leaking hull

[bosavy]

i have a leak in a sensor[for dept gauge] It;s no longer used but if i take it out i will have a 1.5inchesin circumfrece. i need to know how to repair the hull. ty

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: leaking hull

Can you seal it up with epoxy? Is the hull fiberglass or aluminum?

It would be best to do this repair out of the water. ... just in case the leak penetrated other layers of the hull.

 

[bosavy]

Re: leaking hull

the boat has been dry docked for3 years.i went for a sea trial and i discovered a leak at the dept finder which is no longer used. we hauled the boat out and found the rim around it cracked so it will have to come out. I just want to repair the hole [ the best way ] ty

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: leaking hull

You can remove the sensor and re-install it with 3m5200 and that will seal it up..... or remove it and fill the hole with a good marine epoxy.

 

[Chris1956]

Re: leaking hull

Bosavy, Sand the inside of the hull until bare and clean. Lay a couple of layers of (poly or epoxy) resin-saturated cloth over the hole overlapping the hole by an inch or so. When cured, fill the hole from the bottom with Marine-Tex Epoxy putty. When it is stiff, sand it smooth.

 

[bosavy]

Re: leaking hull

ty for the advice

 

[samsam]

Re: leaking hull

bosavy
You should taper grind the hole back 2-3" on both the inside and outside of the hull and the hole patched from both sides with laminations of glass and resin. To just fill the hole with a 'good marine epoxy', whatever that means, or a few layers of glass with a 1" overlap and some epoxy putty is to invite disaster. Hitting something directly on the patch, or sliding over something like a log or just the flexing of the hull in waves could easily pop those kind of patches out and a 1 1/2" hole somewhere in the bottom of your boat will let in an awful amount of water in an incredibly short time.
As Bob VT says, removing the sensor, re-sealing it and reinstalling it will work and be much better than a questionable patch. Sam

 

[bosavy]

Re: leaking hull

i've used west marine expoxy before when i replaced a transom on my first boat.i wasgoing to use expoxyand fiberglass but is it better just to use fiberglass resin instead of expoxy . the rim of the sensor is cracked underneath so i need to take that out .

 

[samsam]

Re: leaking hull

bosavy,
Use the epoxy resin as it will be stronger. I had a repair scheme all worked out and hit the wrong button and it disappeared. I googled 'fiberglass repair' and this is real close to what I had intended to post. I would think your situation would be the same as the last example on this page, which is a large hole in a thin laminate with a high risk in case of failure. Sam
http://www.westsystem.com/

 

[samsam]

Re: leaking hull

bosavy,
OK, that link just takes you to the home page. Once you're there, click on 'Projects'. Then click on 'Boat repair and restoration'. Then click on 'Repairing machined holes in fiberglass'. At the bottom of that page is what I think applies to your problem. Sam

 

[seven up]

Re: leaking hull

When removing mine I used two silicon bronze plates, one inside, one outside, and through-bolted them to the hull with a mahogany backer plate inside against the hull...flooded the hole with epoxy.

 

[bosavy]

Re: leaking hull

. Seven up i was just on lake champlain over last weekend. That's were i bought the boat and picking it up the 16. Real good website thanks

 

[xtraham]

Re: leaking hull

just put a through haul fitting in the hole and cap it off.....