Can this be source of my leak?

TonyG13

I've been trying to track down a bilge leak for awhile and maybe this is the culprit? Towards the end of the season I finally notice a small trickle coming from the transducer. Now that the boat is in storage I gave the nut a twist and it was loose and this is what I found (or didn't find) when I backed off the nut...



Little to no caulk is visible, though the transducer is still firmly in place and won't budge so there must be adhesive on the exterior side. The exterior doesn't appear to have any gaps but I looked up the manual and it says this should have been bedded all around and up to and including the nut on the inside.

I did pour water from above around the hole and nothing dripped down under the boat. But can the pressure of sitting in the water force water up through holes or seams that I can't see? Can I just reseal it from above - and add a bead around the outside underneath - or do I need to completely remove the unit and reseal fresh?

oscar1

It can be, but I don't see any stream of water mark around the transducer going to the center of the bilge. In my opinion you found a real future problem. 

TonyG13

Good point!

Liberty44140

Agree it doesn’t look like it was leaking. 

YYZRC

Check your garbord plug. Mine was leaking and very little caulk. 

TonyG13

YYZRC said:

Check your garbord plug. Mine was leaking and very little caulk. 

That was first on my list. Looks to be in great shape from the outside. I screwed in a new plug and poured a gallon of water on the inside of the bilge. No leaks. Then unscrewed the plug and it came pouring out. Seems to be working as intended.

TonyG13

Yard did my drives yesterday and nothing out of the ordinary there either. All bellows in good shape.

YYZRC

TonyG13 said:

That was first on my list. Looks to be in great shape from the outside. I screwed in a new plug and poured a gallon of water on the inside of the bilge. No leaks. Then unscrewed the plug and it came pouring out. Seems to be working as intended.

Not sure if that test would be valid. When the boat is in the water, the garbord plug is a foot below the surface and the water is under pressure trying to force its way into your boat.

rasbury

There are so many holes in these cruisers, regardless of length, that if you pulled everything out it would sink in 15 seconds. That being said, I had a leak I chased for 7 years (?) and finally found, by accident, PO had drilled holes in the underneath the seat dry storage- which water now leaked, took out the midship/storage ceiling and pretty much ruined the generator frame. Leaks will drive you nuts!

TonyG13

YYZRC said:

TonyG13 said:

That was first on my list. Looks to be in great shape from the outside. I screwed in a new plug and poured a gallon of water on the inside of the bilge. No leaks. Then unscrewed the plug and it came pouring out. Seems to be working as intended.

Not sure if that test would be valid. When the boat is in the water, the garbord plug is a foot below the surface and the water is under pressure trying to force its way into your boat.

Agree. Just seeing if it was something obvious. Talked with the yard owner. If we don't find any smoking guns (i.e., weird holes like @rasbury found) over the winter, we'll drop her in a little bit at a time while I'm in the engine room looking for signs of water coming in.

YYZRC

My hot water tank was leaking a slow drip that had me thinking I had a hull leak. I'm assuming your tanks are all drained, though.

TonyG13

YYZRC said:

My hot water tank was leaking a slow drip that had me thinking I had a hull leak. I'm assuming your tanks are all drained, though.

That was what my yard guy thought. I'm in indoor heated storage, so we actually left water in them this time to see if the holding tank or water heater are leaking. Everything is holding pressure and no leaks from either.

LaRea

Remove and reseal.  Give it a tap from inside with a rubber mallet, and I bet it pops right off.  

YYZRC

Lay down a bunch of those blue paper towels around the tanks to confirm they aren’t the culprit. 

rasbury

Baby powder around a suspect area..

oscar1

you can also check the portable water pump mine was leaking for the inlet fitting, one drop every 2 or 3 minute I use the paper tower method to find the mini leak. I end replacing the pump after the difficulty of removing the old one. 

YYZRC

Nice decking @oscar1 - do you know the supplier?

TonyG13

@oscar1 - I'll double check that. Thx.

PickleRick

It's hard not hard to think of "cloudy with a chance of meatballs" anytime someone mentions a leak in the boat. 

Aqua_Aura

I mention that quote way too much to my wife, however in this case when it made sense I didn't even use it. Good one @PickleRick

PickleRick

Water really likes to cling to it's self so just dumping water into the area probably isn't a good test for the leak unless you have a way to hit it with some compressed air as well.   Rubbing alcohol would be a much better test.    Would be hard to see really well on clean shiney gel coat but a blue paper shop towel will pickup on the smallest amount of moisture very quickly. 


-not Flynt Lockwood 

oscar1

YYZRC said:

Nice decking @oscar1 - do you know the supplier?

The dealer I order the product is TT Custom Marine and the product is Plasdeck Synthetic Teak Decking. The product is very good, its being install in my boat since 2015 (DIY) and it still like new, BUT it get real HOT HOT for barefoot  traffic. I have to wet the swimming platform prior to use it during summer. 

YYZRC

Thanks @oscar1 - that’s the company I ordered from. I did light grey so hopefully not as hot. 

Did you glue it down like they recommend? I’m hesitant to do that! Really prefer the 3M VHB tape. 

Lake_Bum

YYZRC said:

Thanks @oscar1 - that’s the company I ordered from. I did light grey so hopefully not as hot. 

Did you glue it down like they recommend? I’m hesitant to do that! Really prefer the 3M VHB tape. 

I have the same type stuff on my swim platform in gray.  Never gets hot ever. I used the 3M that it came with.  On the platform it's never came off even a little bit.  I did put some on the dash between the window where you step.  That part did come off, so I super-glued it!  My stuff is cheap Ebay, and you literally can't tell the difference from the super high dollar stuff 

Lake_Bum

It's really dirty in this picture,  but here's mine 

YYZRC

@Lake_Bum it looks like you have EVA foam (Sea-Dek/Marine Mat)? I had it on my Four Winns and it looked good for about 20 minutes and then showed every dog claw mark and scratch. 

The PlasDeck is quite rigid and can be sanded if damaged. 

Liberty44140

I have flexiteak pvc teak decking in my cockpit and on the swim platform. Another brand alternative to plasteak. It is glued down and holds well. Like Oscar says it gets insanely hot so we also spray the platform a lot when swimming. But it super durable, doesn’t show dirt, cleans well and any stains can be sanded off easily. I scrub the cockpit a few times a year with a good degreaser and it looks great. When we bought the boat we hand sanded the entire thing with 60 grit lightly and it looked new. May do that again at some point. 

Lake_Bum

YYZRC said:

@Lake_Bum it looks like you have EVA foam (Sea-Dek/Marine Mat)? I had it on my Four Winns and it looked good for about 20 minutes and then showed every dog claw mark and scratch. 

The PlasDeck is quite rigid and can be sanded if damaged. 

Yes mine is a cheap EVA foam.  Under $100!  It does show some scratches, but stains haven't been a problem really.  There have been thousands of fish on that deck, with more than a little blood getting on it.  Looks pretty good still, but not perfect.  
Sorry to distract from the LEAK part of this post!  

Aqua_Aura

I had Seadek on the rinker 280 and got oil all over it when I did an oil change. The bag with the filter had a hole and dripped as I walked out of the boat without realizing till I got back. It can clean with dawn dish soap and a small scrub brush. 

Formulaben

YYZRC said:

My hot water tank was leaking a slow drip that had me thinking I had a hull leak. I'm assuming your tanks are all drained, though.

I found a leak in the water heater on my FV270...on the list to pull and remove this winter.

oscar1

YYZRC said:

Thanks @oscar1 - that’s the company I ordered from. I did light grey so hopefully not as hot. 

Did you glue it down like they recommend? I’m hesitant to do that! Really prefer the 3M VHB tape. 

I glue down, so it is permanent