Forum - Keel and Centre Plate - URGENT QUESTION - water ingress
| Topic | Replies | Latest Post |
|---|---|---|
| URGENT QUESTION - water ingress | 13 | Sat 15 May 2021 14:49:13 |
 Kingfisher Sat 24 Apr 2021 14:38:54 | We have water leaking into the cabin through the white bung here (see pic). It goes into the keel compartment. Any advice? Should this be sealed? If so, how? Or should there not be water behind there in the first place? | |
Replies | ||
| Drucouloir Sat 24 Apr 2021 17:27:40 | Hi there, I don't have this hatch in my boat, looks like a previous owner cut the hole so at to be able to free the plate or reattach the chain. It looks like an access hatch found on sailing dinghies. Most of them come in two parts: The surround, screwed into place and bedded in sicaflex or sitting on a rubber sealing ring, like this: https://www.roostersailing.com/products/105409?variant=37654467149979¤cy=GBP&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&utm_campaign=gs-2021-02-13&utm_source=google&utm_medium=smart_campaign&gclid=CjwKCAjwg4-EBhBwEiwAzYAlsijNU3K-5L9nBhk07HVcRy5zduMMgySbkThW7tVF2OLevO1ei2lEdBoCXXgQAvD_BwE I'd be looking for grit and dirt in the thread of the hatch and also looking to see whether the seal has become stiff and inflexible; failing to make a proper seal. Can you see whether the water's coming from the outer edge or the centre piece? I'm not sure that these hatches are designed to be water tight during long term immersion however they are designed to seal buoyancy tanks if a dinghy capsizes so they should be pretty good. Either way, the hatch is quite an elegant solution when the chain needs to be reattached. Hope you find a solution you can be confident in. T | |
| Drucouloir Sat 24 Apr 2021 17:31:37 | I should have added that CT1 is a wonder sealant - it can be applied to a damp surface and remains flexible. If you have the boat out of the water, maybe you could try removing the hatch and rebedding it in CT1. | |
| Kingfisher Sat 24 Apr 2021 22:25:42 | Hi, thanks for the response. We pulled the boat back out of the water and took the hatch cover off to have a proper look. It looks as if the rubber seal might have perished, and it's had sealant on it previously but that's also not looking in the best state. Thankfully the local chandler have a direct replacement for the whole hatch so we're going to replace and reseal so that we can be confident it will be fully watertight. Thanks for the tip about the sealant, we'll check it out! | |
 Mark Sun 25 Apr 2021 09:40:48 | Just be careful to make sure it is well sealed. Despite all of the built in buoyancy, Manta's will sink. Take a look here: https://underwater-search-recovery.com/en/21_MA_Summary_FS.htm | |
| Kingfisher Sun 25 Apr 2021 12:05:55 | We've had another think about it - we're not happy with a plastic hatch being used partially underwater as the pressure is going to be trying to force it open all the time. As it's clearly not an original feature - thanks to the two of you for confirming that! - we're going to close it off properly with a blanking plate and seal it completely so it's no longer an issue. Otherwise we'll always worry about it suddenly giving way under pressure. Thanks for your help, it's been really useful to know that it wasn't a design feature of the boat as it means we're happy to get rid of it! | |
| Drucouloir Sun 25 Apr 2021 15:56:59 | Good that you've found the source of the problem. I think that if I ever to need to get at that end of the chain I'd be tempted to cut a hatch too. I'm sure that there's something available that'd be suitable. Maybe check the state of everything beneath the hatch before closing the home more permanently. Where abouts are you, I still haven't choosen where to put in. Living in the middle (Oxford) everywhere is pretty much equally inaccessible so any thoughts welcome. Cheers, Toby | |
| Kingfisher Sun 25 Apr 2021 22:05:55 | We're on Coniston at the sailing club - first season so not quite the introduction we hoped for, launching and then immediately retrieving again! We live in Yorkshire so it's only an hour and a half, and it's a great place for the kids. The sailing club is a really friendly one too. Probably a bit far for you but it is a beautiful place to be! | |
| Drucouloir Mon 26 Apr 2021 07:05:54 | Sounds lovely but yes possibly a little too far. Hope you (we all!) have better luck this season. T | |
| Mark Wed 28 Apr 2021 10:16:51 | @Drucouloir: Rutland Water is good location.. Not too far from Oxford and probably the closest lake that is of a decent size. 2 places to launch: Rutland Sailing Club on the south shore (near Edith Weston) or Anglian Water Park on the north shore (Whitwell). I've not been there for a good few years now but I have used both and Whitwell was my preferred location. | |
| Drucouloir Wed 28 Apr 2021 13:06:20 | Thank you Mark, I'll have a look | |
| Red Herring Thu 29 Apr 2021 21:49:14 | Let me know how you get on with Rutland Water (if indeed you do) as it is relatively close to me here in Cambridge and I might be tempted to move Red Herring there if I ever get really tired of sailing on a ditch. However, that would mean losing the major advantage of the Cam Sailing Club which is that it is 30 minutes cycle ride from home. Has anyone tried keeping a Manta on the Norfolk Broads? | |
 Ian & Julie Thu 06 May 2021 07:23:15 | Replying to Red Herring ... We had a four week holiday on the Broads with our Manta 'Davin'. It’s not for the faint-hearted. We caused a lot of chaos trying to tack round the bends. We just didn’t have enough sail poking above the reeds, trees and other vegetation. We were fine on the main , wide rivers ... Funnily enough we didn’t come home with her as we sold her ! We bought a Pegasus 700 which was more suited to the area.  | |
| Kingfisher Sat 15 May 2021 14:49:13 | We ended up having some very good luck, in that someone at the club had both extensive experience and a fibreglass kit at home and was able to fill the hole for us within a couple of days, so we could launch the next weekend. He's done a fabulous job and we are now launched and watertight! It's a shame we won't have access to the keel but peace of mind is the most important thing at this point. | |
