DaySailer.org Forum

Just wanted to say hello. This is a great resource for DaySailor information. I just bought a 1975 DaySailor II. I used to own one years ago. I sail in the beautiful salt water estuaries near Savannah, GA.

I just learned, however, that my transom is saturated with water. The port side of the transom pegs the moisture meter, while the starboard side reads about 14 %. There is no visible evidence in the gelcoat, or in the fairness of the transom.

I would love to hear from other members any suggestions for drying the transom out. I'll be keeping the boat in the water for the season. I'm thinking of cutting out a section and putting in an inspection port which I can keep open on the hot, sunny days we have down here.

Any thoughts?

Thank you,

Roberto

I'm no boat expert , but I am in construction and I'm useing the logic I've learned there to shoot you my best guess. If you still have access to moisture meter ,and it's not to invasive, try and map out the levels of moisture to find out where the levels are the highest. That might help lead you to where the water is coming from. Had the boat been in the water for a long time befor you got it? Or did it have water in the bilge? If there's no odvius signs of where the water might have come in I would lean toward the bilge drain plug assemble, since that passes through the transom below the water line, and might give the core accses to water, or maybe the gudgon bolts (ruder mounts) they also pass through the transom. I don't have any good ideas on how to dry it other than keeping it out of the water for a long time. Might try vaccuum bagging?? I would definatly find where water is coming in and fix it though or things will just get worse. You don't want a simi-easy repair today to turn into a complete transom replacement in a year or two.

Adam, thanks for your suggestions. I, too, thought that the moisture was coming from the through-hull fittings. But, the strange thing is that this area has the least amount of moisture, while the upper port side of the transom pegs the meter.

The boat has never been in the water. It's always been trailer-sailed. I would suspect the hull to deck joint based on where the most moisture is found. But the joint seems tight with no obvious voids.

There was quite a bit of water in the bilge some time after I got the boat home from Florida where I bought her. It had rained hard on the trip back to Georgia. Perhaps that is the source of the moisture in the transom. I have dried out the bilge, and will make sure that the boat stays dry.

I'll just monitor the situation for the time being.

don't ask how or why I was thinking of this today but your boat might have been stored upside down outdoors, and if so rain water may have collected in the center board trunk and leaked into the hull.
that would explain the mosture being at the top of your transom. They might not have sealed the top edge inside of the hull very good at the factory during assembly. Something to think about