I have a D17 and while its a great boat generally I have problems with water leaking into the bilge. I think the leak may be around fittings that go thru the inner deck moulding. The main suspects are wooden runners behind the seat moulding in the aft locker and the keel case.
Does anyone have similar experiences?
Also, if anyone still wants photographs or a copy of the original brochure I would be happy to oblige.
Jim
Water leaks
hi jim i went to my boat this weekend and i think i have the same probs as you. when we got to the boat witch is on the meni strait, the boat was almost tipping over it was full it tuck 2hrs to empty out.the so called bilge pump thats bilt in th boat is a waste of time it never works or never has. do you know what the max hp you can put on the D17
regards loz.
regards loz.
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jimcallaghan
- Posts: 7
- Joined: Wed Mar 15, 2006 2:43 pm
Hi Loz,
I think they originally suggested a 6hp Johnson. But modern engines seem to be a lot more powerful for the rated size. I have a 5hp 2 stroke which easily pushes her to hull speed with plenty of power in reserve. I think any modern 4hp would be fine.
I traced some of the leaks down to the wooden runners, but it still fills up with water quite quickly when it rains.
So she now has a small electric bilge pump with a float switch, connected to a small battery (7am hour) and solar cell. The pump is in the bilge by the centreplate box. I used one of the 1.8watt cells from maplin etc intended for trickle charging car batteries. By my calculations this should keep the battery in full charge even if it rains for weeks on end. In practice this seems to work fine so long as the float switch works (I suggest that you avoid rule switches, I have had two leak and fail inside a year).
And for belt and braces I keep the cockpit tent up most of the time. This has the bonus of preventing the gulls using the cockpit as a dining table.
By the way, my boat has a very effective manual bilge pump, could it be that yours needs servicing? The membranes tend to go every couple of years.
Jim
I think they originally suggested a 6hp Johnson. But modern engines seem to be a lot more powerful for the rated size. I have a 5hp 2 stroke which easily pushes her to hull speed with plenty of power in reserve. I think any modern 4hp would be fine.
I traced some of the leaks down to the wooden runners, but it still fills up with water quite quickly when it rains.
So she now has a small electric bilge pump with a float switch, connected to a small battery (7am hour) and solar cell. The pump is in the bilge by the centreplate box. I used one of the 1.8watt cells from maplin etc intended for trickle charging car batteries. By my calculations this should keep the battery in full charge even if it rains for weeks on end. In practice this seems to work fine so long as the float switch works (I suggest that you avoid rule switches, I have had two leak and fail inside a year).
And for belt and braces I keep the cockpit tent up most of the time. This has the bonus of preventing the gulls using the cockpit as a dining table.
By the way, my boat has a very effective manual bilge pump, could it be that yours needs servicing? The membranes tend to go every couple of years.
Jim