Breaking All the Rules ...

[Terra Nova]

Originally Posted by Seymore

...you've got a $167,500 boat...

Come on!

[nimblemotors]

Not much (nothing I know of, certainly not epoxy) stays stuck to aluminum.
Sooner or later it will separate. Welding is the permanent fix.
However, how thick is the hull? Perhaps you can drill and tap it and then screw in a plug.

[Wanderlust]

For emergency repair of holes, get some toilet wax from the local plumbing supplies.

Here is a promotional for the marine version - probably the same stuff.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=888wQhRcmjQ

If you do a Google Search on here for "toilet wax" there are many references.

I have never used it myself but it looks like it would do better than the finger in the dyke and give you time to organise a better repair.

[Normanby]

On your way north, I think you'll find the tides are about 3m around the Whitsundays, enough to dry out and expose the hole for repairs from the outside.

[KASHMIR]

I understand that careening is very frowned upon on the QLD Coast. Alan Lucas of mentions places it can be done but I think you might find them difficult to locate now.


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[homeless]

I tried the two party putty on the inside of the hull, but it didn't stick. Sanded the aluminium again and put down two layers of glass with a lot of epoxy resin, weighed down with lead sheets and the trusty heavy sledge hammer. (should have prepared sand bags) The patch overhangs a stringer, so hopefully that provides some extra lateral stability to keep it in place. Wish I had put a heater on it to set faster, because the longer set time at ambient temp is allowing more water to penetrate.

In the meantime I have been fixing leaks around the hatch in the v-birth. Nasty leak caused by a tapped screw hole through a bulkhead, and the only way to get at it was to drill and chisel a path to it through aluminium stringers and bulkheads. Unfortunately the v-birth headliner was glued to the teak veneer on the bulkheads, so some cosmetic damage was done This just confirms my decision to paint some of the bulkheads white to reduce the dark woody feel of the boat and bring some light in.

Started cleaning and packing for departure Sunday. Engine and gearbox tested again. Petrol generator tested again. Batteries on mains charger. Cordless drill charged for emergencies. Tomorrow I will wire up the big bilge pump direct to a switch on the dash, fill the water tanks, do laundry, and do a big grocery shop.

[HappyMdRSailor]

You said this happened near a through hull transducer.... Are there other areas that have similar structure and conditions??? I would be inspecting every inch... Oh... and:

Originally Posted by HappyMdRSailor

Buy some dewatering system for the voyage...

Originally Posted by Reefmagnet

I reckon I would screw/rivet a patch plate with a sika or cork gasket and get it up north where some cheap diy yards can be found then get it fixed properly be welding. I'd also worry a little about other holes appearing so be prepared for more patches or buy a crash pump!

[cpa]

Bad news for sure. I think Atoll's plate idea is good. Maybe look into hiring an underwater welder. I am sure that it would cost a lot. I would press the boat yard more. This is an emergency and it seems to me that the boat yard should accommodate an emergency haul out. I knew someone who was in a similar predicament and he powered right into the haul out slip and said haul me or I will sink here.

Good luck and keep us posted.

[IdoraKeeper]

The project sounds great. But any big job like this is great to those of us who love solving boat problems and using tools. It does sound like you risk losing the boat and maybe worse if you embark on a premature voyage. All power to ya for fixing her up...just don't ask too much from her till she can deliver her end.

[homeless]

The epoxy has set, and the patch is most definitely stuck to the hull and stringer, and won't be moving without a grinder, so there is no worry about this particular area of corrosion opening up more. There was water penetration of the resin around the hole (should have heated the resin or used more hardener), so a tiny bit of water is coming through the patch, but I doubt if it would be more than a cup a day, and I don't think the flow can increase.

[Terra Nova]

Originally Posted by homeless

...a tiny bit of water is coming through the patch, but I doubt if it would be more than a cup a day, and I don't think the flow can increase.

[CaptGeno]

If nothing else comes from your experience be comforted in the fact that you now know your boat inside and out. Like an old car you've spent years repairing and can't sell because you have a history of repairing every item on it and each noise you hear it speaks to you in a language you understand.
Your way ahead of 90% of boat owners today.
Happy sailing


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[Seymore]

Originally Posted by Terra Nova

Come on!

The tongue-in-cheek smiley didn't take.

More seriously, Homeless having an aluminum hull and having found one place where he could put a finger through, there'll be other paper thin corroded places. If he sails that boat anywhere he should be of the frame of mind that he should carry a liferaft, an EPIRB, a gas powered trash pump, etc.

[endoftheroad]

Pictures please

[homeless]

After 1.5 days of trying to fix the deck leaks from the v-birth hatch from below, and playing whack-a-mole with a tube of sikaflex, I gave up, pulled the hatch off and re-bedded it. That fixes the last of the annoying deck leaks, and the headliner is now back up, having replaced the rotten wood and ply, rusting screws, and disintegrating fly screen in the dorade vents. There are still other deck leaks from pullpit mounting bolts and nav light cables that need to be fixed, but they drain down the inside of the hull, so don't affect living conditions on the boat.

Food shopping is done, so on Sunday I just need to fill the two 500 litre water tanks and head out.