Aproximatly how much water

would the boat take on with one small hole in an hour of being on the lake?

After taking this 1977 Challenger bass boat out of water and taking the drain plug out I realized that the boat took on allot of water. So far I have only found one hole (after changing the position of the boat), I looked under the boat while working on the winch and found a steady drip coming from an area that was supposed to be patched by my uncle which he didn't patch any of it after I asked if he would do it while having the carpet put in , no I didn't get charged for a "patch job". The area that is leaking does meat the rollers on the trailer.

I would just like to have an idea of how much water one small hole would allow?

What type of putty or epoxy should I use to patch this little head ache?

Re: Aproximatly how much water

depends on the size of drip......

put a bucket under your tap and see......doesnt take long...


but fix it..asap.....glass does not rot so to speak...but it does loose the ability to take resin......and a little spot that is weak means a larger weak area.......

marine tex is a good product in this type of repair

Re: Aproximatly how much water

sorry wild...didnt see that it was you....

hi !

Re: Aproximatly how much water

hello Oops

Thanks for the reply and info. Hope all is well up in your area.

I am sick to my stomach over this and angry at the same time. Here this uncle of mine works on boats and upholstery and has experience with patching etc etc and he wouldn't take care of me (this has been a while back when I asked him).

As I mentioned I haven't found any other leaks so far but there is a possibility that I might have a leak in the aerator pipe and I could of possibly let the live well fill up to far and flow out the little over fill hole on top. I'll half to check these spots after repairing the known leak and putting the boat back on the water. The boat set pretty good in the water though. No telling how long this boat has been out of the water. I figure with the pressure of the hull sitting in the water that the hole would spew water in pretty rapidly.

Re: Aproximatly how much water

Bump.

which would be better, epoxy or putty in marine tex?

Re: Aproximatly how much water

As Oops said, marine tex. A small hole can take on alot of water depending on the size of the boat. The hole may be two feet under the water line, meaning that the water is coming in under a little pressure. Patch the hole with marine tex or something equivalent. If the boat isnt too large, such as a bass boat or ski boat, you can always put in the plug and put water in the hull of the boat with a garden hose. After that you just look for drips... As a rule, if it will keep water in, it will keep water out.

Tony

Re: Aproximatly how much water

Check to see if your hull is polyester resin or epoxy. It is probably polyester. The patch should match the base plastic. BTW polyester is cheaper and can be bought as a Bondo kit at NAPA or other car parts store.

Putty will pound out underway.

If it is a small hole just add some fiberglass insulation to the resin for strength. Apply it from the inside if you can, outside if you can't. Sand the area around the patch for at least 1/2 inch with 80 grit or so paper. If you have to patch from the outside wait until it has cured and sand it smooth (not flush!) and cover with a new coat of resin to complete a very smooth surface. The small bump in the hull will not be noticed as far as performance and no one will see it on the water.

I know a 1/8 th hole in a MFG Gypsey can leak over 50 gallons an hour in the hull.

Forgive your uncle. Family is far more important than something as temporary as a boat used for entertainment. You won't be able to take the boat into the next life, but you will your uncle.

Re: Aproximatly how much water

Thanks for all the input so far.

Obviously the boat still had ran water or maybe even lake water in it to be leaking water.

My boat is a 15ft tri hull bass boat. It sorta gives me the willies or goose bumps when thinking about filling the hull with water especially if the boat has foam, it would be hard to drain all that water out especially considering the shape of the hull.

I do have some resin and fiberglass available, I was leaning toward liquid marine tex maybe since they do carry it in white (the same color as the bottom of the hull). Maybe later I can put a keel guard on the hull.

Re: Aproximatly how much water

Re: Aproximatly how much water

wildmaninal said:

I am sick to my stomach over this and angry at the same time. Here this uncle of mine works on boats and upholstery and has experience with patching etc etc and he wouldn't take care of me (this has been a while back when I asked him).

Click to expand...

Just another case of the cobbler's wife not having any shoes, or the mechanics wife's car not running.

Don't get too mad at your uncle. Things do get overlooked, and mistakes do happen. For all we know, maybe there were actually two holes in the vessel, and when you asked him to fix it, he fixed one, not realizing there was another, which was actually the one you were talking about. Way to many What If scenarios here for fingers to be pointed.

I know it has been a while, but I have been busy. Welcome back!

Re: Aproximatly how much water

hi wild.....

yup.....fix with marine tex.....no biggie bud....as bb1 said.....the mechanic has the bad car......

you said "add a keel gaurd?....does this mean the leak is in the keel?

if so...there is a good chance there is no foam behind it...

if you can ....as external said...apply a patch from inside.....if you cant....do as external said...but instead of a resin top coat i woud use the marine tex....resin by itself is very weak.......tonight i saw a four inch chunk of resin drop 3 feet and shatter.....the marine tex wont do that.

if you need...pm me and ill give you the repair process word for word outta the glass repair manual.......

cheers wild
oops

Re: Aproximatly how much water

Thanks again. Thanks BB1, I've been around on Iboats but not as much. Mainly I've been hanging in around johnson evinrude repair forum, and other outboard repair.

Trust me, when I went to pick up the boat from this uncle I asked if he patched those areas and the reply was "no he didn't patch any of it". That's alright (to show what kind of family I live around), here I am still unemployed and my other uncle hires everybody else, cousins of mine, neighbors, friends, etc, etc, to recycle wood (pull nails) and nobody asked if I wanted to help. I didn't know what was going on until it was happening, and nobody had to ask this uncle if they could help, this uncle asked who all he picked out to help . The heck with them all is what I am saying from now on .

I'll probably end up doing all of the keels with marine tex, as I asked to have done in the first place.