getting access to enclosed compartment in cabin 2006 sundancer 240

Will do!

Do your initial hole small - and then you can use the drill bit (by hand) or a screwdriver to "feel" how deep the cavity is. Don't be afraid to come back and drill a large hole - it's just a matter of fixing a bigger hole... no big deal. But definitely exhaust all of the other possibilities, first.
 
the cavity below the head is bone dry. with water tank empty and fuel tank 15 % the boat is only slightly tilted back ( measured by bubble level ) with two people in the engine room some few water droplets come back from below the fuel tank.

i,m on the boat now and about to pull the trigger and drill a small hole in the false floor of the cabin to get access subfloor and vacuum the water out. but i hate the feeling drilling holes below waterline... even when common sense say it cannot be the real vee outer hull...
 
i drilled a small hole in the bottom of the cabin , barely visible , just enough to put a welding wire thru. its about 5 inches between the cabin floor and the real bottom. it feels like its foamed there , the wire stinks and its a little moisty there but not wet until the floor. so i,m not really smarter now...
 
That's good that the area under the shower is dry, but that doesn't eliminate that variable. You need run water in the head - just like you would be if you were taking a shower - for a while and observe under the shower while doing so. Only after verifying that there are no leaks in the head floor caulking and/or drain can we eliminate that.

IF (again, 'if") the water from the bilge made it's way forward, it didn't do so immediately. It most likely took some time. So you would need to repeat that procedure - it could take hours, even days, for water to filter back through a small pinhole and into the bilge again. And then there's the trim tab scenario which is totally different.
 
after filling up the watartank ( so tilting boat again more forward) and sitting at the pier after some time water started to kreep into the shower sump area. with battery master off - so no water use .

i again emptied the tank and took the boat for a ride , intentionally forcing her with trim tabs up and drive up into a very a... heavy and bow up condition on semi displacement ride. a good flow of water rushed under the fuel tank back into the aft bilge.

after mooring again i sucked it out.

i have no idea what water wets the carpet , i happens with shower , refrigator etc off - like said battery master off .

me and my girlfriend want to make holidays next week on our sundancer and just now i really start to have an opinion about sea rays superior quality and finish...
 
regarding trim tabs - i would exclude them. the 2006 240 has port and stb enclosed boxes ( where the water heater etc sits on ) - the tab mounts are above this boxes and touching the bolts after todays ride appear no wetness there.
 
FYI - not the upper hydraulic mount... the lower ones which are only an inch or so off the stern chine (hull bottom). In other words, the screws that hold the actual plate to the hull... letting water into those enclosed boxes that "could" migrate forward and then down to the center in the cabin.

Any boat, regardless of workmanship, can have some issues - just like cars. While an '06 boat probably looks and feels like new, keep in mind that it is just about 11 years old. You likely wouldn't put down a car if it had some issues after 11 years. One of my cars is an '08 GL320 - I love the car, but it's had a couple issues. But I still think it's one of the best out there in terms of ride and fit/finish.

BUT, that's all beside the point. It doesn't fix your problem. Don't let this issue stop you from enjoying your trip - as you found out the area under the floor isn't that big. Besides, you've been using the boat with this issue for some time, right? Trying to figure it out is certainly good - but don't let it stop you from boating.

Can you 100% rule out the fresh water tank - that it's not leaking? I think you can see it under the v-berth? Any change in the level?

I would get the boat completely and absolutely bone dry - even weighting down the back of the boat for at least a couple of hours. Suck out any water in the engine bilge. Then check it again after a couple hours. It needs to be at least a few hours each time to be sure. For ease, I would probably make a bigger hole in the floor or the area under the step sump. NOW, if you're not sure about the water tank, go ahead and fill it back up. If nothing, put some water in the bilge and weigh the bow down.
 
are the lower screws bolted thru hull ???

my watertank was leaking a little last year , i fixed it - if it leaks then in a minimal way , no change in waterlevel even after weeks.

i would have to drill a hole in the box to check for water correct ? ( regarding lower screws trim tabs )
 
@aerobat77, can you post also some pics?
 
The lower screws are not through-bolted, they are screwed into the transom. But, some of the holes may go all the way through so if the sealant was/is due for replacement it "might" let water through. Keep in mind that we're still dealing with a bunch of "if's" and "might's".

Rather than drilling an access hole, another option is to put the boat on the trailer, bow high, and remove the screws. Let it sit for a while and see if anything comes out. It wouldn't be a bad idea to do it simply to put some fresh sealant in there, anyways.

I'd go back to an access hole in the sump floor (that gives you the best view of the area on the cabin side of the main bulkhead) and then weighing the stern down for a long time. If you find water under the sump floor, but it does not drain to the bilge, you don't have to go any further there - there is no leak between the engine bilge and cabin sub-floor. Could still be somewhere else - but at least we're narrowing down the variables.
 
what kind of sealant would you use for the trim tab screws ? sikaflex ? 3m 5200 ?

this in any case calls for hauling the boat out of water , but i could do it.
 
Don't use 5200. That is way too strong of an adhesive. 3M 4200 would be the proper stuff.

I don't use the Sikaflex brand, so I can't recommend which product. But Sikaflex is a solid product and would be fine to use - you just have to figure out which "version" of Sikaflex.

Personally, I like the BoatLife products and this case the Life-Calk would be the correct one. But I'm not sure if you have access to that there.
 
thanks for the hints regarding the sealant !

my plan would be to pull the boat on the trailer , unscrew and remove the lowet trim tab mounts , poke with a welding wire in the screw holes to check if they go thru hull or not , let the boat overnight as much back tilted as possible and see if any water comes out the trim tab screw holes , then put fresh marine sealant inside the holes and reattach the tabs.

how long would you let the sealant dry before launching the boat ?

i,m not sure if i do this before holiday or not , normally the boat sits in fresh water but we go to the sea for holidays.

on the sea i can taste the water around the showerpump and so at least know for sure if we are talking thru hull water ( salty) or rain/watertank/head or whatever water ( not salty )
 
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I don't really use the 3M or Sikaflex stuff enough to say one way or the other about them, but with the LifeCalk you can relaunch the same day. Just to be safe, I wouldn't go zipping around and a 100 mph right away, but you can absolutely launch immediately. In fact, the stuff is actually designed to cure faster in the presence of water... as long as that "water" isn't a hose on full blast!

Quick story about this stuff... About 6 or 7 years ago I was doing some resealing on the flashing of a chimney on the outside of my house. There was a storm coming, but I used some LifeCalk that I had leftover. Problem is, I didn't have enough to finish the job. So I used some of that "30-year" indoor/outdoor sealant (supposedly the good stuff) that you can buy at Home Depot. Well, it rained hard within about 45 minutes. The next day I went back up to check on everything. The Boatlife stuff was absolutely perfect - the 30-year stuff was completely gone... not even a trace was left.
 
a small update gents : started our holiday with travelling with the boat on the water but did not made it that far :)

underway the carpet stayed dry BUT i found after about 6 hours of displacement trolling via channels the fwd compartment where the watertank sits is full of water and started to overflow into the berth lockers .

i have a pump with me and started to suck the water out heading for the next harbour.

removed there the cushions to check the watertank and its not leaking. put the trailer hook with several people sitting on the bow underwater and it firmly leaks water into the boat.

yesterday evening i pulled the hook and tried to reseal it with some unknown sealant another boated had on board but no luck.

being on holiday in a foreign harbour without a trailer i have no other choice than to phone a mechanic who will come by car to laminate and reseal the trailer hook - if course charging me hard for this...

the hook sits on a 2006 240 very low and is continiously flushed by the bow wave when underway.

we are nailed down to a harbour and wait for the mechanic...

at least i could take a swim in the harbour pulling this hook from the bow ;-)
 
Maybe this is good thing? Granted, I'm using the word "good" loosely! :smt001 Do you think this might have been your issue all along? At other times, if it came in slowly, you likely wouldn't notice a "build up" of water in those areas you mentioned. Instead, it might just make it's way down below the floor.

Unless there's physical damage, nothing should have to be laminated or re-glassed. Just sealed. FYI, that LifeCalk stuff I mentioned can be applied underwater. Which means it can absolutely be done there in the water - especially since the hook is even above the waterline. You shouldn't need a mechanic for this, just get some better sealant.

Good luck - hope you get it fixed quickly!
 
yes , the mechanic looked at it and said no laminating needed since no damage. he resealed with some really strong marine sealant ( würth ) the hook and today we ran 10 hours with no issues , no wet carpet and no water anywhere.

lets see...
 
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