Trim tab install found some water coming out of the J16 transom

[anamealreadyinuse]

I've had my Carolina Skiff J16 kit for about two years now and purchased/installed a large front deck and small rear deck when I bought the hull.

I sealed everything with silicone when mounting the decks. The boat is stored outside and usually is in the water.

I recently installed gas assisted trip tabs and when drilling the mounts in the transom I noticed some water seeping for a minute or two. Not much but it concerned me.

Does this imply that something is not sealed properly or do the hulls eventually absorb some moisture?

 

[jigngrub]

You have water intrusion... which leads to rot.

Most silicone is not a marine sealant.

If you installed decks on a fiberglass boat without fiberglassing them in you set yourself up for water intrusion and rot problems... unless you never penetrated the inside of the boat with a fastener.

You should post pics of your boat.

 

[kjsAZ]

Using Silicone to seal is like using nothing so that's an issue to start with. You have to use a marine sealer like 3M 4200/5200 or the equivalent products from Sikaflex. If water comes out of the holes you drilled the wood in your transom is water logged and either has already started to rot or will do so shortly......... There is no way to dry that wood out again short of ripping out the inside fiberglass, removing the wood and install new.

 

[anamealreadyinuse]

Its a Carolina Skiff which is a wood free hull and the maker says the material used is closed cell, does that matter?

 

[jigngrub]

Wood free is good!

... but I doubt you Carolina Skiff is "foam free" and we have all seen the horrors of saturated foam on this site. Wringing wet water logged foam that weighs a ton and slows your boat down... then there's the fact that saturated foam will not float your boat in case of an emergency making it a "sinker" and a safety hazard for you and your passengers.

Boston Whalers have the same problem if not properly cared for.

 

[anamealreadyinuse]

No, its a closed cell foam so it should not absorb water although I'm sure any water in a hull is a problem. I'm going to take it to the dealer next week and have them check it out. Lesson learned on the darn silicone, I was told it was fine and allowed you to more easily change things than the 5200 :grumpy:

 

[Rickmerrill]

3M 4200 would do that too and was designed for the marine environment. They were at least right about 5200, it't tenacious stuff, usually used for things you don't ever plan on taking apart.

 

[Woodonglass]

No, its a closed cell foam so it should not absorb water

Oh boy, I can see this coming...

It all depends on IF there IS water below deck and If there i How long it' been there.

 

[jigngrub]

No, its a closed cell foam so it should not absorb water although I'm sure any water in a hull is a problem. I'm going to take it to the dealer next week and have them check it out. Lesson learned on the darn silicone, I was told it was fine and allowed you to more easily change things than the 5200 :grumpy:

How old is your boat?

99% of all the saturated foam we see coming out of the boats in the resto forum is closed cell. Closed cell is not waterproof, it's water resistant and will saturate if constantly exposed over a period of time.

If your boat is relatively new (2-4 yrs. old) you may be ok, if it's an older boat you may have problems.

 

[anamealreadyinuse]

Its a 2010 hull I purchased new off the lot and splashed end of summer 2011. Looks like Carolina Skiff has acknowledged when the under wire rack is submerged, which has occurred a few times this summer while on the water until I could pump it out...this sucks...there was very little water seepage but I realize that may mean nothing if the foam absorbed the water...How do I "dry it out", is that possible? What is the best way to handle?

Under wire rack post

carolinaskiffowner.com/showthread.php?24598-Fix-water-in-hull-from-exposed-wire-track

 

[Woodonglass]

I'd seriously doubt that you have a major issue. It usually takes major abuse, and a lot of water to cause serious issues.

 

[jigngrub]

No way to dry it out, but that is a pretty new hull so you may be ok.

The best way to find out if you have saturation and water intrusion problems is to take your boat and have it weighed and compare your actual weight to the package weight CS gives for that particular model.

Just a heads up, you want to keep the inside of that boat as dry as possible. I know you said you keep it on the water most of the time so you may want to invest in a mooring cover. Also, seal any penetrations (screw holes for mounting stuff) you make in the hull with a good quality marine sealant.

I personally would remove that trim tab and raise the trailer tongue up as high as it would go and observe how much water comes out of that hole. You may also want to contact the dealer about it and the wire rack post thingy.

 

[anamealreadyinuse]

Okay, thanks everyone. I really appreciate this forum. Here is a link to a potential solution at least for CS or boats that have no easy access to spaces between the deck and hull. Looks like its a pretty common problem:

carolinaskiffowner.com/showthread.php?12713-Water-in-The-Hull-A-simple-and-Economical-Solution&highlight=dave+drains