Idea for finding leaks

[dmksails]

Somewhere on the port side I've got a leak. The list of possible items are 3 stanchions, water inlet, fuel inlet or deck prism.

Here is my idea - use butyl tape to make a ring around the suspect area, fill the ring with water. If the water level in the ring goes down - eureka!

Has anyone tried this with success?

[JPA Cate]

dmk,

Nope, haven't tried it, but stanchion bases are frequent leakers, and even 5200 sealed deck prisms will leak with enough time passage. Generally, stanchion bases are through bolted, and often are covered by headliner. But a look at the base will tell you, and if you don't know when it was last caulked, that would be the first place I'd look, doesn't really matter where the water comes out in the boat, you don't want it there, and inspection will tell you, there will be moisture, rust stains, something like that.

You should see it below, if it is the deck prism, underway, to windward with a lot of spray, or in rain, it will weep or trickle.

If by water and fuel inlet, you mean the deck fills, they, too will develop leaks over time. If your tank water is salty, that's probably the O ring. If inspection shows water or rust streaks heading down from the fill, yup, better caulk those, too. Just the same for the fuel inlet, though if the O ring was shot there, you'd have problems starting the engine, from the water in the fuel.

If I were you, I would just re-bed all the stanchions, and all the rest, then it is done, you can make a note in your ship's log, and start learning about the lifetime of caulking jobs. As a matter of course, we keep both a ship's log and an engine log. The ship's log is just what we do, and Jim uses the left page for work items, and the right for the journal. The engine log follows engine hrs. between fill ups, and everything else related to the engine. It will probably go with the boat, when we sell it, as those things are handy for new owners, although there are no plans at present for its sale.

Jim has kept logs throughout the time of his ownership of sea-going boats, and it is fun to go back and read in them. In addition, occasionally, Customs in foreign ports will ask to see your deck log or ship's log. It is considered a legal record.

Ann

[Eigenvector]

If you have access to the bottom side, puff with talc powder or spray with developer powder for dye penetrant exams. Leaks will leave snail trails.

[robwilk37]

what ive done...

close everything up, make a temp washboard out of ply for the companionway and drill a hole the size of a large shopvac hose. spray down the boat with soapy water and turn the vac on in blower mode. where the boat starts blowing bubbles is your leak. usually a bunch you didnt know you had...

[Eigenvector]

Originally Posted by robwilk37

what ive done...

close everything up, make a temp washboard out of ply for the companionway and drill a hole the size of a large shopvac hose. spray down the boat with soapy water and turn the vac on in blower mode. where the boat starts blowing bubbles is your leak. usually a bunch you didnt know you had...

Haven't thought of that. Good idea. But might take a while to build some pressure. Also, plug the sink first. There may be other vents also but can't think of anymore on my boat.

[RaymondR]

Originally Posted by robwilk37

what ive done...

close everything up, make a temp washboard out of ply for the companionway and drill a hole the size of a large shopvac hose. spray down the boat with soapy water and turn the vac on in blower mode. where the boat starts blowing bubbles is your leak. usually a bunch you didnt know you had...

One of the tricks steel boat builders use to detect leaks in seams is to blow on the seam internally whilst spraying on the seam outside with soapy water. You might try that before going to the trouble of air tighting the entire hull.

[Terra Nova]

Simply begin re-bedding, starting with the easiest one.

[suenodelmar]

Check for leaks the same way you check for leaks in an air mattress or swim float. As Robwilk37 mentioned, "inflate" the boat. Here is how: First, using masking tape, seal all vents such as dorade vents, hawse pipes, charlie noble stove vents, and head vents -- anywhere air could exit the interior of the boat. Of course, close all hatches and ports. Cover the companionway hatch with a sheet of cardboard taped around the edges to make a seal. Cut a hole in the cardboard to fit a large fan such as a square box fan or a large table fan. A Shop-Vac will not work as well because it puts out low volume. Prepare a bucket of soapy water. Add some glycerin to the water, perhaps a teaspoonful per gallon. Glycerin, available at most pharmacies, allows the soapy water to create huge bubbles, just as the childrens' toy bubble-makers do. Turn on the fan. Walk around the boat with the bucket and a mop, swabbing down everything as you go along. Even the smallest leak will reveal itself with huge bubbles. Take along paper and pen. You probably will record a huge list. But you will know exactly what to caulk and rebed. Rather than re-bedding everything, you can spend your time savings on other boat projects.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by dmksails

Somewhere on the port side I've got a leak. The list of possible items are 3 stanchions, water inlet, fuel inlet or deck prism.

Here is my idea - use butyl tape to make a ring around the suspect area, fill the ring with water. If the water level in the ring goes down - eureka!

Has anyone tried this with success?

I haven't but checking the supply side rather than looking for water inside makes a lot of sense.

[Parrothedd]

Have you tried Captain Tollys Leak stuff made in England. It really works. Run a bead around a stancheon and the stuff will disappear where the leak is located. Keep applying and it fills up the hole with glue like stuff and no more leak. West Marine sells it.

[P3sailor]

Put the boat on the hard, then fill it (the boat) with water, wait, do a walk about and look for the wet spots!! Oh yeah, that'll work!

[Privilege]

On a dry day, use a garden hose to soak each suspect spot one at a time giving it at least 5 mins to let the water seep through. Of course, if all the suspect spots are in the same place this isn't going to help.

[chris bailey]

Originally Posted by Parrothedd

Have you tried Captain Tollys Leak stuff made in England. It really works. Run a bead around a stancheon and the stuff will disappear where the leak is located. Keep applying and it fills up the hole with glue like stuff and no more leak. West Marine sells it.

Agreed x1, Brilliant stuff

[mottseng]

Slightly off topic but I had a friend who would put out buckets and pans to catch the water when it rained and leaked through his house roof. When I asked him why he didn't fix it his reply was that he can't fix the leaks when it rains and when it doesn't rain it doesn't leak.

[Cadence]

I think the OPs idea is ingenious. Looking for leaks inside with head liners as such is almost impossible.