Sliding Door Leak (Another Kind)

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duetto
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Sliding Door Leak (Another Kind)

Post by duetto »

Hi all,

We’ve had a chronic leak just below the sliding door. In the past we just put rags on the ledge when it rained and, well, we lived with it. This winter we had some refinishing in the driving area and when we were home for Christmas we got a call from the floor guy who said he couldn't go ahead until the leak was fixed. When we got back to the boat we started testing with a hose, following James Power’s suggestion to start from the bottom up. Sure enough it started leaking right away from the center of small wall just below the inside door frame. This area is upholstered and I didn't want to remove it. I removed the door and started checking the door frame, track, etc. There were no obvious leaks. I noticed that there were screws under the upholstery and they appeared to be securing a "C" shaped channel under the door track. This track has a rectangular opening on top which is to the right of the door and visible with the door closed.

My theory is that the water runs down the outside rear wall, through the rectangular opening, into the track, and then toward the screws. We replicated the leaks 3 times. So the question became how fix. Removing all the tracks and channel was not an option. I landed on expandable foam applied through the rectangular opening. Finally, I drilled a hole through the foam and the bottom of the “C" channel for drainage. So far it has gone through a half dozen Florida deluges and an equal number of boat washes with no leaks.
john & diane cummings
duetto mv34 #23
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