Leaking through hull - seal or let leak

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Mazamou

I believe water will take the path of least resistance... if the hull is sealed inside then water is going to want to travel into the foam core. If unsealed the water will travel past the core and into the boat, obviously some water still finding its way into the core. So I still agree with paulajayne

The depth is approximately <500mm.

Anyway... it's unsealed now and what little water is finding its way in is being thrown out by the bilge. Will lift her out in a couple of weeks and assess the damage.

Will post some pictures and update with a damage report. And will definitely install a decent backing plate thanks wholybee.

Originally Posted by Mazamou

Hopefully your wrong Dockhead and its good quality foam and the water has struggled to penetrate more than a few inches... wishful thinking I know.

I intend to lift her out as soon as I can and the job will be done correctly. Will take the opportunity to update the transducer at the same time. Might even glass over and switch to a in-hull 😆

Let's hope, but I would certainly get that boat out of the water at the earliest possible opportunity. Don't hope that letting it leak is going to substantially slow down propagation of water inside the hull. It might actually be worse like that since internal pressure inside the hull can be relieved through the leak, allowing more water inside.



If some but not all of the core is saturated but not broken down to mush, then some people have overcome this situation by drilling a lot of holes in the outer skin and drying it out with heat guns



Let us know how you get on.

[boatpoker]

What brand is the foam core ? They all claim to be "closed cell" but while some are truly impervious to water and some are like sponges.

[Nicholson58]

Originally Posted by Mazamou

Thanks for the reply, that is the obvious solution... In my situation I can't lift it out immediately. It needs to wait another 2 weeks. So my question is "would you let it leak through to the inside or seal it?"

If you can seal from outside I would do so.

Seems it was badly/improperly installed. You really want to do-over ASAP. You don’t even know if the installer sealed off the core.

[Mazamou]

Boatpoker - The boat make is Steber, built in 1987 by Steber International in Australia NSW.
When I had fibreglass repairs carried out previously it revealed blue foam in the core.... I don't know the brand, though I'm guessing it's PVC construction.

[boatpoker]

Originally Posted by Mazamou

Boatpoker - The boat make is Steber, built in 1987 by Steber International in Australia NSW.
When I had fibreglass repairs carried out previously it revealed blue foam in the core.... I don't know the brand, though I'm guessing it's PVC construction.

Sorry, I've worked with a number of foam cores but have I never seen blue foam core.

I believe Steber is still in business, perhaps ask them for a start.

Is it really blue or are you looking at blue bonding putty like the 2nd and 3rd photos in this article from an X-Yacht Moisture Meter Mythology and Flir thermal imager

[Mazamou]

I think your correct and its just the blue bonding between the skins and the core.
I emailed Steber last night with my boat info and pictures of the location. They have been helpful in the past. If anyone is best to know potential damage and how impervious the core is its going to be them.

[phorvati]

Yoy can also drill pilot holes from the inside around the area to find out if sandwich is waterlogged. You can even do it in water if you are carefull. Drill bit will penetrate inner laminate and you will feel the foam void before hitting the outter laminate with the drill bit. Then if its waterlogged, you will have water wheeping out. You can put strands of rope into the pilot hole to wick the water and help prevent the spread.
My core is air-x, which is closed cell so water doesn't compromise it whatsoever.

[Adelie]

Welcome.

I would suggest updating your profile with your general location and your boat make & model or “Looking” in the "Boat" category. This info shows up under your UserName in every post in the web view. Many questions are boat and/or location dependent and having these tidbits under your UserName saves answering those questions repeatedly. If you need help setting up your profile then click on this link: https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...ml#post3308797

I would happily help more if the link above is not enough.

[Mazamou]

Hey guys,

Thought I would provide an update. The core was dry [emoji869] which means the foam used is highly impervious. After contacting Steber they said there would not be an issue.

Repair:
Hole sawed out a larger diameter on the inner skin and removed the core, then dug out about 1" of the core between the skins. I then filled this with Norfil Marine epoxy Filler. Also applied 3 coats of Epoxy Primer for good measure.Attachment 270353Attachment 270355Attachment 270352Attachment 270354