HELP - Leaky Cover?? --> Soggy, Mildewed Carpet

[Pennfrog]

Hi all-

I have a 2005 21V, and for some reason I always have wet, soggy carpet in the back compartments on either side of the engine compartment. I can never seem to get them to dry out and they keep getting a funky mildew...and am getting frustrated.

I thought it was from putting wet gear (life jackets, skis, tow ropes) back there, but I have ruled that out as the sole cause. I rented a seam cleaner, got them perfectly dry, then put plastic bins in there for the wet gear, and it is still getting wet.

I have the boat on a hydraulic lift, so I know it is not taking on water.

I looked during a rain storm, and it appears that the water is running down the cover into the hole where the tower meet the gunnel of the boat. From what I can tell, it is running down the sidewall of the boat (behind the driver's seat, and the equivalent on the other side) and collecting in the back wells.

Has anyone else had this issue? Have you figured out how to fix it? It feels like a constant losing battle.

I have even given some thought to ripping up the carpet in the compartments and putting down a grooved rubber utility floor, so the water at least runs right into the bilge.

Any advice would be GREATLY appreciated.

Pennfrog

[myturndad]

any chance the water could be coming from your ballast bag fittings.

i have seen that happen a few times.

[Pennfrog]

Good thought, and thanks for the suggestion. I had checked that too. The fittings are still very much in tact and not leaking.

I had actually taken the bags out for a while because that was a thought I had. Right now the ballast bags are sitting in the plastic containers, so if they were leaking, the water would be in the container and not wetting the carpet.

From what I can tell, it looks to all be external (e.g. from the rain)

[myturndad]

you could be right, but i have a tough time with it still coming in from the cover. one question (sorry) since you removed the bags did you shut off the inline ballast switch.

hope that makes some sense.

[Pennfrog]

Another good thought. When I had the bags out, i did make sure that the inline ballast switches were off. When the boat was up on plane, I would open the compartments and no water was coming in through the hoses.

Right now, the bags are hooked up again (and in the plastic bins) so any overflow/leakage/etc is being caught in the bins.

The reason I continue to suspect the cover is, when I put the plastic bins in, I made sure the carpet was bone dry. The boat was also on the lift, so i couldn't be the coming in from the lake. There was a good storm during the week, and when I opened the boat on the weekend the carpet was wet again.

Our Supra dealer said he has problems with not being able to keep them dry either. I was beginning to assume that this was a problem that everyone had dealt with.

myturndad, when you put your poles in to support the cover, do you make sure the cover is taut all over? I do, and I am wondering if I am in essence creating a channel right into the opening by the tower.

[myturndad]

check you pm.

think i might have a answer for you.

[AusBill32]

with my stock Supra cover I ended up using poles to lift the cover up so water would run off it more freely and then I wrapped some towels around each leg off the tower to keep water from running into the boat. After all was said and done though I got a custom cover made which kept all the water and dirt out of my boat completely.