This forum has many articles regarding water intrusion in Hunter 23’s, and after years chasing leaks in manners described herein (with limited success) I decided to take an approach I hope will be the cure aboard Lesismor. I removed the deck and repaired the hull deck joint. Through trial and error this is how:


I removed the rub rail, exposing the gunwale screws. Many of the screws were hidden at random intervals under silicone caulk and paint from previous repair attempts so it wasn’t easy to find them all.

Pin through bow

There is a rod that runs through the nose of the chain locker. This rod was inserted through the joint from the port side. I found a silicone plug covering the hole it was installed through. From the starboard side I drilled a 3/8” hole for access, and took a drive to it (with minimal hammer force) from the starboard to the port side, from where I could grasp and pull it with pliers extracting it entirely.

Within the cabin I noted the adjustment of the standing rigging chain plate turnbuckles, then slackened the turnbuckles and disconnected them from the standing rigging plate.

Remove pin

From inside the v-berth I removed the nuts that hold the U-bolt to the bow. This U-bolt
is the one on the bow that is used to haul the boat upon the trailer and doubles as a fastener for the forestay plate which in turn is fastened to the underside of the anchor locker. I then disconnected the anchor locker drain hose and the cockpit drain hose in the lazaret.

At the top port side of the mast compression post there is a small wooden plug covering the head of a Phillips screw which I removed. This screw is for holding the post to the deck.

Forestay hardware

With broad support under and over the jack, I applied pressure upward. I did this at four places; minimally in the v-berth at the bow and from the lazaret to cockpit at the stern, and then a couple of inches at the compression post from the sole and the forward cockpit inside the cabin. This was done with one jack while placing blocks in its place before removing. I cross braced the upright of the mast step support to prevent the deck from shifting laterally once lifted.

Jack and brace deck

I gently forced small wedges along the length of the boat deck and hull joint.
Finding the widest point along the seam I inserted a thin board (1/2”) in this seam and pried gently between the hull and deck, upward, and placed another board nearby, doing the same. At this point there was nothing more than caulk holding the deck to hull, so a thin putty knife freed one from another. I supported the deck as I raised it with scrap board material.

The interior fabric is simply tucked into the joint area and easily pulled from the joint with pliers. It is glued to the fiberglass surfaces near the joint so pulled from the work area and pinned back to itself with stick pins.

While the deck was disjoined from the hull, I became aware of the forces each was under and had plenty of points of support. Over extended periods (between weekends) I would remove all interior supports and separators between hull and deck and allow the deck to rest on the hull.

Lift and support deck

When the deck was raised from the hull adequately I found at the joint of the hull structure a space between the inner hull and outer hull where it flares outward to meet the deck lip. Within this gap there was plywood measuring 4” long, 1-1/2” wide, ½” thick placed end to end from stem to stern. There is none athwart the stern. I found 60% of this wood rotten. This wood was installed during manufacture when the fiberglass resin was still wet; therefore the outer ply adhered slightly. I drove a sharp putty knife between the surface of the wood and glass, loosening it.

Core material rotted

To pry wood from core area I fashioned a tool from a 3/8” iron rod that resembles a “bail hook”, flattened and sharpened with a chisel edge on the hook end.

Removal tool

I spent a lot of time to repair hull fiberglass as needed. Over the years this boat has spent some time slamming into the dock and had elongated holes and cracks near the rear lifeline stanchions, especially on the port side where most of my rainwater was coming in.

Fiberglass repair

Instead of using plywood I fashioned sections of PVC foam sheet. I used this material for replacing my companionway hatch covers five years ago, and unpainted have shown no signs of damage from the sun, are lightweight, durable, and float. It is readily available from sign manufacturers and plastics suppliers, commonly called “Komatex” or “Sintra”, and other trade names according to manufacturer. With the surplus I fashioned and installed a lazaret bulkhead while the deck was raised, and am replacing my weather exposed teak (this is experimental; grab rails on the cabin top will have to be reinforced somehow). I’m considering replacing all interior wood with it as well.

It typically is provided in metric dimensions, so I used 12mm thickness. I cut it in 1-1/2” strips in lengths that were easily manageable, but not in the 4” sizes of the wood I removed. I don’t consider this core material so much for hull stiffness as a material for the deck and rub rail screws to bite into.

I installed the strips into the cavity using putty knives as so to guide it in, driving it into place with a mallet and piece of wood to disperse striking force. This material will spread and chip if struck directly.

Core installation

Once hull repairs cured, I lower the deck over the hull, using wax paper between the joint. This prevented deck repair fiberglass resin overrun from adhering to the hull as I repaired the deck lip and damaged areas along the gunwale.

Lower deck to hull for deck glass repair

With fiberglass repairs completed I reinstalled the deck to the hull using three tubes of 3M 5200 slow cure adhesive applied liberally to the joint before setting the deck. This was most important at the stem and stern I where found from handling the deck are the least flexible and tightest fitting areas, not easily caulked. I had to raise the deck once again to expose these surfaces to caulk liberally. I used cargo straps to wrap around the deck and hull to ensure a close fit.

Once strapped down and before adhesive was cured, I drilled and screwed the deck to the hull with screws at 6” intervals. I didn’t spread the excess adhesive along the seam but instead let it cure and trimmed the excess.

Deck fastening with adhesive and screws