4588 Leaks into Pilothouse; Sources?-gctid398663

[Papa_Charlie]

We spent last week up in the San Juan's and with the exception of the first three days of rain, had a great time and weather.

As our boat is normally under cover we have not had any trouble with leaks before this. But during a heavy rain we had water coming in from two locations into the pilothouse.

1) From under the door that leads from the pilothouse to the flybridge. I thought it was because the weep holes in the frame were plugged but after cleaning them out the drips continued. The water was not coming in through the gasket that presses up against the plexiglass door but it seemed to come from under the door framing. Any suggestions?

2) We also had some drips that come down onto the settee in the pilothouse. The drips would appear from under and behind the wood paneling above the settee, run down the wall and collect on the top of the back rest. Suggestions?

There were no other leaks present during the couple days of solid rains so we are very happy about that. If I fix these then we should be good to go.

Thanks in advance for the input.

[smitty477]

1) From under the door that leads from the pilothouse to the flybridge. I thought it was because the weep holes in the frame were plugged but after cleaning them out the drips continued. The water was not coming in through the gasket that presses up against the plexiglass door but it seemed to come from under the door framing. Any suggestions?

Is the seam for the rubber door seal at the bottom or the top of the door? Do you have a canvas cover that goes over the door during foul weather?

2) We also had some drips that come down onto the settee in the pilothouse. The drips would appear from under and behind the wood paneling above the settee, run down the wall and collect on the top of the back rest. Suggestions?

Perhaps check these items in this order: venturi screws bedded, dash seam to pilothouse cualking, throttle/shift cable runs, bimini top fixtures bedded.

You can temporarily tape any of these over and add water by hose to look for the culprit - good luck.

Hope this helps

[Woodsong]

I would rebed the door frame up to the flybridge and check everything at your upper helm. Also, do you have any antennas coming out of the boat right there on the port side? If so, do you have drip loops in the cables so that water doesn't follow the cable into the area back there and then drip into the pilothouse?

[Papa_Charlie]

smitty477;

Is the seam for the rubber door seal at the bottom or the top of the door? Do you have a canvas cover that goes over the door during foul weather?

a) I will check the seem but the water seems to be coming from under the frame, not over the top of the frame.

b) Do not have canvas cover. Would not be able to apply one if I did. The ladder in the cockpit and the access to the flybridge from there has been removed. Only one way up and that is through the pilothouse.

2) Perhaps check these items in this order: venturi screws bedded, dash seam to pilothouse cualking, throttle/shift cable runs, bimini top fixtures bedded.

a) I will check all the caulking on the dash. There are some entries from former equipment mounts and wire runs that are directly into the pilothouse roof just in front of the dash.

b) I have no shift cables, instead I have the Mathers controls and the wiring travels with the rest of the electronics.

[Papa_Charlie]

Woodsong wrote:
I would rebed the door frame up to the flybridge and check everything at your upper helm. Also, do you have any antennas coming out of the boat right there on the port side? If so, do you have drip loops in the cables so that water doesn't follow the cable into the area back there and then drip into the pilothouse?

I was looking at the frame for the door opening and could not see any mounting screws. Have any idea how this is held in place?

[smitty477]

"b) I have no shift cables, instead I have the Mathers controls and the wiring travels with the rest of the electronics."

OK - check where the cable 'goup' leads down next to the stairs but under the flybridge helm.

"I was looking at the frame for the door opening and could not see any mounting screws. Have any idea how this is held in place?"

Based upon Woodsongs year he shoud have the older 'bifold' wood type of door we had on our 2 4588's. This should be completely different from your one piece 'plastic' door which has one swing hinged on the outboard side only. If you are worried about the aluminum frame leaking suggest you quicikly and temporarily tape the frame and then hose it down well to check for leaks - qiuckest way to avoid starting an unecessary long project.

Hope this helps

[Guest]

We have had both sources of leaks. We too are puzzled by the leaks coming from the bottom of the door to the flybridge and have yet to discover the actual source. Since installing our larger bimini top they seem to have subsided and I'm sure that when we finally get the full flybridge enclosure installed the leaks will stop, although that can hardly be considered 'fixing' the leak.



The water leaks running down the aft wall of the pilothouse onto the pilothouse settee are coming from the upper helm. We had them too and I noticed that there were several openings in the fiberglass around the upper helm for such things as cables for the VHF radio, our upper GPS monitor and so on. Mr. Ducksoop filled all these with white silicone, even though the openings were 'protected' with the Perko clamshells covering the holes. If you look behind the sliding plexiglass doors at the storage compartment directly above the settee you will see how these cables are routed and it becomes pretty obvious how the water is getting in. The leaks appear to have stopped but I am still a bit concerned about the way that the upper instrument panel is attached to the fiberglass. The flat aluminum panels are simply attached with 8 or 10 screws with no gasket material or anything between the aluminum panels and the fiberglass. It is hardly a water-tight arrangement and if we were to seal the joint with silicone or similar it would be a pain to remove the panel for servicing behind it. Again, once we install the full flybridge enclosure I don't think we will have to worry about it but a solution might be to fabricate a gasket between the two from a thin piece of rubber material, cut out to match the outer dimensions of the aluminum panels that can be re-used every time the panels have to be removed.

[Papa_Charlie]

smitty477 wrote:
"b) I have no shift cables, instead I have the Mathers controls and the wiring travels with the rest of the electronics."

OK - check where the cable 'goup' leads down next to the stairs but under the flybridge helm.

"I was looking at the frame for the door opening and could not see any mounting screws. Have any idea how this is held in place?"

Based upon Woodsongs year he shoud have the older 'bifold' wood type of door we had on our 2 4588's. This should be completely different from your one piece 'plastic' door which has one swing hinged on the outboard side only. If you are worried about the aluminum frame leaking suggest you quicikly and temporarily tape the frame and then hose it down well to check for leaks - qiuckest way to avoid starting an unecessary long project.

Hope this helps

I agree with trying the tape method first to see what we would gain or not. I have started far too many projects only to create a lot of work and accomplish nothing in the end.

Our hatch between the bridge and PH is a bi-fold but has an aluminum frame, no wood. The gasket does need to be replaced but the water does not seem to be coming over the gasket area and into the PH but from under the metal frame into the PH.

It appears I have to put on my detective hat and just start at one point and keep working my way through the possibilities until the problems are gone. Never hurts to ask if there is the one place that someone has already discovered that they can direct you to.

Thanks for all the help.

[Papa_Charlie]

ducksoop wrote:
[COLOR]#1F497D wrote:
We have had both sources of leaks. We too are puzzled by the leaks coming from the bottom of the door to the flybridge and have yet to discover the actual source. Since installing our larger bimini top they seem to have subsided and I'm sure that when we finally get the full flybridge enclosure installed the leaks will stop, although that can hardly be considered 'fixing' the leak.[/COLOR]

[COLOR]#1F497D wrote:
[/COLOR]

[COLOR]#1F497D wrote:
The water leaks running down the aft wall of the pilothouse onto the pilothouse settee are coming from the upper helm. We had them too and I noticed that there were several openings in the fiberglass around the upper helm for such things as cables for the VHF radio, our upper GPS monitor and so on. Mr. Ducksoop filled all these with white silicone, even though the openings were 'protected' with the Perko clamshells covering the holes. If you look behind the sliding plexiglass doors at the storage compartment directly above the settee you will see how these cables are routed and it becomes pretty obvious how the water is getting in. The leaks appear to have stopped but I am still a bit concerned about the way that the upper instrument panel is attached to the fiberglass. The flat aluminum panels are simply attached with 8 or 10 screws with no gasket material or anything between the aluminum panels and the fiberglass. It is hardly a water-tight arrangement and if we were to seal the joint with silicone or similar it would be a pain to remove the panel for servicing behind it. Again, once we install the full flybridge enclosure I don't think we will have to worry about it but a solution might be to fabricate a gasket between the two from a thin piece of rubber material, cut out to match the outer dimensions of the aluminum panels that can be re-used every time the panels have to be removed.[/COLOR]

I wish I could say that a full enclosure was in the near future for us but too many other projects first. So I will just go through the process until the problem has been solved. I will looks closely at places that you mention. Thank you.

[Guest]

Papa Charlie, Be sure to post what you find out. Even with a full canvas, the real answer is to find and fix the source of the leaks. I'm anxious to hear what you find out as you track them down.