Leak on a 43.

JWS

.
Jun 24, 2021
3
Beneteau 43 Mentor
Has anyone encountered a slow leak in the location shown on the attached picture. At the dock it only weeps but when motoring you get a gallon every 4 hours. I have a good idea on how to fix it but wanted to know if others have had this and solved it.
 

Attachments

Jun 10, 2019
56
Beneteau First 36.7 Marina Village, Alameda
I hope it's not a crack in the shaft tube. I had one on my First 38. The tube and seal area remained dry until it was necessary to replace the shaft seal clamp due to corrosion. Once the clamp was removed the crack expanded and a serious leak was evident even when the seal clamp was reinstalled. The edges of the crack did not realign and the integrity of the tubing was compromised. The boat had to be hauled, the old tube carved out and a new one glassed in.
 

NYSail

.
Jan 6, 2006
3,048
Beneteau 423 Mt. Sinai, NY
The hull was molded with the void heading left (aft) in your picture. Once the stern tub was put in place, a slurry was poured over. However the pour was ill done and was not burped appropriately to get all voids out. Then on the outside where the stern tube exits the hull, there is a bead of caulk that is meant to keep the water out. I will bet when you pull the boat you find that the caulk has failed and water is seeping in. The voids in the poured stuff allows the water to make its way up..... Don't know where you are but a couple of seasons with water freezing in the NE cracked mine up a bit. What I did is pulled my boat, clean off all the old caulk, beveled the area on the outside of the hull where the stern tube meets the hull and let it start dripping. Then as a personal overkill I found the crack in the slurry where the water was flowing (I could actually see the water coming up) and ground that down a ways making sure I did not damage the stern tube which I believe is fiberglass. I let the thing drip for a full day, then poured a thinned epoxy into the hole I dug in the slurry. Next I went to the outside of the hull and added a fiberglass putty and built it up to give it strength and to keep the water out. Been 3 years and not a drip.

btw you can probably get away with just re-caulking the area on the outside of the hull, however I figured I would fix the issue. I do have photos if you are interested.

Good Luck!
Greg
 

NYSail

.
Jan 6, 2006
3,048
Beneteau 423 Mt. Sinai, NY
Here are a couple of shots:

this was the leak…… that is furthest aft starboard in the slurry
EBB7A71F-2805-4ACB-9B65-A4EF959B1678.jpeg

outside of hull / caulk
DED57AB8-642C-460A-9818-FF8E44B3851F.jpeg

cleaned and ground down. Actually cleaned much more paint off the hull where the epoxy eventually went
697447EA-E25F-48B0-B18F-F120FCC361E9.jpeg

Dug out and filled
24684F48-E3AE-4742-8EBD-04060A7C9A50.jpeg

added the fiberglass putty
EAD3013D-8439-4FD8-85AB-983F34EE2C21.jpeg

hope this helps.

Greg
 

JWS

.
Jun 24, 2021
3
Beneteau 43 Mentor
The hull was molded with the void heading left (aft) in your picture. Once the stern tub was put in place, a slurry was poured over. However the pour was ill done and was not burped appropriately to get all voids out. Then on the outside where the stern tube exits the hull, there is a bead of caulk that is meant to keep the water out. I will bet when you pull the boat you find that the caulk has failed and water is seeping in. The voids in the poured stuff allows the water to make its way up..... Don't know where you are but a couple of seasons with water freezing in the NE cracked mine up a bit. What I did is pulled my boat, clean off all the old caulk, beveled the area on the outside of the hull where the stern tube meets the hull and let it start dripping. Then as a personal overkill I found the crack in the slurry where the water was flowing (I could actually see the water coming up) and ground that down a ways making sure I did not damage the stern tube which I believe is fiberglass. I let the thing drip for a full day, then poured a thinned epoxy into the hole I dug in the slurry. Next I went to the outside of the hull and added a fiberglass putty and built it up to give it strength and to keep the water out. Been 3 years and not a drip.

btw you can probably get away with just re-caulking the area on the outside of the hull, however I figured I would fix the issue. I do have photos if you are interested.

Good Luck!
Greg
I bet you are right Greg. Thanks
 

DougM

.
Jul 24, 2005
2,242
Beneteau 323 Manistee, MI
I have had that slight show up (really only a drip) that occurs during motoring. Caulking the end of the shaft tube cures it, and it normally reappears during the year I forget to re-caulk before I launch. I finally wised up ad put a note in my spring launch checklist to re caulk it.