• Welcome to this website/forum for people interested in the Morgan 38 Sailboat. Many of our members are 'owners' of Morgan 38s, but you don't need to be an owner to Register/Join.

Cockpit drains

S

scupper

Vern Gliot
I am getting water into the bilge during rain. I found it was coming in around the outer area of the cockpit drains, between the fitting and the sole. It comes out under the sole in a seam where the fiberglass is surrounding the vertical pipe to the torpedo tube. The glass doesn't adhere to the PVC pipe so it leaks into the bilge there. Mt question is what is the best solution for filling the gap around the drain . Thanks
 
Mine does the exact same thing. I can see water stains, brown from leaves collected around the drains, run down the outside of the drain tubes, when looking in the helm locker. I have considered using silicone sealant smeared around those joints, but I have not had time to really look into it. Pretty sure that is the source for 90% of the bilge water.
 
I carved out old and add more new 3M5200 on the top just below strainers in the cockpit. This works fine for two years so fare.
 
None of the standard caulks adhere well to PVC. Morgan never should have used it. You might also check the places where the torpedo tube exits the hull. Mine started to leak there. I repaired it , from the outside with 5200 and it worked for a while. I finally had the PVC taken out of the boat and glassed in a strong GRP tube. It was very hard for the yard staff to get into the area to do the glass work, so it was not cheap. I did not replace the PVC manifold, since it seems to holding up and is not attached to any fiberglass.
 
scupper said:
I am getting water into the bilge during rain. I found it was coming in around the outer area of the cockpit drains, between the fitting and the sole. It comes out under the sole in a seam where the fiberglass is surrounding the vertical pipe to the torpedo tube. The glass doesn't adhere to the PVC pipe so it leaks into the bilge there. Mt question is what is the best solution for filling the gap around the drain . Thanks
Click to expand...
 
My guess is that between the cockpit floor and the lower sides of the hill, there is an amount of flex, lot of loads in that area. So any sealant needs to be really flexible and have room to move. Clear silicone seems like what would work best, and seal both on the upper joint, and underneath as well.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top