Stumped with a wet cabin

[lgusto]

Hi all, greetings from the frozen North.

Since its the off season I've been thinking about all the things I will be doing on the boat in a couple of months. One of the things that's been bugging me since I put the boat away in November is some leaking that's been happening in the cabin.

All last season I just thought it was a window but when I pulled the cabin cushions I found damp and mold way up the inside of the starboard cabin wall, up past the bottom side of the walk around. The gulfstream has some cloth padding up there that extends down to the fold out bunk bed and that cloth was wet.

I plan to soak the boat and track any water inside with some newspaper spread around but that won't be for a few more months. So, any ideas? Could the stanchions be leaking? That's all I can figure in terms of water being found that high. There are no cracks or obvious problems up on deck.

Thanks for any ideas.

Larry

 

[catch22]

From your description, the stantions for the bow rail would be my guess. I've never experienced it myself, but I have heard from others who did.

if I'm not mistaken I think they're thru bolted, which is obviously going to make it difficult. A two man job, for sure.

Hopefully, after you spray it down, it will turn out to be only be 1 or 2. Might want to snug the others up while your at it though.

I have had leaky windows, the sides as well as the front.

 

[magicalbill]

A thorough spray/soaking is the best way to start.
My Gulfstream's cabin leaked like a seive.
1.)Port and Starboard windows.
2.)Thru the instrument panel into the access panels and gravity drained it onto my forward cushions.

Sorry for your problems..Catch may be right..
Listen, Gulfstreams seem to leak..Spray the WHOLE cabin area and have someone down below with eyes like a hawk looking..It may be leaking in several places.

For the money Grady asks for these rigs this should be addressed.

 

[Jas]

Those leaks suck for sure. I also had to fix the bow hatch on mine that leaked. As a methodology, you might want to spread out some baby power where you suspect leaks. After hosing it down, if you see water marks, that should give you a good indication of where the water originated. Good luck.

 

[Legend]

I had similar problems wtih my Gulfstream. I believe you should be covered by the 5 year hull warranty. The dealer had to remove the cabin ceiling liner to fing the leak and it was the hardtop supports. I also had a vey minor leak in my 2004 Sailfish and the dealer told me he would take care of it under the 5 year hull warranty during the winter.

 

[plymouthgrady]

check the seal on the running light. Mine went last year. Had to replace the light. Lens may also be cracked.
My 1st bet would be the bedding or seal in the stanchon.

 

[Gmanoffshore]

Pull the Rub Rail out enough to see the screws and check them. I had the same problem on my Islander and found some of the screws backed out just a turn or 2 and it was letting in rain/wash water. It was in the area of the front cleat and I believe it was caused by the boat being tied up at the dock and the friction of the rub rail on the dock backed the screws out slightly.

It drove me crazy till I found it (I tore the cabin apart) and ended up only having to tighten a few screws.

 

[wilson]

my windows and hatch cover leaked like they weren't there. 100% silicone calk and painters tape. dug out the old caulk and taped off the widow frames and around the the hatch gap. lost use of the hatch but it looks as good as it seals!!!

 

[ocnslr]

We had an annoying leak on the port side forward. The cabin liner just aft of the anchor locker would get wet, and we worked a long time to find the problem.

There were three or four holes that had been drilled for screws, for the hull/deck joint or the rubrail, but no screws were present. Note that there were not any gaps where screw spacing was not consistent - just some extra, unused, holes.

Easy to fix once it was found.

Brian

 

[magicalbill]

Kris,Eddie,Jeff Brown...EVERYONE at Grady..

Are you reading this??

You all go to owners forums and talk one-on-one with customers asking for input to improve the product.
PLEASE start sealing these trouble spots so they don't leak!!
Some of these boats are over 100k(Mine)..This is unacceptable..they should be sealed professionally at the plant and last for years and years.

These are not Bayliners..we pay the price..put in the time to stop the leaks...

Thank You;I still love the line,

Bill...

 

[BobP]

More problems with Gradys than not, have been attributed to the (lack of )proper caulking techniques, and nearly impossible to quality inspect afterwards.

So much damage can occur from so few bucks of caulk.

 

[wilson]

my other boat is a 85' bayliner trophy i/o. it's hatch and windows are still dry and the transom is still good!! figures lie, liars figure..go figure :?

 

[Motivator]

After three years, replacing the hatch a couple of times and the cushions a few times we finally figured out that the water in the cabin was coming from the ceiling mounted rod holders. No, they were not caulked according to the dealer.
MB, I am with you on this one...a boat costing six figures should not require the owner/dealer to suffer through such aggrevation.
On another thread Megabytes threw out the idea of the factory reconditioning older models for owners during this slowdown in production. I wonder if they would consider making sure any and all holes in the hull, deck and cabin are caulked if we got our boats to the factory? I am game if they are!

 

[magicalbill]

my other boat is a 85' bayliner trophy i/o. it's hatch and windows are still dry and the transom is still good!! figures lie, liars figure..go figure :?

I repeat..

Grady-White, are you reading this?

 

[mronzo]

My 2000 265 is tight as a drum but sometimes water will enter via the anchor hatch but it always drains to the bilge and it's never been anything significant.

 

[megabytes]

my other boat is a 85' bayliner trophy i/o. it's hatch and windows are still dry and the transom is still good!! figures lie, liars figure..go figure :?

I repeat..

Grady-White, are you reading this?

Yes, they are. They will not post to avoid influencing the conversations and opinions. I have it from GW executives that they monitor this board (and some others) closely, take notes on the feedback, and appreciate the loyal GW owners.

 

[lgusto]

UPDATE:

To all who have posted suggestions, thank you very much.

I have sent most of the comments to my sales rep, Ron Dearborn at Port Harbor Marine in Portland Maine. Ron is the best advocate I've ever had on any purchase and is working dilligently to help GW "see things my way". We're waiting to see GW's response.

I'll let everyone know how this turns out.

Thanks,

Larry

 

[Tom H]

Wow looks like every ones in the same boat

I bought a Marlin last June. The owner had neglected the boat prior to the sale but maybe not all his fault as he had been paying for professional up keep also. Love the boat and initially over around 6 weeks got everything up to speed and also learnt alot about the boat from doing so which I enjoyed. I previously owned a 39 Riviera for 9 years and have had alot of experience messing around with my and friends boats. In my opinion, the problem here and with alot of other boats is the lazy little -----er who bolts the fittings on at the factories uses as little sealant as possible (chaulking you call it) so he doesn't have to wipe off the excess if it squeezes out. Believe me there are plenty of million dollar boats out there exactly the same.
With the hatch- if you undo the philips screw and remove the handle, when you look inside the handle you'll see a stack of white washers, remove one or two from each side and reassemble. This will put more pressure on the seal and should stop the leaks there.
The side windows - unscrew the philips head screw on the out side and remove the handle, put a washer in behind the lever between it and the glass (one of the skinny ones from the hatch worked for me) which then puts more pressure on the glass to seal joint when chosed. This took mine from a terrible leak back to an acceptable odd drip.
The advise of others here does confirm my thoughts on other not resolved leaks I have, I recon I'll have to remove every top side screw and bolt, pump full of sikaflex and replace.
The zip on the clears at the front is a real beauty, It's been raining and blowing that hard (50-60 knots)at times in the harbor this week, at one time I collected a gallon of water in a bucket on my dash in an hour. Does painting a canvas sealant on the cloth on the lower zip stop this, fishing in heavy seas aint much better? I did get chuckle up when I read in the owners hand book that the clears are not garanteed not to leak. Now there's an honest man.
Please d :lol: on't take any of my comments the wrong way though , cause I do really enjoy the boat and am very impressed by it, it's just the leaks, and like the rest of you we'll get them eventually. Just like house roof leaks they only bother you in the wet season.

 

[magicalbill]

To Clarify..

I wouldn't say a word if my Gulfstream was 8-10 years old..

However, to leak like mine has after a year and a half.......

Tom H. brings up an interesting point..
Maybe the front office folks need to walk the aisles of the factory section and keep an eye on the assembly workers..
Maybe mine leaks cause some guy half-@#$# sealed my windows 'cause he was pissed off at his girlfriend.

I'm mad about these leaks but I feel like I need to say the Gulfstream is the neatest boat..I'm really happy with it overall...

 

[lgusto]

Well, here's GW's response via my dealer. I think I'd have been happier if they'd just said "&%& off".

"Hi Larrry,
I spoke with Grady concerning your leak and forwarded him the info that you had sent to me. They said that it would not be covered under the five year hull warranty because it was not structural, but would fall under the one year warranty because it was a leak. I did ask if there was anything that they could do and they are willing to consider covering a portion of the repair but it has to be diagnosed first to see what the cause is. They seem to think that it may be coming from the stantion as well. Please let me know how you would like to move forward with this issue. I know you do not keep the boat here at our marina so you may choose to have it serviced somewhere closer to you."

Like just about everyone here I love my boat and take the good with the bad like all the rest of things in life. Oops, except I can't say that about a luxury car or two I've had. Those guys know how to stand behind their products and I've never even considered another manufacturer. I remember I had an squeak after a couple of years that took the dealer many attempts to find and fix. It turned out that when the outside temperature was just right it caused something to expand and rattle. They always accepted my complaints without the least bit of push back and certainly never played lawyer ball with me.

Oh well, looks like I'll be pulling things apart in a month or so. And of course trying to buy the fabric and padding that's been ruined by the leaks.