Help! boat wet under cover

[wjfhogan]

Water in storage compartments of 22I

I bought a 2002 22I and am keeping it in the water (moored at a marina.) The problem I've seen is that the bilge pump does not get the bilge totally dry. Then the water in the bilge sloshes up into the storage compartments in the bow and under the bow seats, as well as draining back into the compartment under the port console. So the carpet in these compartments is constantly wet. I'm concerned about mold starting to grow - as well as the problem that anything I store in these compartments, like vests - are also wet. Any thoughts or modifications that you know of that can help?

[bfrank]

How do you get so much water in ??? Rain???? Leak???? some thing loose????

[wjfhogan]

water 22I

Thanks for asking - tons of rain - so first step I'm going to do is re-waterproof the cover. I think that will fix a large part of the problem. I also think there's leakage around the cover holes for the tower. I anticipate that there will always be some amount of water washing up into those compartments, given how the bilge is contructed. So that's why I'm concerned.

[wjfhogan]

water 22I

Thanks for asking - tons of rain - so first step I'm going to do is re-waterproof the cover. I think that will fix a large part of the problem. I also think there's leakage around the cover holes for the tower. I anticipate that there will always be some amount of water washing up into those compartments, given how the bilge is contructed. So that's why I'm concerned.

[bfrank]

I guess my main thing would be to eliminate any and all water comming in. The tower makes it hard to stop therain comming in. Is it possible to install a canopy on your dock??

Its really not good to have water sitting in the bottom of the boat, over time it will cause the fiberglass to delaminate and get soft.
Wish I could be of more help!!

[wjfhogan]

water in 22I

Thanks, agree with your thoughts on wanting a bone dry bilge. This weekend I'll pull the boat up on the trailer and drain it. Then I plan to do the waterproofing on the cover and hopefully that will fix most of the problem. Will let you know.

[tobyhaven7]

Hey wjfhogan, Is water puddling on your cover when it rains? If it is, that'd be a likely source of water getting in. Assuming that your cover is Sunbrella fabric, it stretches when it's wet; shrinks up when it's dry/sunny. You may need to re-adjust your cover (especially from gunwale to gunwale) when it gets wet so that water won't puddle leading to leaking. If you're unable to get the cover any tighter, you may be able to add a pole (our local canvas place charges $30 for reinforced hole and pole) to your cover to keep the water draining off the cover. I was told by our canvas place that it'd be unlikely that our 2004 Rankin cover (Sunbrella fabric) would need re-waterproofing at this point...our problem this winter was that when the trailer was parked with nose slightly downhill, it changed the angle from the top of the windshield to the stern just enough to affect the drainage, therefore we got puddling, therefore we got leaking.
You shouldn't get leaking at the tower legs if your cover's fitting properly so you may want to have that checked.
If you really do re-waterproof, be sure to clean the cover well before you re-waterproof.
I assume you've checked that you're not getting water from some other source than through the cover?
By the way, someone else's posting farther back on this thread gives instructions and photos of an ingenious, cheap, simple way to use PVC to help cover drainage.
Good luck, and hopefully your rainy season is over.

[tobyhaven7]

sorry wjfhogan, just re-read your posting and realized that you're pretty sure your problem is water from the hull.