Recently bought a P 18-2 , yesterday I took it out in what turned out to be quite a wild ride, 22 knts gusts. When I put her ashore I could hear water going up and down in the port hull. When the drainplug was pulled out about 1 gallon of water came out. Was only on the water for 2 or 3 hours. Today I put her on the side, hull seems fine apart from a small crack about 20 inches in front of the daggerboard-case.
Since I bought her she was only sailed in light winds , and checked for inside water every single time.
My question is; are there any kown spots for leaks on P18-2?
Any help is welcom
Grtz
like anycat, they can develop anywhere.. but the usual suspects are
centerboard wells are usually where they leak. this is because its the hardest place to access.. leaks know this and hide in there.
If you don't take on water in light air, its very possible your water is from above the waterline.
i would check:
ports in your decks
tracks that hold your tramp and jib adjusters
leaks around the beams
there are a few ways to check...
GENTLY add some compressed air to an open drain plug and use soapy water to find leaks (will bubble up). IF YOU ADD TO MUCH AIR... YOU CAN DO DAMAGE. when i do this, i open a deck port a little and spread some soapy water there so i can monitor the air pressure (by looking at the bubbles)
you can also fill your hulls up with water (not more than 20%) and look for leaks (may require tipping the cat aft and forward to get water past the rocker (curve of the hull)
to test for leaks, acquire cheap spray bottle, fill with water and add several drops dishwashing liquid, shake bottle well, use girlfriend/wife's hairdryer on low speed, cool air and gently pressurize hull through drainplug, spray soapy liquid over both hulls, pull up a deck chair, crack open a brewsky and wait intently for big soap bubble.
Presto, :-O
Rougher conditions will force water in but a gallon over 3 hours in rough seas does not sound too bad. You can leak check it by blowing air into your hulls with a shop vac and squirt with soapy water around all your bolts & fittings & decks. Make sure you drain plugs are good and if you have any inspection ports check to see if the oring is missing. Good Luck!!
Thank you all for the quick replies,
centerboardcase seems fine on first inspection, think I will be going for the Andrew aproach with a touch of Turbohoho.
Weather is really not good this summer in Amsterdam, so soap-spray, a deckchair with umbrella , gardenhose to pressurize the hull with my lungs and a heineken.
Will look ridiculous, but anyway.
Thanks
the inspection ports can lose there seal to the hulls also as well as bad/no o rings. i replaced both ports with new ones when i painted the boat and used 3m 5200 marine sealant and new stainless steele screws in fresh drilled holes(filled old holes and offset new ones). it was my biggest leak, boat leaked much on rough days and not so much on calm days. its an esy repair and cost less than 30$ for the ports and sealant and screws. it may not be the actual leak but you will be glad you did it anyway!
[quote=coastrat] used 3m 5200 marine sealant
Great stuff but do not get any on you.
5200 may be overkill here, i would use marine grade silicone personally.
i dont think your lung capacity will fill your hulls... you will need some pressurized air.. or hairdryer???????
Andrew, your lungs are easily up to the job. I pulled those little white plugs from the inside top rear of each hull, & blew into them. About 4 large breaths is enough to pressurize to the point where I can hear air seeping from a beam bolt, or rivet on the jib tracks on the hull. It is surprising how much air you can put in there using only your lungs.
The downside is you need two people, one to blow & one to walk around with the spray bottle.
andrewscott wrote:
centerboard wells are usually where they leak. this is because its the hardest place to access.. leaks know this and hide in there.
HAHA, its a war strategy they have been using since the early 60's
5200 is really hard to remove. 4200 is great stuff, even that you have to use a dremel/sander to get it off.
The downside is you need two people, one to blow & one to walk around with the spray bottle.
Not if your lips are big enough! 🙂
The 18-2 is the same as the 19 so ive got a bit of expierence with that boat.
Centerboard wells: check the seems well and if you see bubbles when applying air in the drain plug heres how to fix that. Get silicone in a caulking gun and attach a small hose to the end of the caulking tube. I normally use a paint stir stick taped to the hose to guide the hose.
The beams on these boats tend to leak if not sealed well due to the way the screw goes through the hull. Take out beam bolts and apply silicone around the holes in the hull. Re seat beam and put some silicone around the bolt itself after its in and inserted. On the rear beam you should silicone the top and the bottum. The ream beam has nuts on the bottum. The front doesnt use nuts because it has a plate embeded in the hull.
Check the drain plug sockets. Make sure your drain plugs have O rings.
Make sur your access ports have o rings.
Sometimes the top decks on these boats can delam over time so if you run your finger down the deck and hull seem and feel it raised it may have some delam there. On my newest 19 i filled the deck/Hull joint with 5200 just to be sure.
Both my P19's leaked on the beam bolts so you may want to start there.
Did find it, it's the inspection port on both the port and starboard hull and the bolts of the frontbeam on the port hull.
Filled the hulls with water, not to much,first straight up, no water came out. Then I drained the hulls, took off the rig and put the cat upside-down and got her level and filled her up through the drainplugs. After a while she started leaking at the inspection-port and few minutes later at the port frontbeam-bolts.
Going to change the O rings today and reseal the ports.
Thank you for the replies .
mma600psi wrote: [quote=andrewscott]
centerboard wells are usually where they leak. this is because its the hardest place to access.. leaks know this and hide in there.
HAHA, its a war strategy they have been using since the early 60's
5200 is really hard to remove. 4200 is great stuff, even that you have to use a dremel/sander to get it off.
To remove 5200 tie an e guitar string to two scredriver handles, heat the middle of the string with a butane torch (10$) and saw benind the fitting. Works like crackerjack. Do not pry off with 5200, fiberglass work will be next.
I just dipped the bolts in some lithuim grease and that sealed stopped the leaks on my 5.5 until I knocked a hole in my dagger well but that has its own thread on the forum! Glad you found it.