Leak Search - Drilled(?) Holes in Aft Drivewell

While searching for the source of gallons of water after multi-hour excursions, I came across two small vertical holes at back of the aft drive well. https://1drv.ms/u/s!AgHPkYZKaWBvkbEL_uk ... w?e=dKz4UW Inserting a needle suggests they are through the plastic into the inner hull area. It seems unlikely that they are the source of all the water, but I am curious if anyone else has found such holes. They look drilled, and since I am the only one with access to the craft, I know I didn't drill them. Any ideas?

How do I search for other leak areas? My next step is to do a serious anti-leak treating on the bow hatch; new tight bungees and new rubber gasket all the way around. My sincere hope is that solves it, as any other leaks sound more difficult to treat. I sail in moderate chop - 10-20+ knot trades all the time, with 2'-3' breakers at launch and landing normal. The boat is ten years old, a first year TI, but always stored out of the sun and never left out in the elements for more than a few hours. The rubber under the front hatch _appears_ to be in good shape. but it just lies loose in the hatch groove. Can someone tell me if that loose rubber tubing is supposed to be bonded to the hull? I can't remember what it looked like when the boat was new.

Thank you for any help or ideas,
C.C.

Very odd. Not something I have seen before.

The older TI forward hatch was not as well sealed as the newer ones. I would concentrate there. Especially if you take waves over the bow when sailing. Check to see that the gasket touches the lid all the way around. You could coat the rubber with something? Mustard? and set the lid on and then pull it off and see where the mustard transferred to the lid? May require filing the flange in areas to get a better fit.

Leak test FAQ: https://www.hobie.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=12575

_________________
Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)

Hi Matt,

Thanks for the suggestions on leak testing. Most of my sailing is into waves/chop that breaks over the bow, so that sounds like the likely suspect. The only seal provided on my ancient TI is two loops of soft black rubber hose that is not attached to either the hull or the hatch lid. It just lays in the groove of the hatch inset, so I probably don't need to do a pressure test or the goo (mustard) test to determine that is at least one source of bilge water. I've thought about slitting slitting that hose and gluing it to the hard black plastic ridge that surrounds the edge of the hatch. If that doesn't work, my next step is to look for a one-sided foam tape to lay in the hull groove for the hatch, assuming I can find an adhesive that will stick to the hull. I'll take the lid to the hardware store as my test surface.

Those two drilled holes are a mystery, but should be easily remedied with a piece of duct tape, again, assuming I can find one that will stick. Their diameter is too small to explain much leakage.

Thanks for the link to the leak FAQ. I like the idea of a cardboard hatch gasket, which sound much easier than pressurizing through the drain hole, since my old TI has a tiny drain hole.

If there are no more posts, assume I had a leaky bow hatch and I fixed it. Thanks again.

You may not have an effective seal then. May be damaged. There should be a hard plastic part clamped to the flange and a rubber seal molded/glued to it.

This is called trim loc.

https://www.hobie.com/parts-and-accessories/?q=trim&hPP=20&idx=ItemGroup&p=0&is_v=1



There are a number of posts in these forums that talk about improving the hatch seal. Sounds like you need a new seal to start with!

This shows a Hobie Outback with seal on the flange and another inside the lid.

_________________
Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)

Hi Matt,

Thank you for all the information and the pictures. That hatch picture in your post looks quite different than the one on my old boat. But I found the source of the leak by finding the solution. In addition to replacing the bungees so they were tight, I purchased some adhesive foam window seal. I cleaned the hull's hatch groove thoroughly, and ran a continuous bead of the foam tape around the entire groove, meeting at the back. Worked like a charm. In spite of sailing today in conditions that probably had 4-5 waves per minute breaking over the bow and 1 wave per minute filling the forward cockpit completely, I had only about two cups of water in the hull! Such a pleasure to drain the boat in 5-10 seconds instead of 5-10 minutes. So I have declared victory on leaks and will now feel much more confident on longer adventures even farther offshore. (assuming nothing else breaks. Search for "Rudder Failure - In Case You've Ever Wondered" in a different post.)

C.C.

Hello. i also had a damage in the drivewell but not tha same shape. it was a little crack. I could suppose that something hard (metal) was placed between the drive and the well and the pressure of the mirage drive cause those holes. i dont know if a duct tpe will solve the problem since that is under the waterline. I should try to weld some plastic. be careful when u weld there since the drive could enter with difficulty if u chage the shape of the well.

the front hatch is a typical problem. i solved succesfully (reduced water inside the hull) as suggested in the forum .. I removed the seal of the hull and added some rubber band in the cover of the hatch