We have more leaks from the deck than expected. There are several expected leaks from bolts that have been stressed, but the major culprits are the mooring chocks. These are the holes in the bulwarks that we pass the mooring lines through when tying up to the dock.

The construction is a little sketchy, it's not surprising that they leak into the boat when it rains. The bulwarks are hollow. One side is the deck and other is the hull.

To make the mooring chocks, a hole was cut on each side of the bulwarks after the hull and deck are joined. A small box of scrap plywood and foam was inserted inside to act as a mold. Fiberglass was then added between the holes to seal the gap between the two sides of the bulwarks. Then a stainless steel oval chock was inserted in the hole.

There were several problems. First, the fiberglass work was sloppy and the bond to the hull and deck has failed. The stainless steel chock was fastened using sheet metal screws and most have come loose. Finally, the caulking has failed.

Earlier versions of this boat seem to have a more robust construction. Cast bronze chocks bedded in butyl rubber were held in place with a bronze rod squeezing the inner and outer parts of the chock through the bulwarks. There are six mooring chocks on Veritas and each one will need to be reconstructed. Until the temperatures are good enough for epoxy and glass work, a temporary cover will have to do.

The havoc that deck leaks produce - as if mold, mildew and general discomfort are not enough! This could cause real damage. Hopefully we can open this up enough to dry it out.

This is the bulkhead aft of the anchor locker. The bulkhead is wet from water trapped below the floor of the anchor locker that leaked in through the bobstay fitting. Water from the deck (mostly the mooring chocks) leaked into the layer of foam insulation. Opening the bottom of the insulation will allow it to dry. It never should have been installed below the waterline.The chain locker bulkhead will need to be trimmed at the bottom to remove the rotten wood. It may be possible to extend the spurling tube and move the chain storage aft.

After about a week the chain locker bulkhead was sill wet. Limber holes were needed to drain the closed section of chain locker. Limber holes were also added in this locker behind the bow thruster. Unfortunately, when cutting the limber holes for the chain locker, the PVC pipe which drains the chain locker was damaged.

The bulkhead for the chain locker extends below the floor of the chain locker and closes off a compartment. There were no limber holes or other openings to allow water drain from the compartment. We cut some because the bulkhead was wet. We found that the compartment was filled with water. After several days we began the process of removing the lower portion of the bulkhead to open the compartment.

I suspect that this was not the intended design.

After cleaning away any loose material the openings for mooring chocks were repaired using flexible epoxy and glass fiber. The mixture was applied both inside as a fillet in the corners and to surface outside with a layer of glass cloth. An additional buildup was used in areas where the opening in the bulwarks was cut larger than the SS fitting. Finally, the epoxy filled screw holes were tapped for 1/4-20 machine screws.

The deck leaks begin to feel overwelming. It is unclear how bad the damage is or if it can be solved. The surveyor indicated that the port water tank deck fill plate was leaking in the picture below. The hose is original. However, this was not the source of the leak. It wasn't the midship cleat (with no backing plate) either.

It wasn't clear from the surface how much of the wood was rotten. It was all removed from inside the bookcase. Inside the bulwarks, on the backside of the scupper there was a mass of polyester puddy that had to be ground away. On the outside there was a thick layer of fairing compound. It seems a previous unsuccessful repair. Inside appears to be the original construction and yet another example of the factory work.

The paneling had to be ripped out. The plywood rotted and delaminated. We saved the cielling battens that were glued on top of the plywood (typical of interior grade paneling).

The result is good. To complete the repair new panels of plywood were cut to replace the back of the shelf and chainplate cover.