Leak found

[Mark]

[img]I have found the leak in my buoyancy tank (see previous thread on leaks) and I'm hoping for some advice on a fix.

I filled the rear main hull port buoyancy tank with water while the boat was on the trailer. My first surprise was that when the tank was half to two-thirds full, water appeared in the starboard tank. I kept checking the fuel storage area for leaks but it was dry as a bone. Water did start leaking from the starboard rudder well about 0.5 in from the bottom (see picture). This was the leak after I had poked a screw driver through weekend fiberglass. Since I have had a minor leak since buying the boat, I assume it was a construction problem that got worse with time rather than the rudder rubbing/banging on the fiberglass.

I could do a fiberglass repair from the outside. Alternatively, I could cut into the floor of the fuel storage area and inspect/repair inside and out. There does appear to be bands of thicker glass that run horizontally but I could cut between them. This approach might also allow me to seal the joint between the two sides of what is now one buoyancy tank.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Mark

[gsbpel]

I had a large gap between the rudder and the rudder housing causing a lot of rudder thumping. I used a piece of stainless steel sheet .038 thick and installed it on the port side of the rudder housing and put a small curve at the bottom to reinforce the curve of the hull and side panel. I sealed the SS sheet with 5200 all the way around. I do not know if this will help with the b tank leaks but I'll find out soon. As the hull wears on the starboard side I will install another sheet to match the port side.
gsbpel
S/V Shadow Princess 369