So- First post, here it goes. Long story short-- 1980 catamaran flipped. We were in the water too long trying to right her and she took on significant amounts of water!! With help from a boat we got her up and back to shore-- can't believe she could still sail with almost a full hull of water. While putting it on the trailer part of the hull collapsed b/c there was so much water in it!!! So I now have a hole on the left hull around the bottom-- quite a nice one I might add. I also noticed while trying to right her that there were several soft spots on the inside of the hull. So, I need to fix the hole and should I do anything about soft spots on the inside of the hull? I have to fix and then figure out where she was taking on water-- someone suggested a smoke machine to find the whole. How hard is this going to be for a NEW Guy who has no experience doing it. Mind you I only paid 1700 for her and she sails great-- just started taking on too much water- I'm thinking the hull was getting some water before our wipeout but im not sure-- I was flying on the trap and not paying attention while my buddy was working his second at the helm ever! Guess I paid for bad head work! Any help is greatly appreciated.

I've restored 6 old sailboats in my time and I'm working on a Rhodes 22 now... so I've done a few hole repairs.

I have found this book to be the bible

http://www.amazon.com/Caseys-Complete-Illustrated-Sailboat-Maintenance/dp/0071462848

It has very good, detailed graphics that walk you through the process. See if you can find a used copy and then keep it on the night stand...

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rgranger
Smith Mountain Lake, VA
Hobie16, Balboa26, Rhodes 22, O'Brian Windsurfer
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smoke machine seems excessive. What I do is loosely 'connect' the vacuum tape the hose to the blow-hole on the vacuum using duct tape, then duct tape the hose LOOSELY to the drainage (pressure release) stopper under the rudder. Make sure lots of air can escape so you don't blow up the boat or over heat the vacuum (it needs lots of air flow for cooling).
Soapy water and a sponge will then tell you exactly where the leaks are. Use a pencil or some masking tape to mark any leaks.

Chances are there will be leakage around the bottoms of the dagger board trunks. I repaired those by cleaning up thoroughly and applying a couple of layers of glass over the top (from the outside). Put a plastic bag over the repair and insert the daggerboard to make sure it still fits or you'll be sanding down your repair for a couple of hours...
If the damage is worse, you may have to take the decks off (chisel, sharp putty knife) and repair from the inside, which is way more work but allows you to build up a stronger layer of material if needed.

Roller damage from a trailer I'd fix from the outside. Use a sanding disc or a grinder (if you're comfortable with them) to sand out the area around the damage so that the sanded part is 7-10 x as wide as the thickness of the laminate. This will give the repair something to hang on to. Then prepare a patch of glass (I love bi-axial weave for this) consisting of just so many layers that it will give you the required thikness (experiment, I usually get up to 7 layers of bi-ax but don't remember the fabric weight Ihave). Itend to use epoxy resin but polyester should do the trick.

Good luck, post pictures if you have any questions!
Dennis

Heed dennisME's advice about "loosely" connecting reversed vacumn. Years ago I blew up a little dinghy sailboat by holding the shop vac tight against the drain port. It might only be a couple PSI, but there are thousands of square inches on a hull.
IF you fail to find a leak, remember to check the one last obvious place, the actual drain plug & fitting. Our 5.0 had a fair leak in the port hull. We soaped & blew air to no avail. By chance some one pressurized it slightly, then stuck a finger in the hole to hold pressure. They heard air hissing from the fitting. Turned out the PO operated off a sand beach & left the plugs out when not sailing. The grit had destroyed the water tightness of the threads, along with the fitting itself.

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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
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A couple of breaths to the drain plug hole, like giving CPR to a child, is all it takes to pressurize the hull, DON'T OVER DO IT.

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Ron
Nacra F18
Reservoir Sailing Assn.
Brandon, Mississippi
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A agree with Ron a couple of breaths and it will start blowing bubbles. Check closely where the non skid desks connect to the hulls especially the forward ones.

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Nacra 5.2
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