Hull leak at cross bar

Trying to track down a hull leak. Suspected the inspection port was the culprit - turns out much bigger leak coming from under the front cross bars (yes both sides)....anyone had experience with this?

Also, left the mast outside this year and there is water now sloshing around. What is the best way to remove the water and then reseal?

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Double Take
91 H18SX

More detail is needed on your hull leak. How do you know it's leaking under the front crossbar? Is it cracked? Did you do a bubble test?

My '85 was cracked under the crossbars and leaked heavily until I repaired it, but this was a "red glue" boat and they were prone to that. Being that your boat is a '91, it should be pretty solid. Anyway, the repair depends on the type of damage. If the hull is cracked, then you need to fiberglass it. If it is just the seam separating apart or leaks through the bolt holes, then it would be as simple as filling with epoxy or just re-sealing with silicone.

Regarding your mast, the first thing you need to do is figure out if the water is in the lower aluminum section or the upper comptip section. If it's the comptip, then you will have to drill out the rivets for the halyard hook and (carefully) remove the head cap to drain. If it's the lower section, then you should be able to just unscrew the sail feeder and drain it through those holes.

sm

on my H18 mast, bare alum not black anno, it seems there are foam dividers inside. I had water in it, and by the sound, when tipped, the water did not rush all the way to the other end. is this thing divided up inside? i could hear the water and drilling a small hole at the base, nothing came out. I have already been scolded on here for drilling the hole.

Plugs at the top and bottom only is my understanding on a solid aluminum mast. The plugs are about a foot from each end, so if you drilled right at the base, it would not drain if the water was in the main section of the mast.

sm

Steve
Last Weds, we got a 3rd, a 3rd and a 2nd in blustery SW winds, 12K gusting 19K.
Afterwards, port hull must have had 3 gallons in it.... yikes.
Mine is a 1989 SX Nationals Boat.

So on Saturday, out with the shop vac and we did the bubble test.
Some bubbles from the front cross bar, which I know are from the breather holes, no problem.
LOTS of bubbles from the deck ports, so I will plan on removing, re-mounting and re-siliconing them.
(What size machine screws should I use please?
Will my dealer have new O-rings or am I better off to buy new deck plates or new ports?
Do all brands of deck ports have the identical pattern? Will Part V1145 just screw in?)

The rear edge of the port dagger well had been chipped (new crew) with BIG bubbles, so I sanded/cleared with Acetone, and sealed with new gel coat.

One anchor plate had minor bubbles, but NOTHING ELSE.
I forgot to test the drain plug housing and drain plug.

How else can I check for leaks, especially when 'under load'?
Put a couple of LED flashlights and a GoPro inside the hulls?

Thanks

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2015 H16, with spin,
SOLD 1989 Hobie SX18 Sail # 1947 "In Theory..."
'Only two things are infinite, the universe, and human stupidity. But I'm not sure about the former.'

I agree with srm, more info would be helpful. Can you visibly see the crack/damage/leak? Are you looking just from the inside with a camera or mirror? Have you tried removing the crossbar to take a look? This could be as simple as a little bit of deck/hull lip separation fixed with some epoxy, or as bad as the hull is starting to buckle. I wouldn't sail it further until you get a better idea what is leaking, as the forward crossbar is a BAD place to have a crack - this area is under the most stress of any part of your hull when under sail.

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Mike

'79 H18 standard 'Rocketman II' sail #14921 RIP
'78 H18 (unnamed) sail #14921
'08 H16 sail #114312
'97 H21SC sail #238

Use #10-24 machine screws for attaching access ports to the deck. I would not count on gelcoat being a permanent repair to your damaged daggerboard well - it will just chip out the next time it is bumped by the board.

sm

Thanks....
I knew gelcoat would not be a long term fix, however, I only brought the one 'box' with me to the Club.
At least it's sealed for this week's racing.

Any ideas on replacing 27 year old O Rings or hatches?

_________________
2015 H16, with spin,
SOLD 1989 Hobie SX18 Sail # 1947 "In Theory..."
'Only two things are infinite, the universe, and human stupidity. But I'm not sure about the former.'

I had cracked O-rings at one point in my hull ports. i replaced them with some rings I found on Murray's website, which were slightly thicker and seemed to create a better seal than the original ones.

When I replaced my original pop-in ports (one of my first upgrades) I remember the fiberglass being in not that great of shape around the rivets. Not only that, but drilling them out didn't work very well... the looser ones just ended up spinning and burning through the plastic, rather than drilling out. The holes in the fiberglass did not have a very clean look to them, like someone made the holes with a hammer and nail rather than a drill bit. To be honest, I was a little worried that the new ports wouldn't have much fiberglass to "bite" against and that they wouldn't hold or seal very well. The fiberglass in that area seemed rather splintered, or even dry, as if there was poor resin dispersion in the area. But, not knowing what else to do, I just went with it and applied the included sealant very liberally around the rivets and around the hole & underside of the deck. They seem pretty secure, I couldn't pull or pry them up or anything.

When I put in my rear hull ports (which are flat, to accommodate bottleports), I just used a liberal amount of UV resistant adhesive sealant (mixed with some gelcoat pigment to match the color of the hulls & grey port) to seal the cutout, glue down the port and fill the gap around the edges of the port. I had intended to use some rivets or screws to secure them further, but the adhesive seems to keep them pretty well secured. Can't say I've noticed any issues there, so I've just left it. Never seen any hint of water leakage from them.

My hulls tend to have maybe a cup or two of water in them after a hard sail, which I always attributed to the forward ports not being well sealed when screwed in place (the fat bags are usually a little wet), but now that I think about it, it's more likely that the flanges on the forward ports just aren't watertight to the hull. Oh well, it's not worth the trouble to replace them at this point.

Thanks, for the first time in 12 years, I might have to resort to ordering from Murray's for a $2.00 part.

Looking on line, I see the standard product is made by Viking, the existing product on my H18 is made by Beckson.
Anyone aware of any significant difference between the two products?

_________________
2015 H16, with spin,
SOLD 1989 Hobie SX18 Sail # 1947 "In Theory..."
'Only two things are infinite, the universe, and human stupidity. But I'm not sure about the former.'

My local Hobie dealer has on hand some curved ports. they look like they would fit the front okay, but not enough curve for the rear. i learned the hard way on the first one to not "draw it down to match the hull" the covers then no longer screw in. The brand is "Viking Marine". Some expensive white "3M Adhesive/sealant" filled and finished the job nicely.

Breather holes? I've rebuilt both my boats and dont remember any holes near the front beam..

When you lift off the front beam, in the centre of the saddle, there is a tiny hole, which allows the hull to 'breathe'.
yours may have been covered with bedding...usually silicone.

_________________
2015 H16, with spin,
SOLD 1989 Hobie SX18 Sail # 1947 "In Theory..."
'Only two things are infinite, the universe, and human stupidity. But I'm not sure about the former.'

Some boats have them, some boats don't. Some times they were in different locations. My '85 never had any breather holes, but cracked and leaked so bad it breathed just fine I suppose....

sm

I leave the drain plugs out when I'm not sailing but If I'm island camping for a few days straight and the boat stays in the water they obviously stay in. Do the hatches really seal well enough to need vent holes at all?