water in rear crossbar

I bought a new Wave in Sept. 06 and sailed it Labor day weekend (3 full days of sailing), when I took it out of the garage this spring and strated to assemble it I noticed that the rear hull crossbar had a fair amount of water in it. I noticed that the end caps are rivited on and seem very well sealed, the only other appearant point of entry is the attachment of the main sheet block.

Question 1: How did the water get in there and how do I get it out?

Question 2: I tried to remove the main sheet block to drain the water through the fittings but the screws turned real loose but will not come out, and the worst part, they will not retighten. Are these in a fitting or is there a "backer" that could have fallen free, and how do I get those secured.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I called the dealer I got it from and they were of little help saying they have never seen this before and I don't really want to drive the 60 miles there to drop off the part. I am hoping Mr. Miller will have some info for me.

Thanks all,

Mark

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There's no motor?

Dang Mark, I hate that sloshing sound!
The end caps are not sealed with any goo, they're just stuck in there and riveted in place. They are kind of a tight fit though. Thats how the water probably got in. It's not a huge deal to have water in the crossbar as it will probably leak out eventually (I had one that did).
How are you at popping rivets? I would just take an end cap off, drain and reinstall. Drill rivet out, take a flathand screwdriver and pry the end cap off, drain, reinstall, re rivet. It would be easy with all the tools laying around--about 5 minutes.

Thinking out loud here...I'm not sure about just drilling a drain hole in the endcap, because water is going to get in again anyway. Wouldn't hurt anything, but water would get in more quickly. Maybe one on each cap?? Not sure. I'd do it.

I've had luck with masts by putting them out in the hot sun with the water accumulated around where the leak is. The air expands inside and pushes the water out. Then I'll reseal it.

Now for the screw. Is it a machine screw? I forgot on the wave mainsheet attachment. I think it is. Matt will have to confirm that one. If it is, stick a flat screwdriver under the padeye and apply pressure upward while tightening the screw. That should do it. Tighten one screw a little then do the other a little. If it's a sheet metal screw post again and we'll help you out.

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THANKS!!!!

That makes a lot of sense, I was thinking about drilling a small hole in an end cap and getting like a small rubber plug that would go in a rubber ball or something to seal it up. Just didn't know if that would be a good idea or not.

The screws for the main sheet are fine threads so that would go into a nut or fitting so I will try your suggestion in the morning.

Checking the temp of Lake Michigan daily up here waiting to get it in the 50s (Woooo Hooo) to get out sailing in my wetsuit.

Thanks again for the help,

BTW my "dealer" asked to let them know how to fix this when I told them I would just post this question here after reliazing they had no idea about either problem......

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There's no motor?

I thought the main sheet attachment was a machine screw. I wonder how they get the nut on it in the factory? I have a vague memory of tightening one up that had come loose. The screwdriver method worked. Hope this helps.

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