Caribe Dinghy Leak in the Hull

[BBTAYLOR5]

Hi. I have a used, approx 7 year old, Caribe hard bottom 10 feet model. Good shape with one major exception. When I leave it in the water for any amount of time the hull leaks, to the point that it is so full it won't plane. There is no leakage into the flloor of the boat the leak is inside the hull. I have replace O rings ect on the plug to no remedy at this point. Is this a common problem and is there a fix. There does not seem to be any cracks in the hull.

[over40pirate]

Does the plug drain the hull, or cockpit? If it drains the hull, I would drain it, re install the plug, and silicone over the plug. Put it back in water and see if it still takes on water. If so, it's the not plug seals. (Could be the seals and another leak!)

Drain the hull and with the hull upside down, have someone with a blow gun, (seal around the blow gun with a rag) pressurize the hull, while you go over it with a wet towel, with detergent in it, to detect any leak. Shouldn't be hard to find, and fix.
If you could find a fitting to fit the drain hole, you could use the inflation pump to pressurize.

Good luck with it.

[rivonia]

More than likely to be from around the D ring at the bow. Ours leaked from there. Remove it, seal/caulk with silicone, then refit it. When completely dry seal outside with a gelcoat filler.

Good luck

Peter

[Elie]

I had the exact same problem, with my Caribe and after much fumbling I found that the floor of the dinghy was cracked!. It was an almost invisible crack in the fiberglass, that I found by pumping air (with the foot pump!) after having put soapy water the floor . Easy to fix , with some epoxy AND fiberglass cloth(important) .

[JimCool]

I have a 2009 Caribe C10x that has leaked water into the inner hull since it was new. I filled the hull with water when upright on the deck, and found leaks coming from the seams at the fabric-hull joint. I sealed them with epoxy and this fix seems to have helped. However, water still gets in when it rains, seemingly from the top. Mine has a serious flaw in the hull-deck joint, so that may be my problem. I have been trying to get satisfaction from Caribe, but so far, . The dealer from whom I bought it (and had it shipped to Palau) blew me off. I'm basically told to bring it in. Right, from Malaysia. Hope this helps a little...

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, BBTaylor5, and JimCool.

[a64pilot]

Mine is not a Caribe, it's a Zodiac, but over time it leaks into the hull and the only way to drain it is to flip it over on it's back, which of course is more work than I want to do.
My plan is to install a 4" inspection cover in the floor and pop it open every so often and pump the water out.
Any reason I shouldn't do this?

[xeon_tsd]

I have a walker bay dink that developed a leak from the tube joinery strip coming loose (un-glued). I did not discover the cause until I started taking the dink apart. Don't know how your tubes are joined but worth looking into.

[Cheechako]

MY AB with the double floor used to get water between the hulls too. I never did find the leak and assumed it was condensation from the sun baking on the top floor..?

[Pau Hana Daz]

We also have a 10' Caribe (2002) that gets water in the hull floor space. The water comes from inside (rain while on the davits) and the only way to drain it was by removing the plug from the outside - Not easy without another small boat or getting in the water while its suspended.

I figure someday I'll try and find the leak, but in the mean time I installed an O-ring sealed inspection port in the floor near the transom just off center of the drain well. Used a Dremel with a zip cutting bit for the initial opening and a sanding drum for final fitting. I can now pump (or more often sponge) the water out without having to have access to the outside plug.

I can take and email a pic or two if anybody is interested - Just PM me.

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by Pau Hana Daz

We also have a 10' Caribe (2002) that gets water in the hull floor space. The water comes from inside (rain while on the davits) and the only way to drain it was by removing the plug from the outside - Not easy without another small boat or getting in the water while its suspended.

I figure someday I'll try and find the leak, but in the mean time I installed an O-ring sealed inspection port in the floor near the transom just off center of the drain well. Used a Dremel with a zip cutting bit for the initial opening and a sanding drum for final fitting. I can now pump (or more often sponge) the water out without having to have access to the outside plug.

I can take and email a pic or two if anybody is interested - Just PM me.

Which O-ring sealed inspection port did you use? I have ordered a 4" one as it was the smallest I could find, thought about using a deck fitting for fuel, waste etc., but those things are quite pricey.
The one I ordered requires a 4.5" cut out, I was thinking hole saw? I have the same issue with mine, water gets in with rain, even though I leave the plug out of course. My plug only drains above the floor portion of the boat.

[rivonia]

Originally Posted by Pau Hana Daz

We also have a 10' Caribe (2002) that gets water in the hull floor space. The water comes from inside (rain while on the davits) and the only way to drain it was by removing the plug from the outside - Not easy without another small boat or getting in the water while its suspended.

I figure someday I'll try and find the leak, but in the mean time I installed an O-ring sealed inspection port in the floor near the transom just off center of the drain well. Used a Dremel with a zip cutting bit for the initial opening and a sanding drum for final fitting. I can now pump (or more often sponge) the water out without having to have access to the outside plug.

I can take and email a pic or two if anybody is interested - Just PM me.

BRILLIANT Idea. Well done mate

[Pau Hana Daz]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

Which O-ring sealed inspection port did you use? I have ordered a 4" one as it was the smallest I could find, thought about using a deck fitting for fuel, waste etc., but those things are quite pricey.
The one I ordered requires a 4.5" cut out, I was thinking hole saw? I have the same issue with mine, water gets in with rain, even though I leave the plug out of course. My plug only drains above the floor portion of the boat.

I went slightly larger (6") and used THIS from West Marine.

You could use a hole saw if you have one that large - I thought about using a jig saw but wasn't sure just how much clearance I had under the deck I wanted to cut so I used my dremel with a zip bit (basically a drill bit that cuts as well as drills).

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by Pau Hana Daz

We also have a 10' Caribe (2002) that gets water in the hull floor space. The water comes from inside (rain while on the davits) and the only way to drain it was by removing the plug from the outside - Not easy without another small boat or getting in the water while its suspended.

I figure someday I'll try and find the leak, but in the mean time I installed an O-ring sealed inspection port in the floor near the transom just off center of the drain well. Used a Dremel with a zip cutting bit for the initial opening and a sanding drum for final fitting. I can now pump (or more often sponge) the water out without having to have access to the outside plug.

I can take and email a pic or two if anybody is interested - Just PM me.

Yeah, good job, they should put inspection ports on those anyway. Can you just pull the plug while planing? the water goes right out.....