Since I changed the boat cover from plastic to canvas there has been a nagging doubt in my mind that maybe the water in the bilge is not from the canvas leaking but from the boat leaking. I do not recall there being water in the bilge before I made the change, or at least not a lot. Having said that I have never lifted the bottom boards before I found that they had warped due to the water underneath them. This lead to this nagging doubt.

So, the boat is on the hard now and time to prove the point, I think, or reduce it anyway. Saturday morning saw me bailing out the water from the bilges and mopping it all up with a floor cloth. Having dried it all out I put on the cover and left it. On Sunday morning, after 8mm of rain or so, I checked the bilges and there is water lying in them which is proof that the cover is not waterproof and that rain is getting in as I suspected.

Note that this does not mean that the boat is not leaking, just that some of the water is coming from the rain.

I received the new tent canvas last week so the next thing is to construct the new canvas cockpit cover and see if that keeps the water out.

And here it is. Nice eh?

Just one problem, it leaks. No, I kid you not, despite being a much higher quality canvas, it still leaks. You see the bit just behind the bungee holding up the centre of the canvas, just before it goes flat? Well in the rain that sags a bit and then collects water like a bowl. That then drips through the canvas and into the boat.

Oh well! Back to the drawing board.