[C320-list] Chasing Leaks, yes starting that convo

[Jack Brennan]

You have to accept that fiberglass boats will leak sometimes.

Fiberglass is a flexible material. If you find yourself in rough seas now and then, or if gear such as stanchions are stressed, the sealant will lose its bond and allow leaks here and there. A never-ending battle that you lose only when you don’t fix them.

We should consider ourselves lucky. My old Bristol 30 had something like 160 bolts connecting the deck and toerail with the hull. After 45 years, there were always a couple of bolts that dripped, with no easy way to tighten them and stop the leak.
Jack Brennan
Sonas, 1998 Catalina 320
Tierra Verde, Fl.


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From: Dave Hupe via C320-list<mailto:c320-list at lists.catalina320.com>
Sent: Saturday, March 23, 2024 9:12 PM
To: jjlang94 at gmail.com<mailto:jjlang94 at gmail.com>; C320-List at catalina320.com<mailto:C320-List at catalina320.com>
Cc: Dave Hupe<mailto:hoopdtwo at yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: [C320-list] Chasing Leaks, yes starting that convo

I figured out my freshwater line(s) was leaking because my water pressure pump kept cycling on and off to keep the lines pressurized. I couldn't figure out where i had a leak at first. Then water started slowly seeping up around my keel bolts.  I shut off my water tanks and bled the pressure out of the lines and the seepage stopped.
I had been down this path before seeing water seepage around my keel bolts .. and being afraid my keel bolts/keel was leaking.  However, I tracked the problem back to rainwater leakage into various places on the boat that got into my structural grid, the water level rose, and ultimately seeped up around the bolts.
I fixed the leaks, vacuumed up the water (look for pooled water through access holes in the structural grid to suck out), and my bilge and keel bolts have been bone dry now for years. It takes being a diligent detective to find and fix the leaks. Don't accept people saying boats leak!
Dave Hupe
1994 C320 #32
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