spraying water all over the boat. On the Maxum, the head is directly below the helm and it was running between the shower liner and the hull.
Shawn

 

[katricol]

To start with...fix the leak on those dogs. I did on my boat they are readily available as all they are is a "o" ring gasket. (west marine or taylormade) Then clean-up your bugs and algae quick before anyone else sees this...it dosen't belong on a boat. Now the hard part. If you want to fix the windshield ( a good idea) you need to probably hire a good yard to do it unless you are quite good at repairs. Try sea ray or taylor for the rubber gasket

 

[frankn88]

Thanks all for the tips! I think I'll probably take Dennis' advice on the windshield and see if I can get it up enough to squirt some silicone in there. Didn't realize it was that easy to loosen it. I asked the SeaRay dealer about the gaskets and seals and they haven't got back to me, so I'm not confident. I'll take a closer look at the dogs - I assumed the leak was caused by the damaged gasket, but I'll double check and make sure it's not an o-ring issue, or both.
But first I'll clean up the dead bugs and algae! :thumbsup:

 

[frankn88]

Thanks Dennis for encouraging me to pull up the windshield. I can't believe how easy it was. Took some pictures, maybe they'll help someone else with similar problems.
So I cut through the old caulk around the outside bottom edge of the windshield. There are 5 sections of the windshield with sliding joints between. I removed the front 3. Removed the caps over the top of the joints on the top of the windshield. Then pried/bumped/slid the sections up a couple of inches. I drew some contour lines (in red) on the pics because it's a little difficult to see the angles.
Scraped off the old caulk and weather stripping with a wide chisel blade. Put down new weather stripping inside the screw holes. Then caulked around the outside of the weather stripping and over the screw holes. Lowered the sections back down and screwed it all back together. We've had about 2" of rain since then and NO LEAKS! :smt038 Katricol was right too, the o-rings on the vent window handles were leaking (old and deteriorated). Unfortunately they're T-shaped o-rings and the Searay dealer has not been very helpful in finding new ones. Any ideas?

 

[Lazy Daze]

Congratulations, Peter! A job well done!

Now, finish it off with new windshield molding (the black, rubber piece that hides/weatherproofs the screw channel) and replace those old cockpit cover snaps and it'll really look nice!

Nice barn... :smt001