Carver Owners Forum

Hey all,
My boat is officially in it's slip. Yay!!! I see the water stains on the inside wood from the windows leaking. I spent a few hours digging out the gook out of the windows tracks and weep holes. They are still a little dirty and will probably need some scrubbing but I should be in better shape. What else do I need to do with these windows?

Do I need to caulk the tracks to the wood? What do you seal the weep holes with? Should I put a few dabs of paint in the holes or maybe jam some silicone in there? Am I better off pulling the inside wood off and maybe removing the tracks, clean them up and then recalls them back in?

They are not like the tracks I have seen others talk about. They are basically 2 slots of plastic. Anybody know where I can buy new tracks? That'd be nice to just replace them. I am afraid to pull them out. I am sure the plastic is brittle.

Wish I could help you out. The 3 carvers I've owned all had metal frames. And all leaked a little. I ended up unscrewing the fasteners, pulling the frame out a bit, cleaned out the old silicone, and rebedded them with new silicone. Leaks gone!

Well that does help. The point I got from u is that u rebedded the tracks in silicone. I just need a backup plan in case they break when I remove them. I wonder where I could get the metal frames? Other wise maybe some sort of aluminum track. I'm going to start digging.

I found some new track for the windows. It is called channel-mate window track. It is maybe $20/8', not too bad. I have to see my sizing before I order.

Uggg...
The windows frames look so nice from the inside with all of the screws capped by wood plugs. It will not be easy to pull this framework apart and get it back in look just as good. Any suggestions? I am looking for an easy way but don't think I'll find it.

You can take a drill with a phillips bit and a wood screw. Simply screw it into the plug, The plug will come out. You may have to clean up the hole a bit. Then loosen your screws, redo the window seals, screw everything up tight. You can get new wood plugs at any wood worker's supply shop, you can get them at a hardware store, or you can buy a plug maker and make your own.

Use wood glue, set them in so they stick out a bit, then when the glue is dry, get a very sharp wood chisel and scrape away the excess wood plug until flush. It will look like new if you take your time.

It sounds so easy I may just try it. Every time I think of the fast way to fix this, it worries me. The weep holes are the biggest problem. The water comes out of the tracks into a weep hole, which is basically a drilled hole into the wood. I believe there the water goes out but it all sits and leak in. I know the best way is to remove the bottom interior board, then the tracks, clean it, treat it, and silicon it back in. Just procrastinating the right way.

i have the same problem with window leaks. my santa cruz has teak window frames and caulk just will not stick.. i,m restoring the boat but can,t make much progress because of continual leaks. i,m open to any suggestions.

I'm no expert on sealing up wood. You say the caulk does not stick - have you tried "Boat Life" caulk. Not cheap, but that stuff sticks like crazy. You'll need acetone to get it off your fingers.

When we caulk anything, we line both exposed sides of the joint with tape. Do the caulking, run a finger down it to make it nice and round, then pull the tape off. Makes for a better-than-factory finish.

thanks for the suggestion. we just had 2 good days or rain here and the boat in a lot wetter inside then outside. the leaks have been my hold-up. got a new short block just waiting to be put together and installed. but not much point if i can,t get the leaks stopped.