Anyone else experienced anything like this?

[MermainQueen]

We recently went to check on our Sun 2000 daysailer at its storage location on a farm near our mooring (its been on land about 3 years due to life not being convenient for sailing) and were horrified to find around 18 inches depth of freshwater in the cabin. It seems that whilst in storage rainwater has been leaking through the companionway hatch and slowly filling the boat. We have drained the majority out with a combination of bilge pumps and sponges and removed all the interior wood and cushions which all need to be replaced. On assessing the damage we have established that there is water between the liner and the hull which we can't get at which has got there via the holes drilled in the liner for the sink plumbing line. We have no way currently of working out how much water remains in this space and no way to access it to drain it. There is osmotic blistering evident to the grp liner although it doesn't look too bad. We have no idea if there is blistering to the hull. Has anyone experienced anything similar? Any ideas re how to get the remaining water out without causing more issues? Do people think the boat is salvageable or will it be a write off?? Any ideas how to assess how much water remains?? We think the water has been building slowly over 3 years but likely only overflowed into the liner/hull void in the last year judging by the height of the plumbing hole. Thanks in advance.

[JPA Cate]

This will not be much help, but a couple of ideas for getting the water out:

1) using a manual drill, drill a 1/4" drain hole at the lowest part of the hull, one fwd and one aft of the keel, and let gravity drain it. Collect the water in buckets, and you might want to save it for analysis, to find out what between the liner and hull had got into it. You would need to permanently plug the holes when finished, using epoxy, and then prime, and paint.

2) Cut an entry port that later, you will put hinges and timber trim* at the lowest place you can access, and use a shop vacuum to suck out all the wet.

* (to cover the cut--may also need timber bonded on the underneath of the hole to strengthen it...lots of fiddly work)

Expect nothing electric to work; the batteries may have been submerged, but the sails may be okay if they were up on the V berth. Total re-wiring, plumbing possibly contaminated.

Could easily be a total write-off. But if you like working on boats, you might be able to return her to her "former glory." And, I'm not at all sure it would be worth your effort. Sorry, too many unknowns for me, and what an unpleasant experience for you.

Ann

[TrentePieds]

MermainQueen:

I can understand what an emotional blow your discovery must have been, but I would think it is very unlikely that the boat is a write-off. You will, as I would if I were in your shoes, have to live with the chagrin of not having foreseen a potential problem, but such comes to all boat owners in one way or another.

So if I were in your shoes - which I have been - I would put the chagrin aside and put on the armour of pure rationality :-)

Focus on the boat's UTILITY and banish any thoughts of its market value. IF you drain the water out and take her sailing, will she, objectively, afford you any less pleasure than she did before?

I think the most likely answer is that she will serve you just as well as she ever did!

So what can you do?

As Ann says: You drill holes!

Holes in the GRP layup are ridiculously easy to repair. You need no special skill to do it. You just need to follow instructions. And they are simple enough. And the stuff you need can be bought at the nearest automotive supply store. For cheap! :-)

Because the boat is on a trailer, I would jack up the tongue of the trailer so all the water will run back, between the hull itself and the liner, right to the transom. And drill a 1/2" hole there at the lowest point. Any residual water, after you've drained the boat as best you can, will, by and by, evaporate and not be a problem.

Your wiring may well have been damaged by the water, but how much wiring is there, really, in 20-foot trailerable boat? There are rules, of course, for how the wiring has to be done, but they are dead simple, and the tools you need to do the job are cheap and they are, given that it's a trailerable boat not needing fancy "marine" electrical fittings, like the stuff for patching holes, available at any store that sells automotive supplies.

If you need help - just ask :-)!

I assume - though I do not know, of course - that auxiliary power is supplied by an outboard motor, so it is not likely to have been damaged by the flood.

As for your hatch — well, yes, on boats of this nature, we take it for granted that the design and build of hatches is -uhm - "primitive". We learn to live with it :-).

What I do with "suspect" hatches is seal their edges with what in this 'ere colony (the "Wet" coast of British Columbia) is called "duck tape" (DUCT tape, of course). It does a beautiful job of keeping water out, and it is easy to remove when it is not wanted.

So, all in all, I suspect the "problem" is far less serious than at first you thought it is.

And as I said: Just ask - we'll be glad to help with all the "technical" stuff :-)

All the best

TrentePieds

[boatpoker]

Install a garboard drain plug in the hull.
https://www.amazon.ca/Shoreline-Mari...060943&sr=8-30