Play Dough to plug a through hull in the water?

[hatyaiair]

I have 2 leaking fittings connected to through hulls before the ball valves so the situation is getting serious. I wondered if anyone has ever used Play Dough inside a ziplock bag to plug the hole in the water before opening up the connections inside the boat (diving down and plugging the hole). I have already tried the wooden plug and plastic plugs and they still leak as the through hulls have the notches inside them so it is not possible to get a very good fit / seal.

My other option is to intentionally ground the boat (cat) at mid tide and wait till the holes are out of the water but I am not excited about this as weather is not great and could get a squall during this time.

[Kettlewell]

Slick Seam is the stuff to use. Back in the day when I had a wooden boat I used this to plug underwater small leaks and it would last a season. I would coat the wooden plug liberally with slick seam, then push it in, smoothing off the slick seam around the edges with my finger. https://www.campingworld.com/davis-s...z.-322186.html This stuff looks good too: https://www.landfallnavigation.com/s...t-sealant.html I saw one of these foam plugs at the boat show and it looks like it might do the trick https://www.landfallnavigation.com/s...ency-plug.html

[boatman61]

I would suggest plasticine wrapped in clingfilm would be better.. a zip lock bags plastic would be to thick to seal crevasses properly and plasticine would be more impervious to water due to its oil base as opposed to playdoughs largely water base.

[chris mac]

Another boater once told me, a nerf football worked well for that. You compress it, wedge it in the hole, and it expands and blocks. Plus they are cheap and disposable.
I haven't tried it myself but it seems plausible.

[plittle2005]

I used these rubber expansion plugs from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

They can be inserted and tightened while the boat is in the water. Measure the flange hole and pick the appropriate diameter range plug. They should deform into any grooves in the flange.

They ain't never comin' out by themselves!

[wrwakefield]

A chunk of sticky wax cut from a wax ring used to bed household toilets will do what you need- without having to enclose it in plastic wrap. And It stays pliable underwater.

FWIW

Cheers, Bill

[Don C L]

Originally Posted by wrwakefield

A chunk of sticky wax cut from a wax ring used to bed household toilets will do what you need- without having to enclose it in plastic wrap. And It stays pliable underwater.

FWIW

Cheers, Bill

I've got three of those, haven't needed them yet...

There are also plugs made for this too; google this one as an example:

Forespar Performance Products 150112 Forespar Sta-plug® Mini Emergency Plug

[HopCar]

I think plumbers putty is another option.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Oatey-14...312407#overlay

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by Kettlewell

Slick Seam is the stuff to use...

Davis #730 Slick Seam was discontinued, around ±2020.

[Benz]

Originally Posted by wrwakefield

A chunk of sticky wax cut from a wax ring used to bed household toilets will do what you need- without having to enclose it in plastic wrap. And It stays pliable underwater.

FWIW

Cheers, Bill

I kept a boat from sinking with this once....

[Kettlewell]

Davis #730 Slick Seam was discontinued, around ±2020.

That's a bummer. I still have an old container in my emergency repair kit. I'll have to keep my eyes out for any on the shelves of stores.

[leecea]

I'm pretty sure the OP was in the water with a leaking boat so they only had what was already on the boat to make a fix. I hope they are OK.

[Pete7]

Alternatively a seabung down the valve. they come in a pair with different sizes. Never used them, but they are on board just in case. Don't remember paying that price though.

https://www.seabung.com/shop.html

[Fintry]

Clamp a short piece of hose to the thru hull and put the wood plug in the hose.

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by Fintry

Clamp a short piece of hose to the thru hull and put the wood plug in the hose.

Or a longer piece reaching above the water line perhaps?