Leaky Islander

[trucktramp]

I've got a 1975 Islander with a leak that I can't seem to find. My best guess is in the transom area. Is it normal for the gasket on the outdrive to crap out? If not, where is the next best place to look? The guy I bought it from recently put in new floors but did not use any gluvit to seal the hull. I would love to seal it but hate the idea of tearing up the new floor. I guess my quest continues.

 

[GLG fishing]

Re: Leaky Islander

The best way I have found in finding a leak in a Starcraft is with the garden hose at home when your boat is on the trailer. Put water in the hull and crawl under it with a felt pen and mark the rivets that leak. If you have a bunk trailer you may have to lift each side to find a leak that is hidden by the bunk. On my boat the keel had a nasty leak right at the front where the aluminum had wore away from years of ramp and beaches. I made a patch panel and riveted it on using 3m 5200 and sealed pop rivets. I also found a pinhole under one of the bunks that I patched using the same technique.
GLG

 

[fshngho]

Re: Leaky Islander

GLG has good suggestions Trucktramp. I had read in one of these threads about a leak coming through the shift cable in the outdrive. Turned out to be pretty good leak too. I think it was under a restorations thread.

Bwana Don's Resto, pg 3 I think

 

[elkhunter338]

Re: Leaky Islander

I had a leak I could not find at first. They guy before me had sealed a screw hole in the transom with just silcone, no screw. So water was coming in and it was not obvious there was a hole in the transome where someone had once had a sender of some sort screwed into the boat.
I do not know what people are thinking sealing a hole with just silicone in a thin alum boat. You got to plug the hole with something other than just glue.
I put a stainless steel screw in the hole with some sealer around it. No more leak.

 

[trucktramp]

Re: Leaky Islander

I did find a hole in the transom that someone had drilled and left unplugged but I don't think that this is the culprit. I started taking on water as soon as the boat was unloaded and tied to the dock so I'm guessing that it is on the bottom, low on the transom, or somewhere on the outdrive.

 

[GLG fishing]

Re: Leaky Islander

Stop guessing and start testing. Wish someone said that to me many years ago. I to had a leak I could not find. I to wondered if it could be the seal on my outdrive. A buddy told me to put water in the hull and test my hull. We are talking about six inches of water in the hull nothing special. It didn?t take long to find all my leaks and repair them. On my boat I had a nasty pinhole that was hard to track down. I was hidden under a bunk but I did find it and repaired it. If and when I pull the floor I will replace the sealed pop rivets with solid rivets. Until then I will use the boat and not worry about leaks.
GLG