I decided to push my luck and do some water testing to track down some of the leaks. My plan was to throw panfulls of water into the reverse-facing Seabird vent above the galley and also into the starboard cabin vent. The idea was to simulate the huge seas that had been washing the cabin from the starboard quarter. Brenda was not happy with the plan saying that there was already enough water in the cabin. I saw it differently: an opportunity to take advantage of the dampness and disarray to try to make some progress in tracking the leak.
I shoved a couple of potfulls of water into the galley vent and sure enough water started to trickle into the stove. I thought that I had sealed the internal tube of the vent with fiberglass but obviously had not done a good enough job. I tried the same experiment with the cabin vent and it performed very well: no water into the cabin and I could see the water emerging from the drain at the corner of the hatch turtle, as it is supposed to do.
The good news is that the galley leak alone could explain our leak problems on the starboard side of the cabin. Hour after hour of water entering the vent with some force would have resulted in water running along the ceiling to emerge all along the edge of the ceiling and dribbling down the inside of the hull into the storage lockers. There was also water dripping over the starboard bunk, which came from the inboard edge of that ceiling, which is not surprising given that we were on a port heel. In any event we have proven one source of leak and that is progress. My long term plan is to remove the galley vent and seal the hole with fiberglass. These Seabird vents are a water disaster that I complained about in an earlier blog. I can see the wiring where there was once an exhaust fan fitted over the galley but it would have had a short life because of the incoming water.
We expected wind changes throughout the night so we decided to set the alarm for every 90 minutes. During the night I made several sail adjustments and two gybes and we managed to keep the boat moving at about 3 kt in the correct general direction. Fortunately the wind picked up at dawn and we spent the morning sailing SSE at over 5 kt with a fair wind and following sea. Patches of blue sky appeared and we got glimpses of the sun.
At noon we were 115 nm WNW of Cape Mendocino, 450 nm from Cape Flattery and 285 nm from the entrance to SF Bay. The 24 and 48 hour weather faxes indicated gentle NW winds and calm seas.
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