What is this hole in the side of my boat?

[bill and doris]

Re: What is this hole in the side of my boat?

Chasing a leak in a boat is as maddening as chasing a leak in your roof. I find both the same way except I don't need my wife's help on the boat. I put the plugs in and throw the garden hose in it and wait. I've never had it fail to show up. If the drain and hose was installed prior to the deck installation and that's the problem, you may end up needing to pull up the carpet and cutting a hole in the deck to get to the fitting. I usually use a Dremel with an abrasive disk. Keep it at an angle(45) and when your finished you can span the hole with some small pieces of wood screwed to the deck and fiberglass the piece back in place. With the carpet back down you'll never see it.

 

[boat1010]

Re: What is this hole in the side of my boat?

Mine is for the sink. Maybe they took it out...LOL Using a hose would be my answer also. Put a hose to it and if it is still open it will come out somewhere..

 

[mphy98]

Re: What is this hole in the side of my boat?

I have the same thing on mine and it is a ice chest drain. I have converted it to a live well now, but still use it as a drain.

 

[grego]

Re: What is this hole in the side of my boat?

It is a drain. I have nine around my astro. they are placed in hull to drain water to keep your dry lockers dry. The fiberglass cup that your locker lids have to stay dry, have a drain . Have had several people ask about ALL the holes in my boat.

 

[CaneCutter79]

Re: What is this hole in the side of my boat?

Found an access point and traced the hose to an overflow to the front livewell. I had never seen the hole before because it was at the top on the front of the livewell. I had to really look inside the livewell to even see it.

Turns out, the drain stays above water because my boat is heavy in the rear.

Now to find the source of the leak. I can't imagine the plug is the source considering I tighten it really well.

 

[cr2k]

Re: What is this hole in the side of my boat?

Plugs can leak even if tightened. They can leak around the fitting the plug goes in to. If yours is the basic brass sleeve pull it and check and replace with a screw in type (3 screws hold it the fitting and a brass threaded plug goes in it).

 

[CaneCutter79]

Re: What is this hole in the side of my boat?

Found the leak and why I was taking on water. There is approximately a 6" crack in the bottom of the hull. When I used a water hose to test the new bilge pump, I pumped water in the hull to test the bilge. It took a lot of water just to get it to the normal level I'm used to seeing. I bet I pumped 20-30gals in there before the bilge well had the water level I'm used to seeing. That was NOT good!


Best thing I can think of is to use JB Weld over the crack to seal it. JB Weld sticks to anything and if I do a neat and clean job with it, that should fix it without it coming off due to water force while on plane. The crack is less than 1/16" wide so it's kind of like the crack that ripped open the Titanic. Small but allows a lot of water in over time. :redface:

 

[haulnazz15]

Re: What is this hole in the side of my boat?

Partner, you're going to want to use at least a silicone sealant to stop the leak, but preferrably a full fiberglass patch would be in order. JB Weld, while being quite useful, won't likely last long in a marine environment being jarred by waves and such.

 

[NYBo]

Re: What is this hole in the side of my boat?

Partner, you're going to want to use at least a silicone sealant to stop the leak, but preferrably a full fiberglass patch would be in order. JB Weld, while being quite useful, won't likely last long in a marine environment being jarred by waves and such.

I would say neither JB Weld nor silicone is appropriate. You want to use something like MarineTex or 3m 5200.

 

[haulnazz15]

Re: What is this hole in the side of my boat?

Sorry, I couldn't remember what 3M 5200 was made of so I said "silicone". Either way, I'd be wanting to do fiberglass repair as opposed to a band-aid fix.

 

[Wishiniwuzfishin]

Re: What is this hole in the side of my boat?

Don't want to get into a big debate over the best repair, but I've used JB Weld before (several types) and have been very happy with their products. They make a special Marine 2 part epoxy specifically for marine uses. Adheres to fiberglass and just about anything else. You can find the specs on their website. If they say it works for marine repairs, I believe it. Would be a cheap, simple and quick repair for a small crack in my opinion.

 

[haulnazz15]

Re: What is this hole in the side of my boat?

I don't consider a small crack to be one that lets in 20-30 gallons of water. Either way, the crack needs to be fixed; how he chooses to fix it is up to him. I'd sleep better at night knowing I repaired the crack completely and didn't just fill in what I could see.

 

[CaneCutter79]

Re: What is this hole in the side of my boat?

I used Loc-Tite marine epoxy and it worked great! It mixes like JB Weld and its made for items that are submersed in water. After 2 days, it's fully cured and stuck on the hull like a barnacle! I sanded the area with 100grit sandpaper to rough the surface, cleaned it with denatured alcohol, and then applied the epoxy in a semi-thin even coat with a smooth finish.

I'm happy with the results considering it was cheap, quick, and easy. The crack is pretty small and I'm not too worried about structural integrity. I think the hull is more than OK and this will definately stop the leak. I'll keep a close eye on it this summer for sure.

 

[apache61]

Re: What is this hole in the side of my boat?

Sorry but the crack will be back. The only way to fix it is to drill a hole at both ends so the crack will stop when it runs into it. The patch you did is only a patch. You have to drill the holes or grind it all out and fill from inside and out. Not trying to sound harsh but thats the only way to repair it.

 

[fishrdan]

Re: What is this hole in the side of my boat?

Sorry but the crack will be back.

Yup, you need some structural strength, without it the epoxy will pop as the hull flexes. Look in the resto forum for patching fiberglass, I assume it's a glass boat from the looks of it. It's not that hard of a fix, but needs to be repaired correctly.

 

[CaneCutter79]

Re: What is this hole in the side of my boat?

OK, I'll take a look at the resto forum and check with my boat mechanic. Thanks everyone.

 

[jonnymarquis]

Re: What is this hole in the side of my boat?

mine goes up to the deck floor at the bow of the boat for draing, not saying that is what yours is for but still that's my 2 cents

 

[Stachi]

Re: What is this hole in the side of my boat?

OK, I'm not totally new to boats and I know boats pretty well. I'm a bit lost on what this hole is on the side of my boat. Its a 79 Cane Cutter modified v-hull. The hole appears to be an intake for an aerator but that aerator is at the very back of the hull. So is the bilge pump. Just below the motor.

So is this some sort of drain? The front livewell drains to the very rear of the boat so it's not from a live well. I even thought it might be a livewell over flow. Seems logical right? Not that I have found so far.

I think this can get just below the water line at times.

[/IMG]

stick a garden hose in it, turn the hose on .....and see where it spurts out !!

 

[grego]

Re: What is this hole in the side of my boat?

A crack is a crack. In rough water it turns into a "FOUR FOOT HOLE!!!!" I REALLY "REALLY!!"HOPE I SCARED YOU BY SAYING THIS!!!! "The fiberglass matting is one piece", when broken, it losses it's strength and rips easily