I’ve had my Pungo 140 for a few months now and so far I’m happy with it. I have however found after my first few trips that I’ve ended up with water in the rear storage compartment after each trip. I took a close look at the boat the other day and it appears that the rear bulkhead wasn’t quite sealed up right from the factory. Does anyone know what sealant would be safe to use on this so I can get this compartment water tight? The Pungo has what appears to be some type of foam material used for the bulkhead so I know some products would eat that up, and I don’t want to make that mistake. I tried calling the manufacturer today, but their phone system appears to be on the fritz as it just kept putting me in a constant loop then hanging up on me.
Is it bulkhead or hatch leak?
It could be the hatch, not uncommon in plastic boats. If it is the bulkhead and it is made of minicell foam, Lexel or similar product from a decent hardware store.
yep
More likely it’s the hatch that’s leaking, the minicell foam bulkheads seal pretty well without sealant, the sealant just holds them in place.
Hatches unless they are top grade rubber ones almost always leak.
Bill H.
Thank you
Thanks. I’ll do some experimenting on my next day off and see if I can tell exactly where it is coming from.
Dye test
Get some food color and add it to some water. pour the water into the cockpit and see if it shows up in your sealed compartments. Eliminates any guess work.
Sikaflex or 3-M 2500 Marine Caulk
Both Sikaflex and 3-M 2500 Marine Caulk have worked well for me to seal any bulkhead gaps.
BTW, mini-cell foam bulkheads are not automatically leakproof - they do need to be sealed around the edges, otherwise normal boat flexion (from pressure or temperature changes) will create gaps & cause them to leak. Boat flexion is also why you need a flexible sealant for most types of bulkheads that are not glassed in.
Lexel
From the big box hardware store. Used it a few times.
FYI, many boats have bulkheads with a small hole in them centered in the top third of the bulkhead. This keeps the hatch from blowing off when the sun heats up the compartment.
Normally the hole wouldn’t be submerged, and of it was it’s not gonna gush. Just so you know when you start playing with water and bulkheads.