Rotten Floor Under Water heater

[Hartnerk]

I’m on a Hunter 310 (2000) which needs a little work and the next project I’m working on is replacing the water heater ....

Removing the water heater was pretty straight forward and I have a new one coming in this week. The only problem is the floor under the water heater was completely rotten when I pulled the tank out. I have ripped out the wet wood which was supporting the water tank down to the fiber glass of the hull. The tank was located forward of the kitchen under the main couch.

There is no apparent damage to the wood out side the immediate area but my question is what is the best way to repair that previously plastic coated area.

I was initially planning to just get some plywood and mounting the new water heater on that but there is some water still in that area and I don’t want to have to do the same project again in two years.

Any tips are really appreciated.

[JPA Cate]

First, find out why it is still wet in that area, and fix that. If it is your fridge draining through there to the bilge, you can make a sump, with a pump, and pump it out over the side.

If you use plywood instead of starboard for the base, you'll want to coat it with epoxy, especially the end grains, so that it will be waterproof for life. Even the bolt holes should be sealed and allowed to dry before you install it.

Ann

[a64pilot]

Find and fix the leak, and I would go back with Starboard myself, or there are less expensive brands, Starboard is a brand name.
If money is a real issue you may even look into plastic dock boards, not sure what it’s called, but is simply plastic lumber.

[rbk]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

Find andfix the leak, and I would go back with Starboard myself, or there are less expensive brands, Starboard is a brand name.
If money is a real issue you may even look into plastic dock boards, not sure what it’s called, but is simply plastic lumber.

Watch a lot of that ‘plastic lumber’ a lot of it is a composite of wood particles and glue encapsulated in plastic; like Trex deck boards, all cut ends expose the core. Cellular PVC is a good option, any cellular vinyl from most hardware stores. It can be shaped and is the same composition throughout, stable and fully waterproof.

[drapem1]

I had a similar experience on my Hunter 49, rotten wood base due to small chronic leak at water heater fitting. pulled and replaced the water heater and new fittings, and replaced the floor board with marine plywood (heavily coated and sealed with epoxy paint)

[slug]

Drainage

The bilge can have no voids or compartments that trap and hold water

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by rbk

Watch a lot of that ‘plastic lumber’ a lot of it is a composite of wood particles and glue encapsulated in plastic; like Trex deck boards, all cut ends expose the core. Cellular PVC is a good option, any cellular vinyl from most hardware stores. It can be shaped and is the same composition throughout, stable and fully waterproof.

I didn’t know that but it makes sense.
It’s actually the adhesive that is used for (structured) wood I think it’s called that is the problem, for many years most mobile home floors and even the roof were constructed of particle board, with a water solvable adhesive, let that stuff get damp and the board fell apart and turned into sawdust. People would fall though the floor is how you discovered the sink was leaking.
I had a mobile home when I was much younger, I researched it before I bought as my Father owned a mobile home park that we mostly built, so I knew of most of the pitfalls. It was made in Ga by Horton homes, it was made with “Nova Deck” chip board that was supposedly waterproof, thinking of course that was more marketing lies I got some scraps and put it in a 5 gl bucket full of water, they sat in that bucket with water for months and never did fall apart

[GordMay]

Check your T&P valve.

[Hartnerk]

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

First, find out why it is still wet in that area, and fix that. If it is your fridge draining through there to the bilge, you can make a sump, with a pump, and pump it out over the side.

If you use plywood instead of starboard for the base, you'll want to coat it with epoxy, especially the end grains, so that it will be waterproof for life. Even the bolt holes should be sealed and allowed to dry before you install it.

Ann

Thank you for the feed back I have tried to trace where the water is coming from and it seems that is could be the fridge although it is hard to tell 100%

I guess the questions would be is there a good way to trace where the water is coming from ... and a Secound observation is that the water seems to be much high then the level of the water in the bilge would there be a reasons it’s not flowing down that way ?

Thanks again for any help

[JPA Cate]

Hi, Hartnerk,

There are many reasons it might not drain to the bilge, and I'm not familiar with the layout of your boat. Just guessing here, but there is often a little hose that is supposed to drain to the bilge. If it has become disconnected, or the little holes (called limber holes) the water is supposed to gravity feed away become clogged, that could trap the fridge water. Also, drapem1's post relative to his Hunter water heater fittings leak could apply, but hard to verify now yours is out.

One thing to do is place toilet tissue where you think the water path might be. It will soon become damp if it is along the water track.

Another method some people use is to sprinkle talcum powder, and then look for tracks in the powder.

Sometimes water tracks will be left on fiberglass if there was iron or steel involved, from rust. Where water goes across unfinished wood, it will discolor the wood, so you can see evidence of old leaks that way, sometimes.

It would be good if you can figure out the real source, because if you get it wrong, the still-leaking water will go somewhere to make life difficult for you. You want it to exit the area under the water heater and go to the bilge (where it is relatively easy to pump out). The exact fix will depend on what is leaking and where.

Make sure it isn't something simple, like sink faucets. If you have pressure water, it may leak only when the pump is on, then slowly drain to the lowest spot it can get to.

If it is the fridge, you may have to borrow a camera on a cable to get a look at what's going on. Another aid is using a mirror to look where you can't see directly. There are mirrors on a stick that auto mechanics use.

Good luck with it. There will be more groveling before this is done, but you can win!

Ann

Goo