Temporarily sealing Houdini hatch

[RickS]

Afternoon

I thought I had a condensation issue with my Houdini hatch, but it is now evident that water is getting through somewhere, somehow. I should have noticed the old water damage on the ceiling plywood, but didn't put two and two together. I have looked on the roof and can't see an obvious route for the ingress but isn't that always the way with water.

Anyway, i don't want to be taking the hatch out and dealing with it at this time of year so my plan is to cover the hatch on the outside with plastic sheet and tape round the edges until the weather is better suited to the task.

My question is what tape should I use to stick it down with? I have cheap duct tape but that is frankly rubbish when it gets wet. I am not too bothered if it slightly damages the paint when it is lifted as the roof is going to be painted when the weather is warmer too.

Thanks for your help

[GUMPY]

Decent Gaffa Tape 😉

It won't come off in a hurry 😷

[RickS]

Cheers Loddon. I have cheap gaffa and it's rubbish in the wet.

What brand would you call decent - Gorilla for example?

[GUMPY]

Mine came from work so I don't know.

Couple of points 

If the roof is heavily textured there ain't much that will stick to it.

Any tape will need a dry roof to stick to.

 

It took me about 2hrs to remove and reseal my hatch using Butyl tape but then it was tapped and bolted rather than nuted and bolted in place and I did have new countersunk bolts.

[Quattrodave]

I've found this stuff very good

 

https://www.sealantsandtoolsdirect.co.uk/rhino-ultratape-clear-repair-tape-all-weather-50mm

 

(Other places do sell it, this is the first Google result...  IIRC mine came from tool station...)

 

the aluminum tape is also very good externally....

Edited December 21, 2021 by Quattrodave

[Drayke]

A plant pot tray and a couple of bricks will do the trick.

[RickS]

Thanks again Loddon. Smooth paint around the hatch so hopeful of it sticking but I hear what you are saying about it being dry.

Good to know it's maybe not as lengthy a job as I thought but not 100% if its from the hatch itself or somewhere around it ie a crack in the sealant too small to see - that can't be right but I know water can travel in mysterious ways, its wonder to behold.

Thanks Quattrodave for the links. Aluminium tape sounds promising. I think its between that and Gorilla gaffa.

F Drayke - err, not sure if you are being serious or not. If you are, I'm not convinced that would work but thanks for the input

[Opener]

5 hours ago, Quattrodave said:

I've found this stuff very good

 

https://www.sealantsandtoolsdirect.co.uk/rhino-ultratape-clear-repair-tape-all-weather-50mm

 

(Other places do sell it, this is the first Google result...  IIRC mine came from tool station...)

 

the aluminum tape is also very good externally....

If this is clear and a couple of inches wide, Wickes do a version if you have a nearby branch. I made a roof for my garden shed with double walled acrylic sheet and ran this tape down the ridge. One length on each side then one length to bridge the other two. The walls of the shed are disintegrating but the roof is still watertight.

[Opener]

5 hours ago, Rick Savery said:

Cheers Loddon. I have cheap gaffa and it's rubbish in the wet.

What brand would you call decent - Gorilla for example?

I like the thick, black (expensive) Gorilla tape. It's quite thick so should take up any surface irregularities. Seems to last quite well outside as well.

[RickS]

Thanks Opener.I think, in light of what Loddon was saying about sticking to irregular surfaces, I will go with the black Gorilla tape.

 

[tree monkey]

I remember my Dad using sylglas tape, it was almost soft and it would mould around fairly uneven surfaces

[Drayke]

On 21/12/2021 at 21:03, Rick Savery said:

Thanks again Loddon. Smooth paint around the hatch so hopeful of it sticking but I hear what you are saying about it being dry.

Good to know it's maybe not as lengthy a job as I thought but not 100% if its from the hatch itself or somewhere around it ie a crack in the sealant too small to see - that can't be right but I know water can travel in mysterious ways, its wonder to behold.

Thanks Quattrodave for the links. Aluminium tape sounds promising. I think its between that and Gorilla gaffa.

F Drayke - err, not sure if you are being serious or not. If you are, I'm not convinced that would work but thanks for the input

You asked for a quick fix so yes serious.

The black gaffer tape may mean a bit of a repaint as it is liable to pull off some of your paint work around the hatch when you come to remove it.

I had water getting in around my Houdini Hatch some year ago, turned out to be getting in via the fixing screws, took them all out and put a bit of silicon in the holes then replaced the screws, no more problem.

din

[Chris Lowe]

This stuff will do the job.

 

https://www.premseal.co.uk/product/metal-roofing-cladding-premseal-swrp10/

 

[pete.i]

When my houdini hatch leaked on my fibre glass cruiser I made a box out of wood and siliconed clear acrylic on the top to give me light. I then taped that down with black Gorrilla tape until I could get round to sealing it. I also used black Gorrilla tape around the windows, most of which were leaking and that was still on and water tight when I sold the boat 18 months later.

[GUMPY]

Of course there is always 

Captain Tolley's creeping crack cure.

https://captaintolley.com/

[RickS]

18 hours ago, F DRAYKE said:

You asked for a quick fix so yes serious.

The black gaffer tape may mean a bit of a repaint as it is liable to pull off some of your paint work around the hatch when you come to remove it.

I had water getting in around my Houdini Hatch some year ago, turned out to be getting in via the fixing screws, took them all out and put a bit of silicon in the holes then replaced the screws, no more problem.

din

OK, it's just that I'm not sure how to implement the plant tray and bricks fix - maybe I'm not thinking laterally enough.

Not too worried about slight paint damage when tape comes off as I'm hoping to paint the roof next year. Interesting about the screw holes - I will look at that first before taking the hatch out completely when the weather gets better - which of course makes it harder to track water when it's not raining 🙂

Thanks F Drayke

[Ianws]

9 hours ago, Loddon said:

Of course there is always 

Captain Tolley's creeping crack cure.

https://captaintolley.com/

Sorted leaks around our porthole. Pretty impressed. But they were only tiny gaps, which is what it is meant for.

[BilgePump]

Having a leaking Houdini hatch in my own GRP boat at the moment, the water either comes from the seal in the glass in the frame or the sealant and screw/rivet/bolt holes going through the cabin top. Sometime difficult to identify which is the cause. Polythene and good gaffa tape, the box and acrylic sheet or the tray and bricks will all cover the whole unit on the roof and stop the worst of the water getting in. Sealant round the edges may give a temporary fix but water always finds a way!

[RickS]

On 23/12/2021 at 23:18, F DRAYKE said:

You asked for a quick fix so yes serious.

The black gaffer tape may mean a bit of a repaint as it is liable to pull off some of your paint work around the hatch when you come to remove it.

I had water getting in around my Houdini Hatch some year ago, turned out to be getting in via the fixing screws, took them all out and put a bit of silicon in the holes then replaced the screws, no more problem.

din

Apologies F Drayke. Just thinking about what you meant and it now seems obvious (I was probably overthinking it) I suppose the clue was 'quick fix' Thanks again

On 24/12/2021 at 10:42, pete.i said:

When my houdini hatch leaked on my fibre glass cruiser I made a box out of wood and siliconed clear acrylic on the top to give me light. I then taped that down with black Gorrilla tape until I could get round to sealing it. I also used black Gorrilla tape around the windows, most of which were leaking and that was still on and water tight when I sold the boat 18 months later.

Nice to know the black Gorilla tape is up to the job as that is what I have now bought. Ta pete.i

On 24/12/2021 at 11:00, Loddon said:

Of course there is always 

Captain Tolley's creeping crack cure.

https://captaintolley.com/

Looks good, thanks Loddon. Problem is I am not sure where to apply it as not sure where the leak originates - yet. 

[RickS]

On 25/12/2021 at 11:42, BilgePump said:

Having a leaking Houdini hatch in my own GRP boat at the moment, the water either comes from the seal in the glass in the frame or the sealant and screw/rivet/bolt holes going through the cabin top. Sometime difficult to identify which is the cause. Polythene and good gaffa tape, the box and acrylic sheet or the tray and bricks will all cover the whole unit on the roof and stop the worst of the water getting in. Sealant round the edges may give a temporary fix but water always finds a way!

That's what I'm afraid of, water finding a way. Didn't think of the glass seal. Something else to investigate when the weather turns nicer Thanks

[Detling]

Another vote for captain tolly creeping crack cure.you just run the nozzle round the edge between steel and frame and it creeps in under capillary action then sets. It is like PVA glue but works well on tiny seeping cracks which it sounds as though you have. I have used it on a wooden boat and on my weeping window on my narrowboat. On both occasions the leak stopped for months.

[RickS]

Thanks Detling, good to know. I will seriously consider that when i can figure out where the water is getting in. Bizarrely, with all the rain we have had over the last few days, nothing seems has got through even though a lot has before this. Puzzled!

[Ianws]

I wasnt sure where the rain was coming in through our porthole. Ran Captain Tolley's around the frame to the boat, around the seal between the glass and the porthole seal and around the screw holes. Repeated about 6 times. Been good so far. 

[Mad Harold]

2 hours ago, RickS said:

Thanks Detling, good to know. I will seriously consider that when i can figure out where the water is getting in. Bizarrely, with all the rain we have had over the last few days, nothing seems has got through even though a lot has before this. Puzzled!

It can sometimes take several hours or even days for water to percolate through.

Had topside leaks on my boat,sealed where I thought water was getting in,and chucked several buckets of canal water over the boat,and found,great,no water ingress.

Next day,a puddle on the floor!

 

[Opener]

3 minutes ago, Mad Harold said:

It can sometimes take several hours or even days for water to percolate through.

Had topside leaks on my boat,sealed where I thought water was getting in,and chucked several buckets of canal water over the boat,and found,great,no water ingress.

Next day,a puddle on the floor!

 

Have you got a dog?