Where's the water coming from??

[Wayne_Red]

I take on water in the bottom of my 25 year old 445 haines, about a bucket in 6 hrs. Scratched my head and looked many times around bungs etc. I put the hose in fitting in the floor, made a cupper and sat a watched it for a while. 1/2 hour later water was dripping from a crack in the hull under the port stringer 3 ' from the stern. I had a soft stringer there that i replaced a year earlier and repaired the crack but it has opened again. Could not see it until i filled it with water. I will put up with i till winter.
I hope you find it, I understand your frustration. knowing where it is coming from is better than not knowing.
Regards Wayne

[Dignity]

Go along the bottom of the boat a give it a fairly beefy sorta thump with a rubber hammer. 2 things you may find are a slight difference in sound and or as you thump it you will notice a wet patch devolop around the crack as it opens up ever so slightly.
cheers
blaze

Brother in law had similar problems with an old haines, found a split on port side forward of the bulkhead. Took us a long time to find it. We eventually found it by shining one of those million candle power torches underneath the hull at night and looking from within the cabin under the bunks, finally spotted the very thin crack, looked just like a scratch mark. Also found a surprising number of very thin spots in the gelcoat like small bubbles. This only works where you can actually see the hull from above.

Wish we knew about the rubber hammer trick though.

[Mr__Bean]

That "Blue Loo" toilet stuff is another common dye method for finding boat leaks.

- Darren

[Mad-One]

I had an old fibreglass boat and had the same problem. Found that from years of beaching and such it had worn the gelcote off the keel and with the boat underway was forcing water through fine holes in the exposed glass. Went over the keel with fibrefill and some paint problem solved. Hope this helps

Cheers Mad

[karrier]

Had the same problem with my new boat, could not work out why I had so much water in after every trip. Took it to the dealer they could not find a leak but suggested putting vaso on the threads of the bungs. Did that and have not had a drop in for nearly 2 years, might be worth ago. I hope it is as simple as that for you.
Karrier

[Scalem]

Hmmmm.....

All your responses have got me thinking, and I definitely feel I am going get to the bottom of this ( no pun intended ) one way or another. Here's a stupid question, do you think that I should get my family gathered around the boat at strategic positions while I give the bung hole an almighty blow with my lips around the hole?? Yeah yeah.... I can see the ridicule coming already, you can have a laugh at my expense Finga, I know you will.

I can trim the motor out of the way, fill the lungs up with air and blow my trumpet into the bung, maybe my family members will hear air escaping from somewhere that it should not. I think the floor is sealed well enough to be nearly air tight....and I won't have to borrow someone's air compressor... I would try it now, but the boat is in the dark and all my family are girls... say no more!! Might be a job for the weekend!!

Scalem

[FNQCairns]

Scalem serious? If you were not It's a good chuckle . If you were - what's plan 2!

LOL fnq

[Roughasguts]

Scalem, yeah that's a great idea but how about you replace your gob with the vaccum cleaner on blow. (make a rubber seal for the end first) That won't make the boat explode surely.

Do the ol'e spray bottle trick with the detergent in it, might try that one me self, seems a fair bit safer.

[Cloud_9]

do you have 1 of those floor spin outs for access to under floor??
they leak like a bugger.
my last boat cloud 9 had 1 in the back floor between the self drainers.
and when water washed over it some went through. .
another thought.
is the bung body sealed?
I've had 2 boats that have not been seal right from the factory.
1 had NO silcon at all and the other had none on the bottom half.
Cheers cloud 9

[Scalem]

FNQ Cairns

There's a method in my madness, I think my long day at work might have shown itself, plan 2 might be a little more realistic though

Roughasguts

I'll check our vacuum cleaners - One's a high powered VAX wet and dry, but I've never checked to see how to make it blow instead of suck. Maybe if I sucked over the bung and went around the hull looking for air noises with some detergent or water/ damp cloth.... that might work!! Food for thought.....

Cloud 9 - I've thought about putting an inspection plate in, and installing a sub floor bilge pump which will give me the peace of mind of knowing I can get rid of water if it happens to get there in the 1st place. The boat rides differently when I have a few litres down there, it seems harder to control with power trim and tilt. No, I don't have one as yet, but yes, I have used heaps of Silastic sealing it up 3 times now, including the actual bung - where vaseline was suggested.

It's a buggar isn't it!! If it wasn't for full time employment I'd be out there tomorrow doing it- and if the weather forecast improves for the weekend, I can't blow an invite to fish in someone else's boat can I? Decisions decisions!!

I'll see what transpires, but it's something that I will address very soon.

Scalem

[finga]

Hmmmm.....

do you think that I should get my family gathered around the boat at strategic positions while I give the bung hole an almighty blow with my lips around the hole?? Yeah yeah.... I can see the ridicule coming already, you can have a laugh at my expense Finga, I know you will.

I can trim the motor out of the way, fill the lungs up with air and blow my trumpet into the bung, maybe my family members will hear air escaping from somewhere that it should not. I think the floor is sealed well enough to be nearly air tight....and I won't have to borrow someone's air compressor... I would try it now, but the boat is in the dark and all my family are girls... say no more!! Might be a job for the weekend!!

Scalem

Mate, Nothing funny about that.
A good idea really. I'll even come and have a gander (or listen) for the air coming out.
I'll even make an adapter that'll screw into the bung hole with a bit of hose on it if you know which size and thread the bung is. That'll be just so the neighbours don't get the wrong idea
Hint though...don't blow too hard. You'll black out or some air might come out your other end.
If the floor isn't air tight then that's where the water can be getting in.
Anything is worth trying isn't it??
Any arvo will be fine (as long as it isn't dark as my camera's video gismo doesn't work real good in the dark)

[Poodroo]

Be sure to let me know when it is going to happen. Perhaps I can get a cheer squad together to make the event more exciting when they chant "Blow Blow Blow!" A few beers, some snags on the BBQ and it just might be a pleasant arvo. Can't have too many people to listen for air escaping is my thought. Just a question. Would would be easier, sucking or blowing? I think both would warrant a passing out!
Maybe with Scotty's smarts we could hook a hose up to the diesel Pajero's exhaust pipe and run it into the bung hole. When you hit the throttle it will send black soot through the hull and out of the leaky area perhaps???

Poodroo

[Roughasguts]

Now you fella's are thinking, fill the hull with exhaust fumes then borrow a gas sniffer just happen to have 2 at work. Then start working around the boat with the sniffer, until the alarms go off.

Or could use a Canary, if you can't get a sniffer and wait till it falls off it's perch.

[FNQCairns]

Funny! Probably not a real consern but make sure the guy who swept the hull during manufacture didn't leave the broom inside .

What about a bike pump they give good pressure.

cheers fnq

[blaze]

I know a boat builder that left an electric heater in a pontoon of a cat and had to recut the floor 3 months later after a complaint of noise.
My concern with water in the hull wont be the water as such but the damage it would start to do to things like bulkheads and stringers that havnt been glassed and then flow coated.
cheers
blaze