Tiny leak

[HMT2]

I have an ‘83 Hunter 31. For the last year or so I have been tracking a very small leak that has been showing itself in the area where my raw water thru hull and my dripless shaft seal are. I thought it was one of those but today I tracked it to a fiberglass tube that comes up into the steering pedestal. It is a very small seepage from the joint where the tube attaches to the hull. I have temporarily stopped it with a little plumbers putty. I am attaching a larger view and a close up a view as I could get. Any one had any experience with something like this? The seepage is in the area of the gray stuff, which is the plumbers putty that is temporarily stopping the leak.

 

[NYSail]

Looks like a simple enough fix. Use some sealant maybe 3m 4000 and just do a nice neat ring around it. Of course this would follo a good scraping of any old material, maybe a light sanding and wipe down. I assume you have been underneath where it is attached. I assume this tube is a conduit for wires??

Greg

 

[dlochner]

What is the purpose of the tube? Does it exit the boat, i.e., is one end under water? If the tube fails, will the boat sink?

If the boat will sink because the tube fails, then it will mean grinding out old fiberglass and reglassing the tube. If the tube is wholly inside the boat and is only a conduit, the find the water source and seal it with an appropriate caulk or new fiberglass.

If water is getting into the steering pedestal, check the cockpit sole for water in the core.

 

[Gunni]

That is your rudder tube. The rudder stock comes up to the steering quadrant via that. A leak there suggests that the boat has been grounded or otherwise compromised. You don't just need to fix the leak, you need to inspect your entire steering system - out of the water. A failure of the rudder tube can sink your boat.