R22 Discussion Group

This morning a friend called and said my boat was sinking...When I got to

Reuben,I  may just be echoing what others have said.
The lazarette is not sealed off from the cabin bilge by a bulkhead on any boat I have heard about. I think Stan commented once about this last year or so when I asked a question about it. What you may see when you look forward in the laz, under the cockpit, is the back of the poured in expanded flotation foam. It may or may not have been glassed or tabbed down to the hull, but water will migrate down through the foam into the cabin. The older and dryer the foam gets it seems, the faster water will get to the bilge.
Some boats have some sort of pipe cut in half lengthwise and laid against the hull under the foam, like hollow stringers, forming two tunnels so water runs directly from the laz to the bilge.

But clogged seat drains, and rain water flowing over the lip into the laz is the most likely cause of such a large quantity of water in a short time, unless you find a leak at the CB cap or at the cockpit aft drain thru-hull fitting.
Some owners have also noted the (garden) hose that connects the centerboard cap to the cockpit gutter, through which the CB pennant runs is not always connected at the top/gutter fitting. This would be a very slow leak. These are the first places I would look.
And if the seat drains are still the small ½" ID ones, I'd suggest enlarging those fittings to 1" ID.
I also made screens from white plastic house gutter guards that fit into the drain pockets. The enlarged drains along with the screens have eliminated water in the bilge even when stored uncovered under an oak tree.

Todd T

The Rhodes 22 Discussion Group

Todd Tavares

Water in the Cabin