Eventually, if the weather cooperates I will actually have some sailing content up on the site, but for now here are maintenance posts.

Since we owned Santosha, there have been these nagging little hatch leaks that have been on my to-do list and this spring with the ridiculous weather we have endured it was time to get them fixed. I was down below a few weeks back during a steady rain and they were leaking pretty badly not just from the normal spot.

I realize that I will have to lift them out and do a real job of re-bedding them and repairing the deck (I’m sure that it is at least a little soggy in there). For now I am trying to get them dry so that I can get out and actually enjoy some sailing.

I started by cleaning the joints with bleach solution, rising with fresh water, and getting the hatches good and dry in the sun. Next I sprayed all the joints with mineral spirits to remove any remaining moisture.

The first stage of the process after the cleaning is to break out the “Creeping Crack Cure”. My Dad sent me some of this a year or so ago and I have to say this stuff rocks!

Its very thin so don’t squeeze the bottle. It works by capillary action and seeps down into small cracks to seal them up.

After that I set to the hatches with the tape to keep the caulk looking neat.

A week later I rode back down for some more maintenance. During  the afternoon a heavy thunder storm rolled though and it was all dry. So now I need to hit the mildew on the sails , and go for a sail!