1992 WHALER 23 WALKAROUND: Leaking Rigging Tube

[JLimb]

I have a 1992 Whaler 23 WALKAROUND with the Whaler Drive bracket. At displacement speeds and in a following sea, I notice water entering the bilge through the starboard rigging tube opening in the transom. I noticed that the sealant around the top of the bracket where it meets the transom has separated from the hull.

Can water enter the bracket here?

And, if so, what is the best sealant to use in this area ?

I am also considering removing the rigging tubes and routing them through the transom. I know another owner of the same style Boston Whaler boat used a different tube to stop water. I can't find that particular discussion here. Thanks for any ideas.

[Use the search function to find threads in the old forum.--jimh]

[jimh]

Using the search function for the old forum, I found this thread:

1992 23 Walkaround Rigging Tubes
http://continuouswave.com/ubb/Forum3/HTML/021156.html

The search arguments I used to find this thread were "23 walkaround jeff rigging tube". It was the first result.

There are several other results that will be of interest to you. Here is the search URL.

The routing of the engine rigging is very unusual on the 23 WALKAROUND with Whaler Drive. If the rigging tubes are not properly sealed, water can get into the interior of the Whaler Drive and even into the hull. Jeff is quite expert on this, so perhaps he will join the discussion.

Having the entire Whaler Drive platform free from engine rigging hoses and cables is a nice benefit, and if I owned a 23 WALKAROUND with Whaler Drive, I think I would like to preserve that feature, rather than modify the boat to run all the rigging over the top of the Whaler Drive.

[JLimb]

Thank you. That is the one I was looking for as I might approach the repair the way he did.

[JLimb]

When I had the re-power done a couple of years ago the bracket was removed, cleaned, and re-mounted. I had the boat hauled yesterday. and foremost on my mind were the rigging tubes and what sealant to use on the bracket. I couldn't think where I originally had seen the discussion on this topic so thanks for the update. I printed out pics of how Jeff repaired his Whaler and showed them to my mechanic.

As a follow up what would you use as a sealant on the bracket: whatever my yard used now has gaps. I used some Life Caulk to seal off one area. It slowed the water intrusion to a trickle,but I would like to stop it completely. Any suggestions ? Thanks again.

[JLimb]

If Jeff happens to see this post I am interested if his dad still has sufficient hose left that I could purchase. Otherwise I will look at Grainger.