410: Lagoon 410 Water in Bow Crash Boxes

[tahoebyrne]

I just purchased a 2003 Lagoon 410 that has been in Annapolis MD for several years. There are watertight compartments at the bows that are sealed with a bulkhead about a foot aft of the very tip of the bow. During the survey we opened the inspection port at top of the bulkhead and were able to see water down in the bottom of this compartment using a camera through the inspection port. How could the water have gotten into this compartment? The hull to deck joint appears intact with no cracks. The bottom of the compartment is above the water line. Both hulls had approximately a quart of water in the "crash boxes". Could it be condensation? The boat was in a cold climate. The surveyor suggested drilling a drain hole in the bulkhead. Instead I pumped out the water and am leaving the inspection ports open to air out the compartments and will check to see if they accumulate more water. Has anyone seen this type of problem?

[Oliver L.]

I pumped out mine after a rather wet crossing from Tahiti to Hawaii. On one side there was about a liter, on the other about 20 liters.

I found previously that the spot where the aluminum cover ends (where the hull meets the bridgedeck on the inside) was leaking to the front cabin. I suspect that the same is true with the front, although I have not figured out yet why this should be the case. A bit of silicone solved it for the cabin, so I'll do the same at the front end.

Oliver

[belizesailor]

Dont recall on the 410, is there any deck hardware thru bolted into these compartments?

[tahoebyrne]

There is no hardware through-bolted in the bow compartments that I have seen. I will inspect next time I am on the boat, it's in storage for a month in Fort Pierce, Florida. The bow pulpit, the cross-beam, and the bowsprit hold-down shrouds are bolted through aft of this crash box.

[deblen]

Suggest you install thru hull drains. You will always have condensation at least.

Cheers/ Len

[BambooSailor]

I used to own '03 Lagoon 410 S2 and had same problem, but only with STB crash compartment. Port compartment was always totally dry, not even slightest signs of condensation. STB, however, I was not able to find a source and fully fix it.

There is no hardware through-bolted in the bow compartments that I have seen.

Two crossbeam bolts on my boat were installed inside of that compartment, very close to the bulkhead, (other two are on the other side of the bulkhead), invisible from the outside therefore they could no be inspected visually, only by touch, so I still suspect that these were the culprit (I did not get to re-bedding them before selling). My boat also had an aluminum rail (gunwale) over hull-deck join, that was the other suspicious element. Remember that water sometimes travel uphill, so the leak could be several feet away and water would still be wicking all the way to the bow compartment. My boat also had an spinnaker eye located over the bow compartment, but that was easy to re-bed and fix.
This is what I would do: apply some bubble-forming detergent around various parts of bow area (or entire area) and then create positive air pressure in the otherwise fully enclosed bow compartment (you can use leaf blower, compressed air, etc.) and observe whether you see bubbles forming somewhere. Bubbles would hopefully reveal the place where water can enter. It should be easier after that. Using this and other techniques, I was able to make my boat totally dry, not even a drop of water in the bilges and other compartments (except that STB bow crash box ).

[Factor]

There are literally hundreds of holes in a boat, and then as you point out, there is condensation. It doesn't sound like there is a massive issue, whatever is occurring is minor, so I would suggest ensuring there are no through hulls (many, but not all boats cross beams bolt into this compartment) and slap sika all over those that you find if any.

Originally Posted by deblen

Attachment 116542

Suggest you install thru hull drains. You will always have condensation at least.

Cheers/ Len

I would respectfully suggest you DO NOT do this.