Thanks RobertB for the suggestions. I ended up doing both . . . raising the hose connection tee and installing a one-way valve. I still don't quite understand how the water was back-flowing into the sump housing to begin with, since that already has a one-way value on the outlet port. I tested it by...

Finally! Last time we went out I spent the whole trip down below, looking in every nook & cranny, and now it's so obvious I want to kick myself. The previous owner had installed a freshwater system with a shower sump that was down in the bilge on the starboard side, just under the icebox insert ...

Thanks macr, for the suggestions I am now focusing on the compression post and centerboard trunk in general, since I've pretty much ruled out everything else. Although the water collects in the stern bilges, I don't think that's where it's entering the boat, since I've crawled back there several tim...

Thanks for the replies. I guess the rudder tubes are not my problem, since I have a 26x and the rudder raising/lowering lines are completely outside of the hull. Sounds like on the 26m they go through the hull. I'll have to look elsewhere . . it happened again this last weekend. 6 hours of sailing a...

Can anyone clarify what the "rudder down-haul holes" are, and whether these could be an issue on a 26x? I've looked at my rudder mounts as closely as possible, and I don't see anything that looks like a stand-pipe or tube. Each rudder has an aluminum or stainless square U-shaped mounting b...

Hi DaveB, I tow the boat with an Acura MDX, which supposedly has a 4500 lb limit for boats. I have a feeling I'm really pushing the limit, however. It feels very stable on the highway but the mileage is terrible - one reason I'm going to keep it in the trailer lot at the marina instead of hauling it...

Hi Dmitri, In my case it is a Continental trailer which has a crossbeam near the front, and as manufactured it had a downward bend in it, so the lowest point of the trailer was only about 12 inches from the road. When backing the trailer into the water, we found that the concrete apron of the ramp i...

Hi DaveB, Thanks for the reply, this is very good info and much appreciated! Forgot to mention that I have launched at South Dade once. I really like the laid-back vibe of the place, and the owner and his helper are very friendly and helpful. The ramp was a little problematic for us, however, since ...

Hi everyone, I am planning to keep my 26x in trailer dry storage in one of the southern Miami Dade marinas, and there are two with current availability: Black Point and Homestead Bayfront. They are so close together that driving distance isn't really a factor. I'll be driving down from Ft. Lauderdal...

Thanks Ormonddude, I figure I'll make all possible mistakes once, but only once

this just started happening suddenly, for no apparent reason. I can only assume that something in the motor got knocked out of whack during the last drive to the ramp. There were some big bumps, so it doesn't suprise me. But now I need to fix it. What happens is the engine starts OK, but fuel immedi...

Just to close the loop on my posting, I finally figured it out this past week. Because the leaking only happened when on a starboard tack, I assumed that (a) the ballast tank had a leak on the port side or (b) one of the two thru-hulls on the port side was leaky but only when submerged to a certain ...

I hope it's OK to piggyback on this thread, since I have a similar problem with my 1999 26x. Last weekend I took it out for the first time with the sails up (long story) and everything was great for the first couple of hours. We motored for about 20 minutes and then put the sails up and sailed mostl...

That makes me feel better - the last two postings describe almost exactly my situation, now that I've learned a bit more from poking around during rainstorms. Turns out there is a rainwater leak somewhere back near the starboard side of the transom. I crawled back there during a heavy rain this last...

Well after several days on the trailer, with a fan blowing to air things out, the floor does feel less squishy now. I can believe there was some residual water in there and now I'm just left with the slight give that others have reported, so I won't worry about it, at least until I get it on the wat...