Caribe 10' lots of water in hull void

[BarryK3]

Hi all,

I have a new to me Caribe 10' with steering console, 20 hp Honda.

I drained the hull void (inner hull) about 6 months ago and there was A LOT of water in there. The boats stays in salt water and sees some rain. I finally got a trailer and hauled it out yesterday and there was a large amount of water in there again. Advice on finding the leak?

Thanks,
Barry

[SimonCh]

Have you checked the o-ring or whatever seal there is on the bung at the bottom of the transom?

[Wightdiver]

Originally Posted by BarryK3

Hi all,

I have a new to me Caribe 10' with steering console, 20 hp Honda.

I drained the hull void (inner hull) about 6 months ago and there was A LOT of water in there. The boats stays in salt water and sees some rain. I finally got a trailer and hauled it out yesterday and there was a large amount of water in there again. Advice on finding the leak?

Thanks,
Barry

Was it salt or fresh water that came out?

[BarryK3]

I did not check for salt or fresh. That would have been a good idea. If the leak recurs I will check.

I'm going to check the o ring on the drain tonight. I also have a bilge pump and float switch in the back with screws into the floor. I'll check those screw holes for leaks. Bilge pump is not working now; I'll fix that also.

Many gallons drained out when I pulled the trailer out of the water yesterday and removed the plug. The water ran out for a long time.

Boat has a very hard time planing due to all of this extra weight!

[BarryK3]

Here is a picture of the plug for the hull void. There is no o-ring. I assume it needs one?

[SimonCh]

Originally Posted by BarryK3

Here is a picture of the plug for the hull void. There is no o-ring. I assume it needs one?

There lies your problem, my man!

Looks like there's maybe 3 o-ring recesses on it? Put some new rings on, give them a little smear of vaseline and you'll be good to go (some say vaseline degrades the seals, but rolls royce do it on their jet engines... if its good enough for them its good enough for me).

happy boating!

[BarryK3]

I have a box of O-rings and this one fits nicely. The recesses are actually coarse thread. I think this will seal it.

Thanks everyone for pointing out the simple things!

Now I can move on to the bilge pump wiring issue...

Barry

[SimonCh]

Originally Posted by BarryK3

I have a box of O-rings and this one fits nicely. The recesses are actually coarse thread. I think this will seal it.

Thanks everyone for pointing out the simple things!

Now I can move on to the bilge pump wiring issue...

Barry

Just the job!! Of course they're a thread - my bad!

I should add that these plugs often use a flat o-ring style thing, rather than a round one... I ran with a round one on my RIB for years with no issues.

hopefully this sees an end to your woes! Wiring issues... enjoy!

Si

[BarryK3]

Thank you Si!

[BarryK3]

So, I had the boat in the water for about a week. I had to pull it out again due to a carburetor issue.

There were a few gallons in the hull, much less that before but it was only in the water for a week.

On the trailer, I filled the hull void with water and did not find any significant leak along the bottom of the hull.

I drained the water and attached an air hose from my compressor. I found a huge air leak around a loose lag screw holding the steering pedestal to the deck. I'm going to get some new stainless steel lag screws and reseal all of them. These are large screws.

What is the best way to seal these? I have some 3M 4200 and also some Boat Life "Life Seal"?

Thanks,
Barry

[BarryK3]

Life Seal is a polyurethane/silicone mix.