Leak in 23.5 water ballast tank

DJN51

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Oct 26, 2009
377
Hunter 23.5 East Chicago In
A friend used a product called Damit sealer.got it on Amazon to fix his fish pond liner worked great. How about hot water in ballast for stop leak!!!
 

ronkS2

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Aug 22, 2017
27
Hunter 240 South Florida
Hey guys, don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. Are your plans to race, circumnavigate the world or go out and have some fun. Here are a few ideas good or bad but at the end of the day should get you out on the water.

IF you are considering the boat a total loss anyway, what can it hurt.

1. At the end of the day so what if it leaks.... Is the tank emptying out total, or just enough water to make a mess leaking into the bilge? If it is a reasonable amount just enjoy the boat until you can't anymore.

2. Do you trailer the boat? IF not, or even if you do cut a hole in the top of the tank where the vent is and fill it with weight. Cement, rocks, lead, mother-in-laws, whatever you have for dead weight. You may not have to put a full 1500lbs in but maybe enough to get the leak tamed.

Good luck on whatever the outcome and I look forward to following this link.
 

Doug J

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May 2, 2005
1,192
Hunter 26 Oceanside, CA
I read somewhere that someone found that the tank had been punctured by the screws that hold the down the bracket for the port-a-potty. That's a spot that I intend to focus on. No other mods on this boat.
So, what happened with the investigation of the port-a-potti hold down bracket screws?
 

Fred

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Sep 27, 2008
493
Catalina 28 mkii 745 Ottawa, Ontario, CA
BTW... looking at my H26, the porta-pottie screws don't appear to be that critical since the unit is installed on a raised portion of the floor which should be well above the ballast tank. Correct? - H23.5 is likely a different story with which I am not familiar.
 
Sep 19, 2016
172
Caliber 33 Sebastian, FL
Sorry for the slow updates. Had to wait for the endoscope to arrive and then it took me a while to get a chance to try it. As it turns out, the endoscope was not the very useful. I guess these things are meant to be used in tight spaces so the focus distance is around 4 inches. There's not enough control over the position of the camera to make that useful. I switched to taping a web cam to the end of a steel fish tape :
tape.png
This yielded some interesting pictures like this one:
upload_2018-7-22_11-19-28.png
Unfortunately, the only place to insert a camera is through the ballast tank valve which is right next to the centerboard trunk so I can only inspect a portion of the starboard side of the tank. There was no visible damage anywhere that I could reach. Sigh..
 
Sep 19, 2016
172
Caliber 33 Sebastian, FL
BTW: The boxy looking structure in the middle of the picture is the pocket for the end of the dinette table stand. That really threw me.

On another note, we took the boat out this weekend. Had a great overnight on the Indian River. Most interesting thing is that, after 24 hours in the water, there was almost no water in the bilge! Ohh.. Kay... There are only two things different on this trip. I relocated our oversized cooler to the stern and, the night was so nice that I slept in the cockpit with the bimini top up to keep the dew off me. I'm guessing that, in this configuration, she was probably squatting in the stern quite a bit. This is consistent with the leak being way up near the bow... hmm.
 
Sep 30, 2016
339
Island Packet IP 44 Ventura, CA
You should be able to see much of the ballast tank by looking in the storage compartments. But I guess if there isnt a stain it would be hard to determine the leak. Also, cant remember if it was mentioned, but a hard starboard tack will sometime get some water to leak in through the thru-hull for the bilge. Since you didnt have much leakage on your over night, maybe it is something like that. Been getting some strong winds lately?
 
Sep 19, 2016
172
Caliber 33 Sebastian, FL
Managed to get some pictures directly beneath the port-a-potty today. I put the thinnest screwdriver I could find through the old screw hole in the sole so that I'd have a guide. I see no evidence of damage to the ballast tank at this point. Also, this experiment gave me a better idea of how much clearance there actually is down there. It's almost two inches. The screws I pulled out where no where near this long. So I guess this rules out damage from the port-a-potty screws.

WIN_20180722_10_51_03_Pro.jpg
 
Jun 2, 2004
649
Hunter 23.5 Calgary, Canada
To find my leaks some years ago I lined the bilge and under-berth areas with kleenex and paper towels, to see where the water was coming from. The water under the aft berth was from the centerboard bolt at the mast and from the bilge through-hull leaking back through the bilge pump.

Would this be something for you to try? You'd have to get the bilge dry enough to begin with.
 
Jun 8, 2004
10,024
-na -NA Anywhere USA
One thing to ask. Is the wood compression post sit on top of the swing centerboard housing? Can you take a photo of that? Did you inspect the drain nail plug focthe air vent to see if was tight and not worn? Did you inspect the gasket under the wing nut that opens or closes off the tank? Did you note any water where the bolt holds the cb bracket on top of the cb housing and if so is it tight with a bead of caulk around it?
 

Doug J

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May 2, 2005
1,192
Hunter 26 Oceanside, CA
I bet it's something like what Crazy Dave is pointing out. I bet there is no damage to the ballast tank.
 
Sep 19, 2016
172
Caliber 33 Sebastian, FL
Yes to all your questions Dave. I will add that another change before the last outing is a new bilge valve gasket. But, I can't see how that would be a factor with a boat at anchor in calm water.
 

Doug J

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May 2, 2005
1,192
Hunter 26 Oceanside, CA
Yes to all your questions Dave. I will add that another change before the last outing is a new bilge valve gasket. But, I can't see how that would be a factbaor with a boat at anchor in calm water.
It could be the factor! Also, make sure the vent plug is making a good seal and it's tight. Even gentle rocking in calm water at anchor could be enough to cause some seepage from the ballast tank if the seals are not good at the valve and vent hole.
After my ballast tank is full, valve and vent plug real tight. I dry the area with a towel, then check it later a couple times to see if there is any evidence of water around the valve and vent.
 
Jun 2, 2004
649
Hunter 23.5 Calgary, Canada
Paper towels or kleenex stuffed in all the places Dave mentioned would easily prove or disprove those possibilities. If a dry bilge gets wet without wrinkling those papers you have your answer. The paper stays wrinkled even after it dries again.
 
Jan 19, 2010
12,362
Hobie 16 & Rhodes 22 Skeeter Charleston
@PropellerHead

I’m liking the idea that it may be your transducer plug. But if that turns out to be a negative

I’m thinking you go back in the tank with your camera and have someone with a VERY bright, narrow beam flashlight get down in the nooks and crannies while you look for pinhole beams in the tank with your camera
 
Jun 8, 2004
10,024
-na -NA Anywhere USA
The more weight on board lowers the water line. In other words the more folks on board will do it. That was one at times to find leaks. Even with folks in one end of the boat will make one thevother end higher if everyone is either in the front or back
 
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Likes: Fred
Sep 19, 2016
172
Caliber 33 Sebastian, FL
So to recap: I've spent a few nights in the boat at anchor in glassy calm water with the only waves coming from occasional wake from a passing boat. On all but the last outing, I woke to find the bilge with about three to five gallons of water. On a couple of occasions I had a chance to check all the usual problem areas (base of compression post, bolt for centerboard, through hull for depth gauge and vent plug for water ballast) and found them all dry to the touch. I also double checked the bilge hose to make sure it had a loop above the water line. At one point, I poured food die in the ballast tank the night before and subsequently found colored water in the bilge which seemed to suggest a leak in the ballast tank.

Last night I filled the tanks with the trailer on my sloped driveway. Checked this morning and no water in the bilge. At this point, I'm at a loss. I've done all I can think of. Some have suggested that leaky ballast tank valve and drain plug (which I've since addressed) might have been the culprit. While I don't understand how five gallons of water can enter the boat due to sloshing in a calm anchorage, I guess I have to concede that this might be the case.

At this point, I'm going to table this issue until my next sail (which is looking like it might be weeks out). In the mean time, I'll be addressing other issues with the boat. I'm sure this will lead to more questions on this forum which I hope will draw as many helpful tips as this thread had. Thanks to all.
 
Jun 2, 2004
649
Hunter 23.5 Calgary, Canada
In all the cases where you "woke to find 3 to 5 gallons in the bilge", was it dry before you went to bed?
 
Sep 30, 2016
339
Island Packet IP 44 Ventura, CA
Ok, so dye in the ballast tank and later having colored water in bilge means leak is definitely from the ballast tank. So then you filled the ballast in the driveway and nothin'? That is perplexing. Could it be that the small crack is pinched closed with the different stress of sitting on the trailer and not the water?

The only thing I can think to try at this point is maybe a smoke test. Get or make a simple smoke generator (look in automotive tools) and try to fill the ballast with smoke. Open all the bilge hatches and start trying to pin it down. But if it doesnt leak water, it wont leak smoke. There are all kinds of leak detection tools available, like sniffers and UV dye type detectors. Just need to find the best/cheapest option. If you do go in this direction, maybe try empty ballast while on the water, since it seems to seal up on the trailer. Just thinking out loud. I dont know.