Leaking Through Bolt in Strut

[VVD]

I am in Santa Marta, Colombia and not near a haul-out facility. We caught something in our propeller and the two bolts that hold the strut of the propeller shook loose. One of them is a thru hull (see picture attached), which causes a leak into our bilge, the other is fitted inside the hull. We would like to take both our, fill it with underwater epoxy and put them back. Any thoughts on this would be very helpful. Thanks

[Tia Bu]

Couldn't you jam some fabric, some wax from a toilet ring, gasket material, etc, around them and tighten them up until you get to a good spot for a haulout? For a good, permanent fix, you're going to want to haul out and let it all dry out before you epoxy it. So anything that keeps you afloat until then seems o.k. to me. These kinds of injuries seem to worry me more than they turn out to be worth in the long run.

For what it's worth...

[Cotemar]

Yes, take both out, fill it with underwater Marine-Tex Flexset and put them back.

[atoll]

this is an out of the water job,as it is probably the stern tube itself that needs taking out and rebedding.

in the meantime tightening the nuts under water might help,and underwater epoxy around where the stern tube meets the hull and over the nuts hopefully will temporarily stop the leak.

you will also need to check your shaft is not bent,and the alignment with the gearbox.

[Mark Zarley]

I have cut gland packing into a thin strip, wrapped it around the bolt a couple of times, tightened it down to compress and made a water tight seal. Used the same method to fix a leaky hose bib.

[colemj]

Originally Posted by Cotemar

Yes, take both out, fill it with underwater Marine-Tex Flexset and put them back.

In general a good suggestion, but he has a snowball's chance in Santa Marta Colombia of finding a wax toilet ring there, let alone a specialty marine product.

My suggestion: if the shaft turns true, there is no alignment or log issues and the leak is minimal and simply from the bolt only into the bilge, then it doesn't seem critical. Don't hurry on to a place for repair - enjoy the holiday season in Santa Marta and Cartagena (if that is the direction you are heading), as they are truly magical there. Then worry about it when you get somewhere with proper facilities and repair material.

Mark