Advice

[BWagner]

Hi,

I need some advice. I have a through-hull that has begun seeping slightly around the plywood backing plate. The plate itself is wet and there is a tiny dribble of water, barely enough to wipe up once a day that comes from it.

The through-hull itself seems fine, it isn't cracked or doesn't appear to be otherwise damaged. Normally I'm pretty cautious about stuff like this and would have the boat hauled out and re-bed the through-hull or replace it if necessary ASAP. My problem is that I'm in the Bahamas, the Exumas to be be exact and there is no place around here that can haul this boat. I am three days from Nassau which is the closest haul out facility but I am wondering if it is necessary to rush to Nassau to have the boat hauled.

It seems to me that with the tiny amount of seepage we probably have a significant amount of time before this becomes a real problem. Anybody have any thoughts on this? Having just arrived I would like to spend some time down here before we go back north. Has anybody out there dealt with a leak problem like this? If the through-hull is in tact and there is just some minor seepage around it, can or will this eventually turn into something catastrophic?

I know what the "better safe than sorry" answer is, but I'm hoping that I can keep an eye on this and put it off for a while and get it fixed back in the United States this spring.

Any thoughts?

 

[Caboteur]

If the through hull base can be reached easily, with a large pipe wrench slightly unscrew the retainer, insert some nytril or butyl, I can't remember which, the gray stuff you use to bed hardware on the deck. Then re-screw-down the through hull. Be careful not to break anything! On older boats this happens all the time and is just a normal maintenance procedure.

 

[capta]

If you have a cored hull, perhaps this is something you might want to look into. It wouldn't be a very good thing to have water wicking into core.

 

[31seahorse]

Hello BWagner,

We had a similar problem with a new-to-us boat last winter. Small amounts of water seeping in through the plies of the backer. We used Life Seal in larger and larger amounts until we stopped the seepage. We ended the leaking by spreading the Life Seal around the edges of the backer and over the top surface of it. The boat stayed in the water and in use for 4 months with no greater problem until it was hauled in April. Needless to say rebedding those areas correctly was on the "to do" list this fall, and the boat was relaunched in November.

That is not a recommendation. It is a "historical" account of what we experienced.

Best Wishes, Phil

 

[Winkfish]

Isn't there a putty that can be applied in the water? (I'll look for the name when I get home.) If so, if you can get to the outside of the through hull and putty around it, in addition to the above recommendations, that may help.

 

[Ted]

I had a similar problem but no actual water seepage inside the hull. The plywood block was wet but not saturated. I removed the through hull fitting and found that the stainless steel bolts that hold the seacock in place had severe corrosion where they were in contact with the wet plywood block. The bolts were almost entirely gone in that area. The through hull fitting was still attached to the seacock so there was no real urgency to make the repair. Keep a correctly sized wood or synthetic plug attached to the handle of the the problem seacock just in case there is a catastrophic failure which I doubt will occur. It's good seamanship even if there wasn't a problem.

 

[Joe]

Isn't there a putty that can be applied in the water?

Marine-Tex is one. http://www.marinetex.com/marinetexepoxyputty.html

 

[BWagner]

If the through hull base can be reached easily, with a large pipe wrench slightly unscrew the retainer, insert some nytril or butyl, I can't remember which, the gray stuff you use to bed hardware on the deck. Then re-screw-down the through hull. Be careful not to break anything! On older boats this happens all the time and is just a normal maintenance procedure.

Thanks for the reply. I am kind of nervous about going at this with a pipe wrench while the boat is still in the water but thanks.

 

[BWagner]

Hello BWagner,

We had a similar problem with a new-to-us boat last winter. Small amounts of water seeping in through the plies of the backer. We used Life Seal in larger and larger amounts until we stopped the seepage. We ended the leaking by spreading the Life Seal around the edges of the backer and over the top surface of it. The boat stayed in the water and in use for 4 months with no greater problem until it was hauled in April. Needless to say rebedding those areas correctly was on the "to do" list this fall, and the boat was relaunched in November.

That is not a recommendation. It is a "historical" account of what we experienced.

Best Wishes, Phil

Thanks Phil. I am not aware of a product called life seal - I am familiar with life caulk if thats the same thing. I might give it a try.

 

[BWagner]

I had a similar problem but no actual water seepage inside the hull. The plywood block was wet but not saturated. I removed the through hull fitting and found that the stainless steel bolts that hold the seacock in place had severe corrosion where they were in contact with the wet plywood block. The bolts were almost entirely gone in that area. The through hull fitting was still attached to the seacock so there was no real urgency to make the repair. Keep a correctly sized wood or synthetic plug attached to the handle of the the problem seacock just in case there is a catastrophic failure which I doubt will occur. It's good seamanship even if there wasn't a problem.

Thanks I have both teak and synthetic plugs and Stay Afloat as well. Don't think I'll have to use it - hope not anyway. Thanks.

 

[higgs]

I hesitate to answer this without a disclaimer. This is my take on the situation and it could well be way off the mark. If it were me, I would back the sea cock off just enough to squeeze in a bunch of Life Caulk or Life Seal (whichever is the one that can be applied to a wet surface) and crank it back down and keep an eye on it. This does not sound to me like a problem that is going to become catastrophic anytime soon. Once the cruise is over you can haul and rebed everything properly.

 

[Anonymous 121765]

B,

If I had your problem, this is how I would approach it.

First: plywood & water don't mix. The water-soaked wood is rotting & softening as I type this. Adding a sealer to wet wood is more of a band aid fix & not a permanent one. The water coming in is probably due to the thru-hull fitting and your hull. Hence, the wet wood. So, it's not the wood that's the problem, but the fitting/hull seal.

Secondly: Torqueing a thru-hull fitting in-water is not the smart way to go. My friend with a seventies vintage C27 had a similar problem. and all he wanted was to change out the frozen gate valve to a ball. While screwing the old valve, the thru-hull fitting turned and broke the seal. Water rushed in. Also, he has an outboard in the well & a dry bilge. Luckily, a boatyard was close, so while he motored, I stayed below hand pumping water to bucket & tossing. The fix was easy, the boat stayed in the lift straps. One hour later he was back in the water with a newly sealed thru hull fitting & a waterproof backing plate.

Finally, Yea, it'll cost ya some for the lift-n-splash but, you'll have the security of knowing your problem went away & with NO surprises. Just my opinion.

CR

 

[BWagner]

B,

If I had your problem, this is how I would approach it.

First: plywood & water don't mix. The water-soaked wood is rotting & softening as I type this. Adding a sealer to wet wood is more of a band aid fix & not a permanent one. The water coming in is probably due to the thru-hull fitting and your hull. Hence, the wet wood. So, it's not the wood that's the problem, but the fitting/hull seal.

Secondly: Torqueing a thru-hull fitting in-water is not the smart way to go. My friend with a seventies vintage C27 had a similar problem. and all he wanted was to change out the frozen gate valve to a ball. While screwing the old valve, the thru-hull fitting turned and broke the seal. Water rushed in. Also, he has an outboard in the well & a dry bilge. Luckily, a boatyard was close, so while he motored, I stayed below hand pumping water to bucket & tossing. The fix was easy, the boat stayed in the lift straps. One hour later he was back in the water with a newly sealed thru hull fitting & a waterproof backing plate.

Finally, Yea, it'll cost ya some for the lift-n-splash but, you'll have the security of knowing your problem went away & with NO surprises. Just my opinion.

CR

yea thanks. I have no problem paying for a haul out, I'm just hoping to be able to put it off until spring when we return to the US. We'll keep an eye on this and if it starts getting worse we'll have to haul-A** somewhere where theres a travellift which isn't around here.

 

[Chris Patterson]

Ron steered ya straight on this one. You might get lucky and take a valve off, and maybe not. At the very least a man needs to have a lift on ready-go status, because fooling with valves and thruhulls underwater is a roll of the dice, not a toss of the coin. I know people pull this off with a very qualified diver, and tales of replacing thruhulls at sea under way, wind blowing fifty knots and whatever. These are emergencies, and projects for the truly desperate and foolhardy. And maybe bragging rights. You don't hear of the attempts at this that failed. Who would go online about taking a plug out of the bottom of their boat and watch it sink, and even ADMIT to it, much less a how-to article.

And while your leak may not get much worse immediately, it is not however going to heal itself.