Sea water inside the pocket under the bow thruster tunnel.

[ihsan]

                            During antifoul painting of the boat , we found out that a little water was seeping from the joints of the pocket piece which serves to fill the hull gap under the bow thruster tunnel.  This piece is probably made from pvc like material which comprises of two pieces that are joined together by pressure. The faulty joint was right in the middle just under the bow thruster propellor. It had separeted from the top a little and was very hard to detect.    To rectify, we had to drill a small hole under and let the water out. I think about 5-6 liters of water run down the hole. We sealed the hole and the gap with paste. 

                             This probably is not a security issue, but it is better to know that you are carrying some water inside a pocket under the bow.

                          

[Zanshin]

Which Jeanneau model is this?

[ihsan]

Feb 4, 2023 23:02:29 GMT Zanshin said:

Which Jeanneau model is this?

795 s1 2020. But probably it is the same in the other power boats as well.

[lynnardm]

Ishan

Thanks for sharing. A crack or damage to the bow thruster enclosure apparently is something to check for when doing a yearly hull clean and inspection. I have an 895. A few years ago I hit a log going fairly fast on plane. It hit the leading edge of the bow thruster insert. It broke out a chunk about 3 inches long and 3/4
Inches across. It’s below the waterline when not on plane. The damage wasn’t very “deep” but deep enough to expose the inner filler material that’s inside the outer shell. Considering it was a good sized piece of wood and I was going fast it’s a wonder there wasn’t more damage. Several months later when finally getting around to the repair (on the hard) the damaged area dripped water out for a long time before it finally dried out. We then repaired the damaged outer skin area. Apparently whatever Jeanneau uses as a filler material, which appears to be some sort of a somewhat semi rigid foam, absorbs water if there’s a break in the other shell.

Capt’n Lynn

[Rob]

  




I have a 2019 NC795 with the same issue, water in the pocket under the bow thruster.  It started on delivery of my new boat in 2019 where the dealer smashed the fiberglass cover/cap on the trailer cross beam trying to power load the boat on a low tide.  The dealer was suppose to fix it to be like new but only put some kind of putty in the hole/crack and bottom painted over it. That only lasted one year and I found it leaking water when I pulled the boat at the end of the second season. The boat was now out of warranty and Grand Yachts International was no longer in the USA.

I found an excellent fiberglass company that repaired the fiberglass cap and sealed/bonded it back on however, that only lasted two years before it started leaking, which I found when the cap leaked for over two hours after I pulled the boat at the end of this season (2023).  I talked to the fiberglass company and they told me to bring it back and they would make it right.  They drilled a hole in the bottom of the cap to drain it to make sure it wouldn't freeze during cold weather before they got it inside to start working on it.  

The owner of the fiberglass company asked me to do some research to find out why that fiberglass cap is even on there, and if there's any reason why it would ever have to come off for bow thruster maintenance or replacement.  The inside of the pocket/cavity is the actual hull and not the cap, that's why the boat never leaked through the hull and inside the cabin. So I called three different Jeanneau dealers on the East Coast and talked to their service managers, two of the three referred me to their top technicians. They all confirmed there was no reason the cap would have to come off for any kind of maintenance or replacement and all stated they didn't know why the boat was manufactured that way.  So then I called the East Coast (USA) sales manager with the same questions and he also stated he didn't know why the cap was on there but he would call overseas and talk to Jeanneau and try to get an answer, but he also stated, sometimes it takes a while for them to get back to him. 

After a couple of months the fiberglass company got the boat inside and opened it back up.  I went up to see inside the cavity and talk to them about their recommendations and what I wanted to do to fix it right.  I told them what I had found out talking to service managers and experienced technicians and I asked them could they seal it up and make it look like the cap and cavity was never there. There answer was yes and that was also their recommendation.

Note: They did not take the complete cap off which is large, all one piece, and sealed to the bottom of the bow thruster tunnel.
They cut enough of an opening through the bottom of the cap so they could reinforce inside the cavity with plates or bridges to support the new cut out smaller cap. Next they screwed the new smaller cap flush in place.  They then channeled out the entire original cap seam (between the cap and the hull) and fiberglassed over the modified cap and channeled out seam.  Now when you look at the boat there is no sign of any cap or seam anywhere around the bow thruster.

Hopefully it's now fixed.
If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask.
Rob
Note: Three additional pictures in next post.

[Rob]