Could this be the source of my leak?

[TheRussian]

Hello, I am looking for help in figuring out the source of a leak on my '93 fibreglass bowrider.

As I launched today I noticed that there is a small stream that is coming from a small hole (drain hole maybe?) that is located on the port side of my engine compartment. This hole is into the side of the compartment and a long way away from the side of the boat and I'm guessing full of foam. My engine has 2 storage "elevations" on both sides, like most bowriders with a rear bench seat. The leak is from the aft, port, bottom side of one of these walls inside the compartment.

I can observe the stream, it is constant and about 1/4" in size. It is not from the transom plate, it is completely dry and I have replaced all bellows last week. Transom appears solid.

There is a crack that I can see on the port side, closer to the rear of the boat (pic included). I attempted to fill the boat with water and even tilt it on a jack to port to see if I can see he leak from the outside but I don't think that I can get enough water into the boat without starting to compromise the engine.

Is this crack likely the culprit? It looks like it may have been repaired by previous owner at some point.

Could I use some marine sealant/adhesive to temporarily glue the crack just to see if that resolves the issue before I dedicate myself to learning the skill of fibreglass repair?

Thanks is advance!

 

[Woodonglass]

Back up further away and take another pic so we can see exactly where this crack is please

 

[TheRussian]

I will in the morning! Thanks.

 

[Fun Times]

And is that crack below the waterline at rest?

 

[TheRussian]

I have included a picture from taken from a distance. The crack is well below the water line. I don't know if this would make any sense, but I would like to figure out a way to inject water under high pressure into the hole inside the engine compartment that the water is flowing through (with the hopes of seeing where it comes out). The hole is quite a bit lower than the crack, maybe just a couple if inches above the top of the drain plug, so the water just flows down with gravity. The hole is also smaller than diameter of a garden hose and has an irregular shape.

 

[Woodonglass]

Pretty sure your boat hull is filled with flotation foam. If this crack goes thru the hull then water has waterlogged the foam and the water can and will be able to flow to about any region of the boat. You could clean the area with acetone and fill the crack with 3M 4200 as a temporary patch to see if the flow of water slows but I fear that the foam may be so water logged that you may still get water flow.

 

[TheRussian]

I have done something similar to your suggestion, but used a Star Brite epoxy putty stick and covered the crack. I does not look pretty but it hardened well and appears to be well adhered.

​I put the boat in water and was glad to see that there was no water intrusion. So I guess that I will now need to learn to fix fibreglass.

Do you see any problems in buying one of those kits with fibreglass cloth to patch it? The crack is right not the strake. Or should I bite the bullet and get a professional involved?

 

[Woodonglass]

As I stated if this crack has been leaking for any length of time then the flotation foam in the hull has been compromised and you'll need to make provisions for trying to get all of this water OUT of the interior of the hull. If you don't the foam will become waterlogged and could cause significant damage to your boat. How long do you think this crack has been allowing water into your boat?

 

[TheRussian]

I have owned the boat for 3 years and I believe that the crack was there when I bought it, but I did not know what to look for and overlooked it. I think that it has likely been leaking since I have owned it. The previous owner did not keep the boat in the water and used a rail system to retrieve the boat after use. I trailer the boat but would like to rent a slip this year.

​I do not know understand the foam waterlogging. I have tilted the boat bow up as far as I can to allow the water to drain. There is no more water in the bilge and no water coming from the drain hole that originally prompted me to investigate. Could you elaborate?

 

[Scott Danforth]

Read the stickies at top of the forum. Specifially the DIY links, and read link 14 in its entirety

 

[TheRussian]

Thank you, I will.