Galley Leaks – what CLC says

[teardropkevin]

My nuts and bolts and roll of fiberglass and other things arrived a few days ago and I’ll be receiving my wood tomorrow. Getting closer and closer to beginning my build. One of my concerns has been that several folks have experienced galley leaks. Obviously I would like to avoid this problem all together so I wrote to CLC and Dillon responded. He gave me the thumbs up to copy and paste his response along with a picture. I’m wondering if the people that have experienced leaks, if you installed the gasket the way he suggests or did you do something different?

Hi Kevin, The most common problem with galley leaks is with an incorrect placement of the foam gasket tape around the perimeter of the hatch – perhaps because its location is a bit counter intuitive.  Rather than lining up perfectly with the rubber bulb seal on the galley gutter, the gasket tape should be positioned as far forward and outboard as possible along the underside of the galley hatch.  This will create a “drip catch” so running water separates from the seal and drops into the gutter.  Positioned too far back and inboard, the water will seep between the two gaskets and drip, slowly, into the galley.  An easy fix!

 

[teardropkevin]

<p style=”text-align: left;”>No one has any thoughts on this? After all the posts about leaks I thought for sure someone would chime in…</p>

[ArtisticAdam]

I installed as directed mostly… I stayed about 1/8″ – 3/16″ from the outside edge of the hatch because my gap between hatch and shell was so tight if I placed the foam right at the edge it would catch on the camper shell. My only issue was actually with the galley gutter. When the hatch is closed there is about a 3 inch section where the hatch does not make contact with the gutter gasket. On the maiden voyage i had to double up the foam on that spot… I’m still not sure of a permanent fix for that problem yet.

[caveprod]

I saw this thread a couple of days ago, and have suffered from “wet spots” in the galley… or pools actually. So its a useful topic for many, to bring up.

I’ve been investigating the problem sporadically in the past by removing the cupboards and putting blue tack retaining barriers in squares on the galley floor to find out where the leaks originate, plus adding more silicon glue to the “door” seal just in case. I came to the conclusion that my leaks originated on both sides from the drip catch foam area where it didnt track well with the door seal. Rain would run along the foam then leak in where the foam navigates downwards. I could also see that the foam wasnt being compressed in that area either.

I have added more foam in this area and may ultimately reroute the foam to follow the door seal better. Just need some rain to test the concept… or maybe use a hose if I lose patience.

I currently have some paper on top of towling on top of the cupboard to check for leaks.

 

 

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