I finally had decent weather and time to pressure check my P-18 hulls today. I rigged a hose from my compressor to a 5 gal. plastic water carrier and then ran a tube from the carrier to a hole I drilled in the 6" hatch cover. I slowly pressurized the hulls then walked around with a small squirt bottle of dishwashing liquid and water. I checked every fitting, around the crossbars, seams and bottom of the hulls for leaks. All the repairs I made passed the test but I found a couple of other areas that were leaking. The most obvious was a missing hull plug under the front crossbar of the starboard hull. I didn't even know there was a hole under there until today (duh). It was pushing out alot of air so I took the plug from the port hull and plugged the hole. After that I only had a small amount of air leaking from around the 6" hull hatch and the vent holes below the hull plugs. This is the same hull I had recently completed the seam repair work.

When I checked the port hull it was also barely leaking around the 6" hatch but I found a significant air leak on the outside seam area of the hull in front of the crossbar where someone had drilled a hole (why would you do that?). This leak never bubbled up but since my hand was wet I could feel the air coming out. If I had only been verifying by bubbles I would have never found it. I'll inject some epoxy around the hole and that should fix that. I really need to find a hull access plug from somewhere. I called Murrays and they are out of stock and the part has been backordered for 3 months. Any suggestions on another supplier?

I created an album to show the pressure checking in action: Steve's Prindle 18 hull pressure check
Steve



edited by: SteveON, May 24, 2010 - 04:28 PM

vary nice...use caution pressurizing the hulls, it doesn't take but a few p.s.i. to crack them, sounds like it worked out though...i bought new access plugs from murrays and they are too big for the holes, found plumbing(tub stoppers) parts for temp fix. i put new 6" hatches(west marine$12ea.clear) on last season with new s.s.screws in fresh drilled out holes, sealed old holes with epoxy/sillica and used 3m 5200 marine sealant for install...sounds like your ready for sea trials!

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bill harris
hattiesburg, mississippi
prindle 16- "BLUE RIBBON"
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coastrat- thanks! I used the portable water carrier to monitor the pressure so I wouldn't split the seams with too much pressure. I like your idea of replacing the 6" hatches with clear ones. I was also thinking of buying drybags to fit in the hatches as well to store keys, wallet, etc. I'll check local hardware store for tub stoppers. Amazed Murrays doesn't sell the original rubber access hole stoppers anymore...
Steve

duct tape will work in a pinch! the clear hatches let you see if your sinking w/out opening hatch...dry bags/boxes work fine tied to tramp or to hook on inside of hatch...one hull ends up being garbage hull...naturally rinsed out after trip.

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Check out "Prindle Sailors" on Facebook!
bill harris
hattiesburg, mississippi
prindle 16- "BLUE RIBBON"
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SteveON

When I checked the port hull it was also barely leaking around the 6" hatch but I found a significant air leak on the outside seam area of the hull in front of the crossbar where someone had drilled a hole (why would you do that?).

Usually these holes we on the inside of the hull between the hatch and the mainbeam, close to the seam. They were done on a few of the boats from 1983 -1984 when they went to a new construction method. Seems (pun) that there where some hulls expanding and splitting the hull to deck seams when the boats were sitting in the sun. These hole were like a 1/8" and allowed for some pressure equalization.

Kinda blew me away when I saw the first one, then noticed the second one and called the dealer to ask what was up.


Edit: I just looked at your pictures, and those are not what was done by the facrory



edited by: JohnES, May 25, 2010 - 09:25 AM

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John Schwartz
Ventura, CA
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Great news. I finally had the chance to sail today and after three hours my hulls were still dry! The repairs worked! Today the winds were only blowing up to 10knts but I actually flew a hull for the first time today. That's an exciting feeling. Now that I know the hulls are sound I can focus on replacing the rigging and trampoline. I still need to find a quicker way to rig the boat by myself. It took me 1.5 hours to get everything setup before I could get her on the water, granted I was working slow and being methodical to make sure it was all just right before I launched. Thanks so much for everyones advice and encouragement.
Steve

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It took me 1.5 hours to get everything setup before I could get her on the water, granted I was working slow and being methodical

slow and methodical is good. you will find shortcuts and tricks to speed it up as you sail more and sail with other p18's. If i dont have to rig a spinnaker, i can now get my cat wet in about 45 minutes (it was about 1.5 at first for me too with my new cat)

good job on the repairs~!

Steve don't feel bad I sail all the time and with people it still takes up almost an hour to get boat on the water. But the funny thing is that it all ways gets taken down faster then it did setting up.

Steve, I just bought one of the sacs that go in your hatch, its pretty slick but definitely not dry bag worthy. I will put any thing I put in in separate ziplock bags. It works good to keep the splashes and such off but if the sac ends up sitting in any water it will go through eventually.

newer 6" viking ports come with lips to hold a nylon bag. they are good for storage

nylon dry bags are not great, they are ok, but not waterproof

clear (or other) plastic dry bags are .... dry (unless torn or not properly sealed)

Ziplocks don't work for long. good for a few hours but condensation can build up, so not for long term use.

walmart sells plastic boxes (in the camping area) that have a gasket and work very well. they even fit in the 6" port.

another great tip is to put wallet, cel phone, etc in a plastic / seal-able drink cup. even better if clear, and some have a ring or clip on them .. and good to hang from the beam or downhaul area

Thanks guys for the ideas and feedback. It only took around 45 minutes to take the boat apart. Much easier..thank goodness!
I ordered some new 6" port cover assys, they should be here soon. I like the idea of a sealable drinking cup that I could strap to the crossbeam.
Thanks!
Steve