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Taking on a little water. Why? Where?
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Author:  adell50 [ Tue Nov 27, 2012 7:15 pm ]
Post subject:  Taking on a little water. Why? Where?
First post here after purchasing a 1985 17SE :)

Super stoked!!!

Ive taken her out a couple times. Both times drank a little water and after 2 hours was measurably heavier than the other side.

Pulled her out of the water yesterday.

The dagger boards retract and function great. The wings seem to be solidly in place (one of them is actually stuck on..) with no noticeable cracks around their entrance into the hull or underneath the hull where the receiving pipe might affix to the inside of the hull. Checked a bit around the cross members (holding the mast and rudder assembly) and noticed nothing to out of the ordinary.

Where else might I look to patch a hole? I hope its nothing to serious.

Many thanks,

Aaron
Author:  mmiller [ Wed Nov 28, 2012 10:21 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Taking on a little water. Why? Where?
Read the leak FAQ here: http://www.hobiecat.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=169

Wing tubes would be one place to look.
Author:  MBounds [ Wed Nov 28, 2012 11:19 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Taking on a little water. Why? Where?
Also check inside the centerboard trunks where the head of the spring rests. The glass can be a bit thin there and the head punches through.

That's where mine has been leaking and I've had a devil of a time getting it plugged and staying plugged.

For the wing tubes, remove the wings and fill the tubes with water and wait overnight. If the level goes down, you've got a leak - and the water level will show where it is.

For everything else, soapy water and very light hull pressurization with a shop vac on "blow" will show most leaks.
Author:  fastcat [ Thu Nov 29, 2012 2:00 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Taking on a little water. Why? Where?
Hull leak detection is also on my winter calendar. I get about 1/2 - 1 gallon in each hull after a days sailing. So far it looks like my wing tubes, crossbeam mounts and centerboard trunks are not the cause. I suspect that some water might be coming in along the rivets that hold the trampoline channel to the hull (that area gets a lot of flexing from movement on the trampoline). But I won't know till I do the low pressure soapy bubble thing. I'll let you know what I find.
Author:  adell50 [ Thu Nov 29, 2012 5:50 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Taking on a little water. Why? Where?
Thanks for the tips! I'll report with details.
Author:  fastcat [ Mon Mar 25, 2013 12:14 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Taking on a little water. Why? Where?
Check your centerboard trunks (CBT). I had 3 cracks in the CBT of my port hull where the spring fits. A little probing indicated the cracks went all the way through, so a source of water infiltration. Fortunately I have 5" ports positioned on the deck between the wing tube and centerboard trunk, so I could patch from the inside. Three layers of resin impregnated glass cloth took care of it and 2 layers of glass, same place, on the starbard hull for good measure. Plan to get the boat back together and out on the water by next weekend (well at least that's the plan).

P.S. HINT: To help find potential thin spots/cracks, I lowered a 200 watt lightbulb into the hull (dangle and keep clear from being too close to hull) at dusk and could plainly see the three cracks and a couple thin spots in the gelcoat along the bottom. I'll touch up the leading edge of the centerboards and address the thin spots with some marine epoxy this week. :wink:
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