Well, after drilling out my inner liner and flushing well I now have no evidence of water trapped in the hull. We made it through all summer with no water entering the bilges either above or below the inner liner (Stuffing box water gets trapped by the engine oil spill pan and is sponged out from there). But, the smell continues. I have found that a significant amount of odor is originating from the chalked seal round the lid of the molded in holding tank and under the cushions. By using duct tape I was able to isolate most of that smell to verify that it clearly is coming from that source. So although fiberglass does not permeate it looks like either the chalking does or the seal is broken. So I will have to remove that lid and re-bed at a minimum. But now my dilemma. Because the smell from the area under the V-berth is still significant I suspect that I have a gas leak from either around the fill connector or through the holes made by the screws that hold down the lid. The fill connector is mounted so high in the tank that you cannot gain access to the top side of it. It is glassed in but I suspect that maybe it is not sealed all the way around. Because we never let the tank get even close to full I doubt if we ever submerge that connector even with the rail down so there is no evidence of liquid leaking. When the lid is off I can try to see if there is any possibility of a leak around that connector from the inside. So my question to you is, do you think that chalk will remain un-permeated for any significant amount of time (read years), and will gas make it's way through those screw holes or is the chalking supposed to isolate them from the internal cavity of the tank. Also what type of chalk is the right choice for this job. Any comment would be welcome.
