leaks

[Andrew]

i'm wondering if anyone has any experience/advice for fixing above the water leaks on a kelt 760. the teak on the rear bulkhead on the portside in the galley has water damage and I can't figure out where the water came from. are there certain areas that are prone to leaks on a kelt that i should be looking at? any advice would be helpful.

[Mark Williamson]

I've had leaks in the bolt holes of the hand-rails that secure the sliding hatch.  Not sure what else is there other than the compass.  My boat has some cam cleats installed in this area.  Not sure what you have.  Leaks can be difficult to track down.  Doesn't take much water to cause a stain.  The easy fix is to remove everything you can in that area, apply a silicon caulk or cement then re-attach.

[Glenn Thomson]

Hey Mark.  I see your post 4 yrs ago regarding the handrail/slider leak repair.  Anything you remember you did or any tips to elaborate on.....My thought is to use butyl tape fore the seal and for the tape to be a shim to allow enough space for slider to operate properly.  The spacer tape that is under the handrail now is hard and broken up, overdue for a repair, especially after the driving wind and rain we just had on the Vancouver coast...
Thanks,
glenn

[Mark Williamson]

I used a roll of automotive weather stripping.  It was about an inch wide and maybe 1/8 inch thick. So far no problems.

[Glenn Thomson]

Sounds good Mark.  I'm going to use Buytl tape, about the same thickness, I was wondering if there was enough clearance for the slider not to bind with just the tape under and not a spacer as well?

[Mark Williamson]

I only used the weather strip and there is no binding. In my rails there were four or five big bolts and a bunch of small screws. Previously there had been a thin strip of wood. The bolts go through the cabin top and the screws went into the wood strip. I left out the screws when I put in the weather strip. Don't know if all Kelts are like this.

[ayar]

Hi Lefty,

I had the same leaking problem earlier in the year.  Took up the grab-rails and the old spacer had worn and was cracked in a number of places.  Bought an end of Lexan (fortunately at cut price) and used the holes in the grab bar as a template to where to drill through the Lexan.  Put plenty of silicone sealant around the bolt holes on both sides of the Lexan and tightened everything down.  Despite a number of very heavy rainfalls everything is dry.  The Lexan is protected from UV degradation by the rail.

[Glenn Thomson]

Ayar.  That is what I found on my handrails, acrylic  was in 3 pieces, brittle and I could slide them around under the stainless. Removed the handrails.  I drilled out holes to 3/8" put a bent 90 degree shortened nail in my drill and reamed out as much wet mulched inner layer as possible  Taped the interior holes up and injected epoxy into the screw hole cavities to close them up.  Haven't  dried new holes yet to mount the handles......but for sure not leaking!  I will use the buytl tape under for a finish seal.