How to Mend a Leaking Topper

Leaks are bad news but there are only so many places that water can possibly
get into a Topper. You may even have a boat where you...

By Dave Cockerill
20th September 2014
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Leaks are bad news but there are only so many places that water can possibly get into a
Topper. You may even have a boat where you remove the bung and air gushes out, followed
by water. Hard to believe that a Topper can be airtight but not water tight isn’t it! Our view is
that when the boat is left out in the sun the air inside gets hot. Where the hull is airtight and
then put onto cold water the air contracts and creates a vacuum. When the boat flexes in the
waves, water is sucked in!

The following things need to be done before you panic.

• Put some positive pressure into the boat, even lung pressure is enough but a RIB pump
is even better (not too much pressure or you create a false environment or worse still
the boat pops!)
• Apply washing up liquid & water with a sponge to the following areas:

1. The bailer inside the cockpit and on the hull side.

2. The transom plate.

3. The join between the hull and the deck inside the plate case (after taking the hull plate off
and the bladders out).

4. The join around the rim with the boat upside down – especially the area around the painter
hole

5. The mast cup area – the mast cup may need to come out

6. The fairleads for the traveller

If you can’t find the leak then it’s probably the mast cup assembly. It’s hard to simulate the
action of the mast without sailing the boat.

Repairs are as follows:

Bailer

• If the bubbles show on the cockpit side of the boat then remove the bailer and use
another gasket or replace the gasket with a sealant like Sikaflex.
• If they show on the hull side then it’s a bit more complicated – Remove the bailer and
insert a screwdriver between the hull and the deck mouldings and remove the old
gasket that Topper put in when they built the boat. Clean up and de-grease the area
around the gasket and replace it with a sealant. Again Sikaflex is best. Replace the
bailer as above and tighten progressively.

Transom Plate

• Tighten the screws.

The Daggerboard Case

• This is the area under the top of the daggerboard case where the deck and hull join.
You can remove the hull plate and the bladders that are behind the plate without
worrying about any seals. Water flow in and out of this area when the boat is on the
water.
• The trick here is to clean out (even open up) and dry the gap between deck and hull.
Apply a bit of negative pressure to the hull at the same time as you apply Sikaflex to
the join.
• I might even undo some of the daggerboard case screws a bit and tighten them once
the Sikaflex is in place.

Deck to Hull Joint

• The only way is to weld them. (I know of no sealant that works here but I rarely find
this is a problem area anyway)
 • Unless it’s the painter hole in which case a hot soldering iron rubbed around the inside
of the hole can often work. Negative pressure to suck the molten plastic in is no bad
thing again (make sure its dry and clean first and don’t get carried away!).

The Mast Cup

• When you can’t find a leak with the bubbles method then it’s often the mast cup area.
We believe this is because you can’t simulate the action of the mast in the waves and
water getting into the mast well area is getting past the cup.
• The only answer is to remove the cup (sheet available from Sailing Solutions) and
tighten the nut below the cup or better still replace the nut, washer and sealing
grommet with a little Sikaflex around the grommet.

The Traveller Fairleads

• These were a problem in a batch of Toppers where the insert were put in a little too far
from the back edge of the boat. A little Sikaflex on the thread of the screw will sort
this one. Of course this also applies to any other screws that show bubbles but again
unlikely as the holes for all fittings do not go through the hull (except the bailer, mast
cup assembly and transom plate).

Be assured that the problem can be cured one way or another. The water is not getting through
the skin of the boat!
Maintain and Repair your Topper Bailer
BAILERS – Maintain and Repair, prior to you first event! The Super Shute
60 bailer (pic 1) is expensive and is easily damaged through misuse and
accident. We are always...

BAILERS – Maintain and Repair, prior to you first event!

The Super Shute 60 bailer (pic 1) is expensive and is easily damaged through misuse and
accident. We are always trying to find ways to keep your costs down so here goes:

MAINTAIN

• It only takes a moments carelessness to cause terminal damage to the bailer as the boat
is slide off the trolley. How many of us have had to replace a bailer as the rest of the
fleet heads off towards the start line? Just the kind of stress we don’t need!
• Rinse the bailer out after sailing to get rid of any grit.
• Lubricate regularly to keep the rubber soft and slippery. That way the shute will go up
and down without force – we don’t want the handle coming off in our hands in the
middle of the race because we had to pull too hard! DON’T USE DRYLUBE – it
makes the plastic very brittle. The one in picture 2 is available at DIY stores for
putting waste pipes together.
• Be aware that cold weather makes plastic more brittle and needs more careful handling

REPAIR

You can replace the whole thing which has the advantage of taking very little time. Do check
it’s in the correct way round (don’t ask!). Incidentally you must use the original (or
equivalent) nuts and bolts to stay class legal.
Rooster Sailing stock a number of the parts that break (shute, gasket, handle and flap –
see pics 3 &4) and it is always cheaper to repair rather than replace.

The following can be done with the bailer still in the boat but it is so much easier with it out:

• Unscrew the plate from the bottom of the bailer (pic 6) – they are small fiddly brass
screws I’m afraid.
• Un-clip the little circlip from one end of the stainless handle pivot with a small
screwdriver – careful they spring everywhere!
• Drive out the pivot with a suitable punch which is best done in a vice (pic 5). If the
handle falls off in a race, hold on to it because we cannot source the pivot.
• The shute will now come out through the bottom and can be replaced with the new
one. Be careful which way round it goes – there is a hollow in the rubber seal (pic
7) that accepts the small piece of plastic on the thin end of the shute that acts as a
hinge.
• The flap (pic 8) should be fitted to the shute prior to fitting and it is possible to re-use
your old one. The flap pivots on two tiny lugs that come out of each side. They are so
small and flexible that you can bend them backwards and forwards a number of times
before they break. The old one can be pulled off (just go for it) and the lugs
straightened out. I put one of the lugs into the appropriate hole on the shute and pull
the flap into place. That way you hope the other lug will seat in the other hole on the
shute. Wriggle (a technical term) the flap around until it moves freely. Replacements
are cheap so you can afford to take a risk.
• The pivot has to be driven out because the hole through the plastic tube is tight and it
doesn’t need to be. While it’s out why not drill the centre out so it’s an easy fit?
• Reassemble the handle again taking care of flying circlips.
• Then of course the plate gets screwed back on and the bailer fitted to the boat. Having
a ready repaired bailer as a spare is probably a good idea so you can rotate between the
two if and when they get broken.

GET YOU HOME REPAIRS

If the worst comes to the worst and a bailer comes apart during a race there are two things
you can do depending on what breaks:

• If the handle comes off (hold on to it remember) and the shute falls out then there will
be a large hole in the bottom of your boat (fortunately Toppers do not sink but
carrying a small swimming pools worth of water around with you is not fast). You
could do with plugging it. I made a simple device (pic 9) out of two bits of plastic and
a piece of elasticated rope. It’s a bit hard to see but you fit the lower end through the
hull from the inside and twist it sideways. The top piece slides down the bungy which
is cleated off in a ‘V’ I cut out of one side of the hole (a knot in the cord holds it in the
‘V’.
• If the hinge breaks off then use a small length of rope to tie the handle off to the side
toestrap.

Clearly in both cases you no longer have a self-bailer but the water can be kicked out of the
boat backwards.
Topper Mast Cup Assembly
To remove an old cup: Remove the mast gate for easier access. Remove the
nut and washer from the top of the cup. Remove the cup. Few...

To remove an old cup:

Remove the mast gate for easier access.

1. Remove the nut and washer from the top of the cup.
2. Remove the cup. Few come off easily. The last one I did came off easily after I power
washed around it. I imagined I’d broken any suction and cleared any build up of grit.
In the past we have gripped the lip with a pair of long nose pliers and ‘unscrewed’
them. The easiest way is to drill out the ‘core’ of the cup with a 22mm hole saw. This
will expose the second nut below the cup.
3. Working both sides of the boat, use a large screwdriver and long reach socket to
remove the nut from inside the boat and withdraw the bolt from the outside.
4. Remove the deep black rubber sealing washer from the inside of the boat.
5. Clean up the whole area.

To replace the cup:

The procedure is simply the reverse of the above but do note:

The order is – screwdriver headed bolt / brass insert / black rubber seal / washer / nut / cup /
washer / nut.

1. A small amount of Sikaflex or similar polyurethane sealant on the rubber sealing