Live Well in Ski Locker

[H2O DVL]

My boat, '05 Glastron 175SX has a ski locker that is slowly filling up with water, even though the boat has been on a trailer and in a garage since November of last year. There's a few small surface chips along the very bottom of the locker where the water is seeping in from. Just noticed this recently, likely because I have the bow down doing some other work, so the water that obviously is trapped in between the inner & outer gel layers is slowly making its way forward and coming up through the locker.

Now, if I'm correct Glastrons are all fiberglass so I shouldn't be concerned with any rot anywhere, but where is the water likely getting in? There's a few superficial scrapes on the hull, but I don't see any water running out, so I'm assuming that can't be the entry point. I'm resealing the drain plug (on the transom) but I can't see that being an entry point.

The ski locker does get some rain water in it (when the boat sits outside in the summer) so maybe over the years the water has gotten in (through the chips in the locker) and run back since that's the normal attitude of the boat. I'm guessing here, but I never would have thought that a fiberglass boat would trap this much water. I've already soaked up easily 3-4 liters in the past few days. It just keeps seeping up through the chips.... Thoughts? Suggestions? Advice? Thanks!

 

[Lightwin 3]

From your description, it's hard to say if you are seeing deck (floor) water getting in or hull water from a leak in the hull.

Any through hull fittings (cooler drains, etc.) besides the transom drain?

 

[H2O DVL]

None. The boat is a trailer Queen (we tow it from invite to invite) and doesn't spend more than 4-5 days in the water at a time.

 

[Lightwin 3]

Covered?

You'd be surprised at how much water a skiier or swimmer can bring inside a boat.

UNLESS, you have a hull leak. Not sure, still, if you have a through hull fitting other than the transom drain.

My 09 Larson (same company--VVC hull) had a front locker drain on the straboard side of the hull, just in front of the drivers console.

 

[H2O DVL]

The ski locker will fill-up (3-4 inches) with rain water after sitting for a while, so I'm hoping that this is the source. After years of water getting in through the chips, now that the bow is down it's draining back out. Definitely no more through-hull fittings, other than at the stern.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Your foam is water logged

 

[H2O DVL]

Your foam is water logged

So the foam is between the inner and outer gel layers? Or do they use foam for the stringers (in place of ply)?

 

[Scott Danforth]

The floatation foam is under the deck between stringers.

You probably have 800-1000# of water in the foam

And no, it wont ever dry out. You have to replace it

 

[H2O DVL]

Well, that's not what I wanted to hear. But, thanks for your input Scott.

 

[briangcc]

My '05 Four Winns (owned by same company as Glastron at the time) had the same issue. I had some good sized chips in the keel which is what yours looks like in the picture as well. In my case, bow down being towed home it would drip water. In my case the chips were down to the roving (result of inadvertent beaching on a rockpile and being towed off abruptly by a Jetski).

My suggestion...check with Glastron on the construction of your boat. Four Winns was supposedly wood free at that time and yours being VEC *may* have wood free stringers and transom making this a much easier repair that some of the older boats. Depending on what Glastron says you *may* be looking at fixing the gelcoat on the exterior and then a quick foam and floor job on the inside.

 

[H2O DVL]

My understanding is that it is an all fiberglass hull. After a few days of pondering and analyzing I'm convinced that the water got into the hull from the ski locker side and not the bottom side. If water got in through the hull bottom it would be draining out the same way with bow down.
The seepage has nearly stopped, so I'll wait a few more days and then seal up the chip. I don't believe there's much water in the foam. This boat gets up on plane quite nicely with 5-6 people and only the 3.0L.

 

[JASinIL2006]

I'd put my money on water in the foam, too. My '97 Larson had engineered (non-wood) stringers that were about 4" wide and filled with foam, as were the other closed cavities below deck. Much of the foam in the cavities was waterlogged, even on the port side (my transom was leaking on the starboard side). I don't know how Glastron evolved, but I believe in the late '90s and early 2000s, Larsons and Glastrons were built pretty similarly. By '05, I believe Larson had gone completely to VEC, so there's a good chance Glastron did, too.

Have you weighed your boat to see if it's in the ballpark for that model? That could be a cheap (and non-invasive) way to rule out waterlogged foam.

 

[H2O DVL]

I'd have to weight the boat & trailer, then the trailer empty (which is difficult since the boat pretty much lives on the trailer and is only in the water on weekends). I may be able to weight the trailer individually using a household scale since it can't be more than a few hundred pounds per wheel & tongue.