I'v just taken the sprayhood off to save it from getting savaged by the winter weather but now everytime it rains and I open / shut the main hatch a deluge of water cascades into the main cabin . It seems to be scooped up fron the hatch garage [:(] It seems as if without the hood on rain runs down the hatch track into the garage when the hatch is shut . As there are NO drainage holes ,when the hatch is closed the back of the hatch pulls the trapped water aft and "Splash" about 2 pints floods the cabin . A simple drain hole in the garage would over come this but as its double skinned it would be a Bstd of a job . Anyone else had this problem ?? Doesn't seem to manifest itself when the hood is on .[?]

Good fun these Seals never a dull moment ---------------- but I seem to be strangely falling in love with the bloody thing [;)]

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Terry
I had the same problem one year. When wintering ashore I ensure that I rest the boat with at least a 2 inch block of wood under the forward end of the stub keel making the bow higher with a fairly pronounced slope down to the stern. This helps ensure that puddles don't collect on deck and seep through the fittings and joint and also helps the drainage out of the cockpit also.
Whilst sailing I found that water/spray coming over the deck made its way into the hatch garage and trickled down the hatch tracks onto the cockpit seats.
I put masking tape round all the joints in the hatch garage and put sikaflex in all of the grooves (not too deeply). This can always be cut away with a Stanley knife if you need to remove the covers.
The 20mm drain holes either side of the hatch garage were not much good.

Mike Edwards
Seal 28 "Aztec"

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I have the same problem. I also found that water leaks through from the hatch garage into the space between the cabin top mouldings. It emerges into the little locker over the galley sink and also seeps out round the windows in the saloon. I have tried running a bead of sealant around the hatch garage top, but, of course, this doesn't help when the spray hood is down! I guess what's needed is rebedding of the hatch runners to stop water leaking into the accommodation and opening up the drains so that water doesn't collect in the hatch garage. On my boat, the hatch runners obstruct the drains, so any crud results in a shower bath as you describe. I am putting new piston rings into my Bukh engine at the moment and new windows after that, so hatch has to wait!

Cheers! Neil

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I'v had a good look around the hatch garage and can find no sign of drains except running back into the cockpit via the slides . should there be drains on the fwd end of the hatch ?? . I'v had the garage cover off and it looks completely sealed in the "well"[:(]

Cheers

terry

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Andiamo (Seal 28 Mk1) has drains on both sides of the hatch garage at the forward end, but they are mostly obstructed by the hatch slides inside. Is your Seal a Mk 2?

Neil

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"Is your Seal a Mk 2?" ----Dunno it number 51 or 52 (i think). Does that make it a mk1 or 2 ??

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Early 28's had a drop blade in the rudder. Later ones had deeper draft, a lighter drop keel and a cove line (and other unknown changes). I don't know when the changes happened. It looks like we've found another difference, though.


Cheers! Neil

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Looks as if I'v a MK1 Neil . Certainly got the awful drop blade rudder[:(] shallow draft and no cove line . Been scouting around up front whilst "enlarging " the fwd cabin and had a glance at the stem head / forestay anchorage from underneath. Looks a flimsy affair just bolted through a breasthook shape piece of ply > Is there a history of this arrangement failing ?? There seems to be plenty enough "sealant" around the fitting on the outside . Why do I love this boat so much ????????????????? I think the main reason is my wife loves it and wants to "do" the French canals in 2008 [:)][:)]

Cheers All

Terry

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The plywood is a pad to distribute the loads of the stemhead fitting bolts. There is a moulded-in GRP breasthook which carries the loads of stemhead fitting and distributes them into the hull. The deck moulding is sealed to the bresthook behind the fitting and the extreme forward ends of the deck moulding, where they fit around the stemhead fitting are only fairing pieces. This arrangement does confuse surveyors! Water tends to leak in around the bolts, but they can be re-bedded if you have six foot long arms or your middle name is Houdini.

Cheers! Neil

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