I'm posting this on behalf of a fellow sailor at my marina. He launched his O'Day 23 on Sunday afternoon...by Monday morning the bilge had flooded and water was coming into his cabin. He pumped out and we could see a little bit of water trickling in from what looks like a screw hole. It's just to the port side of the centerboard trunk in his bilge. We thought that maybe the screw hole was drilled too deep and punctured the hull. We pulled the boat back onto the trailer and inspected the bottom but didn't find anything obvious.
Initially, I was thinking to enlarge the hole a bit by drilling through and then patch it but quickly realized that although water was coming in through this hole, it doesn't necessarily have to puncture the hull to let water in. It's possible that there is a leak somewhere else and that hole is just the escape path. I'm not familiar with the construction of the O'Day 23 so it's hard for me to guess where the possible leak locations may be. I don't know if there are any voids in that area of the boat where water could collect and then leak out the hole. There was no rain, so wherever the water is getting in it is below the waterline.
So, does anyone have an idea of what this leak could be and how best to track it down and repair it? Someone else at the marina had the idea of filling the bilge with dyed water and then watching for signs on the leak outside the boat. At this point the guys just wants to fix his boat and go sailing! Any advice will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
Initially, I was thinking to enlarge the hole a bit by drilling through and then patch it but quickly realized that although water was coming in through this hole, it doesn't necessarily have to puncture the hull to let water in. It's possible that there is a leak somewhere else and that hole is just the escape path. I'm not familiar with the construction of the O'Day 23 so it's hard for me to guess where the possible leak locations may be. I don't know if there are any voids in that area of the boat where water could collect and then leak out the hole. There was no rain, so wherever the water is getting in it is below the waterline.
So, does anyone have an idea of what this leak could be and how best to track it down and repair it? Someone else at the marina had the idea of filling the bilge with dyed water and then watching for signs on the leak outside the boat. At this point the guys just wants to fix his boat and go sailing! Any advice will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
