Sunday 17 May 2009

LEAKING BOAT - AGAIN!

Captains Log Canal Date 17th May 2009 Travels 0 miles 0 lock Current Location Same as before SP41352 - 83242 Near the Village of Shilton N-W of Coventry
We have had a small leak on the boat for a few months now. Only during heavy rain. I assumed that is must be something that I have done when fitting the Satellite dish or changing the large brass mushroom vent for a small low line chrome one. I have had the vent off several times and put so much bodge-it sealant on it that it could not leak, ever!I then turned my attention to the sat dish. When I fitted this I was meticulous in the extreme. I did not want to have to take it off. I cleaned the roof with the correct solvent before applying the sealant/adhesive, I let it set for the prescribed time before drilling the roof. I tapped a thread into the roof and used the thread sealant provided. I don't believe that this could leak!
I had a very close inspection of the mounting and could not see a hole at all - I even looked at it with a 10x magnifying glass, still nothing.
Well That was the best part of two days spent and no progress. It still leaks during rain. Most annoying.
Then it came. An electric light-bulb over head job! It just may be possible as unliky as it may be that it was not my workmanship at all. It could be a weld fault or a window seal. But how can you check a local area. At home you would just play a hose pipe over the area but a hose pipe full of water in the middle of nowhere is just a bit difficult to find. Then I thought of a small pump that fits to an electric drill that I have stowes away somewhere. This worked fine.In a few minutes it proved that the leak was from the window. A tiny bit of sealant had broken away, so small that you would not believe that it could let in so much water. A quick finger full of sealant has now sorted the job and with any luck we will have a dry boat, well on the inside anyway! Our present mooring should be lovely, we are on an aqueduct with elevated views over miles of open countryside. unfortunately, on the other side of the canal is the west coast main line! It can be just a tad noisy sometimes. The other slight issue is that the wind and rain had been coming over this open countryside and the first thing it can hit is us. And boy did it hit us. We are moving towards Rugby today. We shall stop in some open countryside just before the town starts and where the railway is a little futher away from us and move into the town centre tomorrow to get some shopping.
I think that it was a bit miserably of them to build railways next to canals. I think that all the railway should be re routed. Keep them along side motorways so all the noise is in one spot. The canals were here first!!!

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