Water inside the Hull

[mouradc]

Hi,<br />I have now owned my boat for two months and I have taken it out about 5 or 6 times...It's a 17" fibreglass (Made by BFG in Newcastle Australia). It's a 84 model. Each time I took the boat out I stayed in the water for 2-3 hours, when I bring the boat onto the trailer and open the water outlets to let the water out, I notice that a lot of water has gotton in, (appears to be somewhere between 50 to 80 litres of water) most of the water is from the bottom water outlet, draining the bottom of the hull underneath the deck. I applied thread tape to the new plugs for the draining outlets, but still experienced the same issue. No water comes over the sides of the boat?? It sounds like water is getting in somehow, and I'm not sure how to find the leak or how to find out from where the water is getting in....Any Help???<br /><br />Thanx.

 

[Dunaruna]

Re: Water inside the Hull

Hi Chadi, 50 to 80 litres in 3 hours is pointing to a major problem - maybe a crack. <br /><br />Can you enlighten us on a few points before the suggestions start to roll in: <br /><br />Are your twin toys mounted on a pod or directly to the transom?<br /><br />How many drain plugs does the boat have (has it got a sealed lower floor)? <br /><br />Do you think that spray from waves is an issue? I'm sure you would have mentioned it but gotta ask anyway.<br /><br />And finally, did you buy it from a dealer?<br /><br />Aldo

 

[DJ]

Re: Water inside the Hull

My thoughts go to water splash from the engine and brackets.<br /><br />Either way, that's allot of water. Check the hull-CAREFULLY!<br /><br />Also, pay close attention to the wave well outlets and any through hull fittings.

 

[mouradc]

Re: Water inside the Hull

I thought it was an issue, I'd hate to see how much water would accumulate if I stayed overnight. I bought the boat from ebay, after I checked it carefully, The twin tohatsu's are mounted directly to the transom...It definatly wasn't spray from the waves, there wasn't any on a couple of the occasions...<br />the boat has two drain plugs mounted above each other on the lower side of the transom. One for draining the deck and the other is below it for draining the the underdeck, I originally thought it was the plugs and I bought a new set, I also added thread tape. The transom is solid and does not move a bit if I lift the motor up and try to move the transom (checked that before i bought the boat). I can send a pic of the motors mounting on the back if needed...

 

[DJ]

Re: Water inside the Hull

Chadi,<br /><br />That's good that you checked the transom plugs. <br /><br />However, did you check the fitting that the transom plugs go into? That is a frequent source of leaks. If it is brass, I would recommend removing the entire assembly and reasealing with 3M 5200 sealant.<br /><br />That goes for ANY through hull fitting.

 

[mouradc]

Re: Water inside the Hull

The fittings that the transom plugs go into appear to be black plastic from memory, just to think about it, I remember seeing one of them slightly cracked from the outside, I do think it was the bottom plug, I will confirm tonight. If it's cracked, can I replace them and how hard is it to remove the plug housing...do you recommend that I use brass fittings???<br /><br /><br />Thanx.

 

[Dunaruna]

Re: Water inside the Hull

You need to crawl underneath and have a real close look. Wash underneath first. Areas to pay extra attention to are where the trailer bunks (or rollers) contact the hull and the keel - but look everywhere. Cracked gelcoat is a warning sign and should be investigated further, missing or bubbled gelcoat is a red flare.<br /><br />Its surprising how much pressure there is on the hull while underway - water can be forced in but often when people put water inside their boat it doesn't leak out, if you put water inside the boat (and then get underneath to look for a leak) be mindful of your underfloor fuel tank and any electrics. I helped a friend find a leak recently, it was a bilge pump screw that was too long and had just broken the gelcoat underneath, he was getting 20 or 30 litres an hour into the boat but when we put the hose inside the boat nothing leaked out - absolutely nothing.<br /><br />Also check the fitting that the drain plug screws into (you beat me to it DJ), sometimes the seal fails. Another area that can possible leak is the bolt holes for the motors.<br /><br />Aldo

 

[mouradc]

Re: Water inside the Hull

I will investigate further, It sounds like I might have to crawl underneath the trailer and check more. By the way, what can be done about cracked Gel Coat, Is it easy to repair??<br />Also, how hard is it to replace the drain plug housing?? Can this be pulled out easily, does it just unscrew off???<br /><br /><br />Thanx.

 

[Reel Poor]

Re: Water inside the Hull

Put the drain plug in. Block the trailer up for support and add water in the hull. If water leaks in, it should also leak out.

 

[pine island fred]

Re: Water inside the Hull

happen to me. boat yard failed to seal the lower motor mount bolts thru the transom. took on quite a bit of water overnight. regards fred

 

[navigator336]

Re: Water inside the Hull

You can test to see if the drain plug is the problem by taking the boat out for three hours. Then put it back on the trailer and on flat ground raise the bow up as high as you can. If water leaks out around the plug, then replace the whole assembly. If it doesn't, lower the bow back down and climb under the trailer and dry as much of the bottom as you can. Look for any dripping that isn't coming from the bunks. If a boat bottom cracks it is usually along the transition points like the chines. If you see cracks, press hard on these and see if water then starts to drip out. As was mentioned in one of the earlier posts, water can get in through these cracks, but not necessarily back out unless they are flexed from the outside (like sitting in the water or pounding while on plane). If it does leak at a crack the crack will be not only be through the gel coat, but all the way through the fiberglass layers. If you know how to work with fiberglass, it is fairly straight forward (but not easy) to fix the crack depending on where it is. To fix it properly, it should be done with fiberglass (unless it is a very minor crack). Ideally, it should be repaired from both the inside and outside of the hull. On the first boat I owned, I had a crack under the keel. I had to cut through the floor, cut out a section of keel (fortunately it was well up into the bow), glass the crack, rebuild the section of keel, patch the section of floor, grind down the external patch area, glass the external area, and then re-gel coat. It took three days to complete.

 

[umblecumbuz]

Re: Water inside the Hull

And wherever the leak is, once you've fixed it install a bilge pump - preferably with access to the double floor section.<br /><br />Belt and braces.

 

[Realgun]

Re: Water inside the Hull

Guys Guys Guys, got your attention? The plugs could be fine however there are a lot of things on the Back of the boat that can leak. <br />1. Look at the transome bolts <br />2. Look at the ski u bolts. <br />3.Look at the pittot tube screw<br />4.Transducer screws<br />5. any thing that screws into the transom could be the leak there.<br /><br />I have the same thing. But mine leaks in quarts go figure. <br /><br />Marina gut told me about all the bolts or screws in the rear and I never really noticed just the wife telling me there was a small river in the bildge. Yes she could see it because of the holes in the floor!!!

 

[mouradc]

Re: Water inside the Hull

Thank you guys for the great response, I will start checking things this weekend. I will start with the plugs and their housing, I will also check things on the transom (mentioned above), I will also check under the boat. I will keep you posted.

 

[mouradc]

Re: Water inside the Hull

OOPS sorry....I just found the right thread...<br /><br />I filled up some water in the hull with the drain plug connected and the bow tilted upwards, and water started dripping from the back. I noticed that both plug housings were cracked. so I purchased new onces and fitted them...the dripping has stopped.<br />I also checked under the boat for cracks, all seems ok.....I'm glad I haven't stayed fishing overnight yet since I only bought the boat recently...I could've sunk....<br />Thank you guys for the response I received. The Problem was as firstly advised...thank you.