Diesel penetration of fiberglass

[gypsyphoenix]

I'm a new owner of a Bounty II. There is significant infultration/penetration of fuel from the bilge through the exterior. The stain is obvious bilaterally on the exterior. Aside from pumping & resealing the bilge, is there any concern of corruption of the integrity of the glass? Delamination? Epoxy resin deterioration?

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, gypsyphoenix.

[Sailmonkey]

A Rhodes bounty II? There'll be no epoxy here. But I would be concerned about why the diesel stained all the way through the hull. Some poly resins are miscible with diesel. It is possible that the diesel dissolved a small amount of resin and wicked through the fiberglass to stain the outside.

[minaret]

I've seen severe cases of this several times, in each case it was due to integral fiberglass fuel tanks with poor sealing or cracks. It can be a serious issue, and can indeed lead to structural problems. In one case we cut out a large section of hull and rebuilt it. You'd have to leave a bilge full of fuel for a very long time to get this problem any other way, not a good sign if that's the case.

[JPA Cate]

Welcome aboard, gypsyphoenix,

In case you're not aware of it, Minaret is a professional boatwright. He knows more about the kinds of problems found in boats than any ten of us old timers. He tells the truth, rare as that may be on the Internet. He has heaps and heaps of experience.

I hope you find the source(s) of your leak(s) and are able to deal with them in a timely fashion.

Ann