Water intrusion from somewhere

[Brszabries]

I have a Capri 18. I noticed a bit of water inside under the rear cockpit, mainly in heavy rain and not much. This water did not leak below the hull there is a hatch cover close but it is sealed. This leak seams to be coming in from the cockpit near the transom but gelcoat on top side looks in really good shape.This boat was filled with foam previously. I removed foam from front two hatches and left the rear as I took her for a shake down. She sailed fine sat a bit low int the rear figured it was foam weight dry bilge looked fine. Curious I made a small hole low as possible on the transom and have water trickling out. The problem is there is no apparent leak could the foam be storing the water I see? If anyone has ever delt with this foam I would love to hear your thoughts.

[tkeithlu]

Welcome to the forum, Brszabries.

Yes, it could. Is the foam accessible from under the rear of the cockpit? Also, are there any cleats or blocks attached to the transom or near it that could be letting water in from the top? Has the boat ever been flooded?

From your shakedown it appears that you've got a noticeable amount of water back there. You have two steps ahead of you. First, get it out and second stop it from getting back in there. Hopefully, holes drilled at the bottom will drain it, and you don't have a sponge. Was the foam that you removed closed cell? As in styrofoam? Let's hope so. If waiting for it to drain gets tedious, drill a hole at the top, press in the nozzle on your air gun, and give the water a quick kick in the butt. Then, it's coming in somewhere. The hatch is sealed, but is the rim of the hatch sealed? How about the bedding on those cleats?

Oh, and I'm curious. If the boat was flooded at some time, you would likely see some dirty oil rings on the inside. You might check.

One option to consider is leaving water a way out permanently.

Good luck with it.

[Brszabries]

I've check all of my deck hardware which is all accessible. The foam looks like it was poured has some bulging. I will be removing it. Won't be fun but I know it's pointless to have. The transom has quit dripping from the only two holes. It has only been open for a few hours.I have heat going inside. This boat probably sat outside for some years and did have some deck hardware leaking when I bought her. So I know top side is leak free, now.