So checking the hulls after yesterday's maiden voyage on my P-18, I have about an inch or more of water in lowest part of the port hull. We did spend some time probably somewhat overloaded and we were riding low enough that the tramp was skimming along the water.

I assume with all the small openings in the hulls that is to be expected ? ? ?

THANKS

Kevin



Edited by cellguru on Jun 18, 2013 - 11:03 PM.

A cup of water is pretty normal, a gallon in is too much. Most, not all cat hulls have breathing holes for pressure to equalize.

--
Jack B
Hobie 17
BC, Canada
--

Actually after a hard day sailing a gallon is not uncommon. There shouldn't be too many small openings in the hull except a couple of small drill holes, one under the beams and one near the top of the transom if they are anywhere. Common areas that leak are the keels (usually they wear down over time and then a rock strike will cause a hole in one spot), deck lids, rigging tangs that go through the hull and tramp tracks.

If you are consistently getting a gallon or more of water you will probably want to pressure test your hulls. This is actually quite simple and will save you time in the long run trying to isolate leaks. All you need is a pail of water with some dish soap, a garden hose and some duct tape. You take the garden hose, duct tape it to the drain hole and blow on the open end. A couple of lungfulls of air will pressurize the hull. Don't attach a blower, compressor or any other contraption. Those can easily blow out your hulls causing more leaks and damage. Your lungs are more than adequate. Anyway go around the boat blowing on the hose every few seconds and paint or spritz the water on the hulls, start at the keel and work your way up. Mark every place that bubbles so you can fix it later (a sharpie works but is permanent). Now depending on what is causing the leak you have a few options. If the leak is in the hull you probably need to do a bit of glass work, no big deal. Hopefully you don't have a completely worn out keel and it is just a locally worn spot. That is what happened to me. My keel was a bit worn but I had a rock strike the went through at one spot. I took the hull off, flipped it over, tapered the hole with file cleaning it out and using a west system repair pack (and the included instructions) laid 2 layers of fabric and epoxy over the holes. The next day I sanded it a bit to take the sharp edges off re-assembled and sailed the rest of the year. Total time of repair about 2 hours plus the disassemble/reassemble. It wasn't pretty, but no one sees the bottom of the keel, total width was about 2 inches.

If the keel is worn but not through, you can normally get away with putting a wear strip of marine tex 2" wide down the entire hull and that will be good for several years. If you have holes through the fabric you probably need to do a bottom job which required about 2 layers of fabric, 3" and 2" wide, epoxy and a layer of epoxy with colloidal silica to give a tough wear surface. Anyway that is about a days work and hopefully you don't need to do it, but again is fairly simple and easy to do it is just a bit time consuming.

Anyway back to repairing the leaks. From the keel you next need to address any leaks in the sides of the hull, If you have a crease or an old repair that is leaking again you will likely have to cut out the problem area and lay some fabric and epoxy. Chris Hilliard on here has a good tutorial on how to do that in the technical gallery. I'm hoping that given the amount of water it likely isn't this type of problem.

Lastly the most likely culprit and the simplest to fix are the seams and rivets around the decklid, tramp track and rigging tangs. These are the easiest to deal with. Get a tube of marine sealant normally most people use 3M 4200, its a little easier to work with and less permanent than 5200. Use some painters tape to mask off the leaking areas, then caulk away. Smooth it out with a wet fingertip (preferably wearing a latex glove) and let it set. Once it is partially set remove the tape for neat finish. I tend to seal all the through hull bits every couple of years.

Hope this helps.

--
Dave Bonin
1981 Nacra 5.2 "Lucile"
1986 Nacra 5.7 "Belle"
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
--

A great help Dave, thanks much.

For now I think I will make certain it is dried out, and check it next time. We will be not likely be overloaded like that again, I am sure that the tramp scooping up water around the top of the hull had something to do with it.

Thanks Again
Kevin



Edited by cellguru on Jun 17, 2013 - 10:36 PM.

Part of that was the tramp was pretty loose as well. The rest was me, It got very well tested that's for sure. An inch was not bad. Could have come in a beta round the beams the big holes with the plugs under the rear beam do not actually go all the was through to the hull. Most likely came In around where the beams connect or around the ports. I did not really look at your keels much



Edited by Quarath on Jun 18, 2013 - 12:56 PM.

--
Dustin Finlinson • Magna, UT
Member: Utah Sailing Association
1982 Prindle 18
1986 Hobie 17
1982 Prindle 16
1980 Prindle 16(mostly)
1976 Prindle 16(mostly)
Check out "Prindle Sailors" on Facebook.
--

Three possible leaks on a P19 are the porthole, the drain plug and the crossbars where they are bedded to the hulls. Look for any place on the hull where someone did some work and may have altered the integrity of the hull.

Wolfman's process should find you the leak. Pour the soapy water on the crossbar beds and wait a minute. Sometimes a lots of silicone was used to bed the crossbars and it breaks over time but the leak is under the crossbar and a light spraying may not be enough to get proper bubble volume under the crossbar.

If all this fails to locate your problem, remove your centerboard and look in the well. Rocks get caught in the well, pinched between the board and wall, that are sometimes pushed through the wall when the board is raised or lowered. Also check the area of the centerboard pivot at the bottom forward part of the well.

Here's hoping you find the leak in an easy place to fix.

--
Sheet In!
Bob
_/)_____/)_/)____/)____/)_____/)/)__________/)__
Prindle 18-2 #244 "Wakizashi"
Prindle 16 #3690 "Pegasus" Sold (sigh)
AZ Multihull Fleet 42 member
(Way) Past Commodore of Prindle Fleet 14
Arizona, USA
--

It is actually a P18 I think he typoed that.

--
Dustin Finlinson • Magna, UT
Member: Utah Sailing Association
1982 Prindle 18
1986 Hobie 17
1982 Prindle 16
1980 Prindle 16(mostly)
1976 Prindle 16(mostly)
Check out "Prindle Sailors" on Facebook.
--

Indeed my typo, it is a P18 with no daggerboards.

Quote

Don't attach a blower, compressor or any other contraption. Those can easily blow out your hulls causing more leaks and damage. Your lungs are more than adequate.

I have a 2012 Getaway that is leaking really badly but I cant find from where. I was going to use the soapy water method but I was going to use an air compressor. Since the Getaway hulls are rotomolded is it still a bad idea to use a compressor? The boats we have take a real beating, they get used 4-5 hours/day in the summer, any other preventitive maintenance I can do to prevent leaks in the future?

--
Paul T.
6 Hobie Getaways, 3 Waves, & an H16
Sea Island Water Sports, GA
--

I use an air compressor and soapy water
just be careful - don't ad more than a few psi - get a helper to get the soap everwhere,
may need to do it a few times to find the holes

Quote

I was going to use an air compressor. Since the Getaway hulls are rotomolded is it still a bad idea to use a compressor? The boats we have take a real beating, they get used 4-5 hours/day in the s

Quote

any other preventative maintenance I can do to prevent leaks in the future?

from what i have heard, there is not a lot you can do "preventatively" on those kinda boats except to keep them undercover (avoid UV) and don't use them in crazy wind as this is when your will wear and worm your fittings out the most

personally - I would sail the snot out of them till they sink - then buy a fiberglass boat that has more performance (for the same cost)



Edited by MN3 on Jan 26, 2015 - 11:44 AM.

Thanks for the advice for the leaks. We have one fiberglass boat down here, but we take a lot of families out and the Getaways are more condusive for the large groups.

--
Paul T.
6 Hobie Getaways, 3 Waves, & an H16
Sea Island Water Sports, GA
--

Do not use an air compressor to pressurize the hulls. An air compressor is capable of generating pressures that are more than high enough to damage your hulls. Plus, most general purpose air compressors are intended to deliver very low volumes of very high pressure air (for things like filling bike tires, running nail guns, etc). Whn pressure testing a hull, what you want is a relatively high volume of low pressure air.

IMO, the best way to pressurize your hull is to take a piece of tubing and jam it into the drain plug. Blow half a dozen or so lung fulls into the hull and then clamp off the tube. Then go around the boat spraying the hulls with soapy water (a windex type squirt bottle works best). Anywhere you see bubbles, you have a leak. You will have to "re-inflate" the hulls every couple minutes as you go. I have checked for leaks on several boats using this method and it works great. I would not risk damaging the boat using a mechanical pump- especially on a rotomolded boat where the damage would not be able to be repaired.

sm

Are the pressure equalization holes on the Prindle right below the plugs below the rear cross-beams? I found a little hole, about 1/16th of an inch in diameter, just below the plug on both hulls on my Prindle 16 a few days ago.

I seem to remember my P16 having those and your reasoning makes a lot of sense since the plugs could easily pop out with a little positive pressure.

I use a compressor also. Just be very careful, a couple psi is good.

rcnesneg

Are the pressure equalization holes on the Prindle right below the plugs below the rear cross-beams? I found a little hole, about 1/16th of an inch in diameter, just below the plug on both hulls on my Prindle 16 a few days ago.

The plug covers the cavity for the crossbeam bolts. The little hole below is a weep hole to drain that cavity. There should not be any connection between this cavity and the plenum inside the hull. The bolt goes up through solid fibreglass and through the beam.



Edited by klozhald on Jan 31, 2015 - 12:00 PM.

--
Sheet In!
Bob
_/)_____/)_/)____/)____/)_____/)/)__________/)__
Prindle 18-2 #244 "Wakizashi"
Prindle 16 #3690 "Pegasus" Sold (sigh)
AZ Multihull Fleet 42 member
(Way) Past Commodore of Prindle Fleet 14
Arizona, USA
--

This is an old thread, but I came across it while researching how to pressurize a hull to locate a leak. Thought I'd throw in this additional comment, as it might help someone else who digs this up in the future.

From the comments above, it sounds like using a tube into the drain plug hole and simple lung power is the safe way to go, so I'm going to get a tube and do that in the future.

However, before I knew about that, one of the officers in my cat club advised to use the club's leaf blower on low power setting and simply hold the end of the blower 4-6 inches away from the open drain hole and blow it towards the hole. As with the comments above, he advised to NEVER push the end of the blower nozzle up against the hull around the drain hole, which would create too much pressure and possibly "blow out the hull."

So I did this and it worked for me to locate the leak.

Another guy suggested doing the same thing using a shop vacuum as a blower. But the leaf blower was battery powered, so that allowed me to conveniently just take it out onto the beach to where the boat was located. Didn't have to worry about getting the boat to a place where an extension cord could reach the shop vac. Obviously, not everybody will own a leaf blower, but a lot of people may have shop vacs.



Edited by CatFan57 on Jul 13, 2018 - 01:52 PM.

--
1998 P18.2
Sailing out of SHBCC, NJ
--

I cobbled together a very simple way to do it, using a balloon pump from the Dollar Store. It is hard to use lung power, then go around sloshing soapy water if you are solo. This pump is safe, & unless the leak is huge, you can check the entire hull with one course of pumping.
https://www.thebeachcats.…ictures?g2_itemId=118697

--
Hobie 18 Magnum
Dart 15
Mystere 6.0XL Sold Was a handful solo
Nacra 5.7
Nacra 5.0
Bombardier Invitation (Now officially DEAD)
Various other Dock cluttering WaterCrap
--

Edchris177

I cobbled together a very simple way to do it, using a balloon pump from the Dollar Store. It is hard to use lung power, then go around sloshing soapy water if you are solo. This pump is safe, & unless the leak is huge, you can check the entire hull with one course of pumping.
https://www.thebeachcats.…ictures?g2_itemId=118697

Nice tip, thanks. It's nice to be able to do things solo and not have to depend on powered equipment and/or finding someone to help you when you want to do a basic job.

--
1998 P18.2
Sailing out of SHBCC, NJ
--

I use my wife's blow dryer on low loosely gorilla taped to the drain plug hole (not completely covered). Unscrew the inspection port cap so its loose. Look for gaps in the inspection port flange and drain plug flange by unscrewing. The rubber plugs at the crossbar could be old and shrunken, I replaced them with gorilla tape. Leaks in the crossbar saddle could mean a crack. The bolts going through this area are not that big a diameter and the fiberglass around them is fairly snug.

Agree with Edchris177 and the use of a dollar store balloon pump. Worked well, is light, cheap and does not generate enough pressure to damage the hulls. Bought two at the dollar store for $2.00. Just build up the tip with electrical tape, with a taper so it fits snuggly in the drain plug hole. Worked well to find leaks in my Prindle 18. My leaks were around the deck ports. Repaired with stainless bolts to replace the screws and some sealant. Replaced screws with bolts as screws would no longer snugly pull down hub of port.

--
Scott
ARC 21
Prindle 18
Annapolis, Maryland
--

After the discussion of how to conveniently pressurize the hulls without assistance, and without damaging the boat from over-pressurization, I just happened to run across something I hadn't previously noticed in my owner's manual for the P18.2:

"Check for leaks at all hull fittings by covering these areas in detergent and blowing air (from your lungs) into the drain hole. DO NOT USE A VACUUM CLEANER AS THE EXCESS PRESSURE CAN DAMAGE THE HULLS. If detergent bubbles, there is a leak."

I hadn't considered that lung power alone might be enough, but apparently it is. So I guess that's about the most basic way to do it.



Edited by CatFan57 on Aug 07, 2018 - 09:08 AM.

--
1998 P18.2
Sailing out of SHBCC, NJ
--

Recommended earlier in the thread....

Dogboy

IMO, the best way to pressurize your hull is to take a piece of tubing and jam it into the drain plug. Blow half a dozen or so lung fulls into the hull and then clamp off the tube. Then go around the boat spraying the hulls with soapy water (a windex type squirt bottle works best). Anywhere you see bubbles, you have a leak. You will have to "re-inflate" the hulls every couple minutes as you go. I have checked for leaks on several boats using this method and it works great. I would not risk damaging the boat using a mechanical pump- especially on a rotomolded boat where the damage would not be able to be repaired.

Wrap several layers of electrical or duct tape around the end of the hose and you can thread it into the drain plug fitting for a reasonably air tight seal.

sm

How about those of us that don't have drain plugs? All I've got is an access port at the back of each hull. Do I take a sheet of rubber, tape it over the access port and then make a small hole for the tubing?

--
Dana, Holly, Emma & Hannah

LJ/Stu's Dart 18 (Sold! :( )
--

dartsailors

How about those of us that don't have drain plugs? All I've got is an access port at the back of each hull. Do I take a sheet of rubber, tape it over the access port and then make a small hole for the tubing?

how much water do you get in your hulls?
if very little - than there is nothing to worry about

if you get more than you can get out with a sponge you might get a sheet of rubber to work but i don't know how you will attach it.
you may need to modify a lid to get it to work well - i may have old ones i would sacrifice if you need it - or look through Parker's garage - he has been squirreling away parts for decades

dartsailors

How about those of us that don't have drain plugs? All I've got is an access port at the back of each hull. Do I take a sheet of rubber, tape it over the access port and then make a small hole for the tubing?

I would purchase an extra access port cover, drill a hole in the top of it and tap it for a 1/8” or 1/4” NPT pipe fitting. Then purchase a brass pipe fitting with an Male NPT thread on one end and a barbed hose connection on the opposite end. Thread the pipe fitting into the access port cover, push a 10” long hose onto the other end, and then install the access port into the hull to allow you to pressurize the hull.

sm

Dogboy

Recommended earlier in the thread....

Dogboy

IMO, the best way to pressurize your hull is to take a piece of tubing and jam it into the drain plug. Blow half a dozen or so lung fulls into the hull and then clamp off the tube. Then go around the boat spraying the hulls with soapy water (a windex type squirt bottle works best). Anywhere you see bubbles, you have a leak. You will have to "re-inflate" the hulls every couple minutes as you go. I have checked for leaks on several boats using this method and it works great. I would not risk damaging the boat using a mechanical pump- especially on a rotomolded boat where the damage would not be able to be repaired.

Wrap several layers of electrical or duct tape around the end of the hose and you can thread it into the drain plug fitting for a reasonably air tight seal.

sm

Sorry, good point; I hadn't looked at the thread in a while and forgot you already suggested using lung power with a tube.

--
1998 P18.2
Sailing out of SHBCC, NJ
--

MN3

dartsailors

How about those of us that don't have drain plugs? All I've got is an access port at the back of each hull. Do I take a sheet of rubber, tape it over the access port and then make a small hole for the tubing?

how much water do you get in your hulls?
if very little - than there is nothing to worry about

if you get more than you can get out with a sponge you might get a sheet of rubber to work but i don't know how you will attach it.
you may need to modify a lid to get it to work well - i may have old ones i would sacrifice if you need it - or look through Parker's garage - he has been squirreling away parts for decades

It really depends. If it's been raining a lot, I get 5-6 sponges out of the starboard hull. Port hull stays dry. I inquired because if its an easy fix (caulk or something like that) I'd do it just to avoid the sponge routine.

When I park the boat, I have lids with the center drilled out and a pvc elbow that I insert. One of Stu's inventions. It actually allows the water to evaporate, but doesn't solve the problem totally. I think it's a good solution for an age old problem.

--
Dana, Holly, Emma & Hannah

LJ/Stu's Dart 18 (Sold! :( )
--

dartsailors

MN3

dartsailors

How about those of us that don't have drain plugs? All I've got is an access port at the back of each hull. Do I take a sheet of rubber, tape it over the access port and then make a small hole for the tubing?

how much water do you get in your hulls?
if very little - than there is nothing to worry about

if you get more than you can get out with a sponge you might get a sheet of rubber to work but i don't know how you will attach it.
you may need to modify a lid to get it to work well - i may have old ones i would sacrifice if you need it - or look through Parker's garage - he has been squirreling away parts for decades

It really depends. If it's been raining a lot, I get 5-6 sponges out of the starboard hull. Port hull stays dry. I inquired because if its an easy fix (caulk or something like that) I'd do it just to avoid the sponge routine.

When I park the boat, I have lids with the center drilled out and a pvc elbow that I insert. One of Stu's inventions. It actually allows the water to evaporate, but doesn't solve the problem totally. I think it's a good solution for an age old problem.

actually was my invention to let moisture out and avoid rain and cats from getting in my 6" ports (yes cats) :)

water that gets in from rain is typically getting in under the beams, around the beam bolts and under the trampoline track
but since you don't have any bolts ... i would GUESS that it's coming in from the tracks and/or your port lids

If it's your lids - some silicone around them may help
if it's your tramp tracks ... you can try some silicone on the rivets but not sure that's gonna due much - often the rivets worm holes into the gelcoat under the track - it's nearly impossible to seal them from above.

A tarp may be your solution to this - and will extend the life of your tramp/lines/gelcoat and even metal fittings but does come with added work (removal and re-tarping), expense since even high quality tarps don't last that long here)

Do you get water in the hulls after sailing?
If yes i would expect it to be highly dependent on the wind/water conditions
my hulls are dry in light air but my big deck port lets a fair amount of water in when i am moving over 10knots (the spray up the hull gets in)



Edited by MN3 on Aug 09, 2018 - 10:21 AM.

On the pvc vents, I'm happy to give credit where it is due, which wasn't me. Although I have wondered if you could add a solar powered fan to it. Reverse the fan direction so that it's drawing out of the hull.

I don't think I get water in the hulls from sailing. I think it's entirely rain and I do cover the boat with a tarp.

For example, I hadn't had the boat out in over 2 months when I pulled it out last weekend. I pulled about 5-6 sponges of water from the starboard hull. If I have it out more frequently, it's less, but that's likely because I check each time and wring out what I can.

I might have to taste some of it next time to see if it's salty ...

--
Dana, Holly, Emma & Hannah

LJ/Stu's Dart 18 (Sold! :( )
--

Quote

I might have to taste some of it next time to see if it's salty ...

haha
I would save that job for your kids

I continue to get many "sponges" full of water after every sail in my starboard hull. Did the air pressure test with soapy water and did not see any bubbles. Epoxied the keels with couple layers of 2 inch wide 10 feet long glass, but still water getting in. Did not check crossbars yet, but it must be coming from there... Very frustrated that I can't find the leak.

--
Frank
Prindle 15/Hobie 16/Hobie 14T
--

Did you check the entire length of the seam where the deck is bonded to the hull?

sm