Leaking Zodiac Pro wants to commit suicide

waterboy120 · 21 August 2010, 02:19

I've acquired a 2005 Zodiac Pro 650 with an Envinrude 150 that is determined to sink itself in the middle of my harbor. This boat takes on water like mad and I've looked everywhere ( short of taking the tubes off of it ) for leaks. After running around on the water for 2 or 3 hours this boat will take on close to a hundred gallons ( or more ! ) of water. ( I pull the drain plug and it'll run for almost twenty minutes )Add a clogged bilge pump, come down off of plane and bingo I've got a boat that thinks it's a porpoise! Thank goodness for those inflatable tubes! I've partially filled the hull with a water hose, hardly a drip. At certain speeds I can get a steady spray up between the tube and the port corner of the transom. I can see a little of that working its way under the seat and into the bilge but I don't think that's doing it. ( I don't notice any difference between the port or starboard tubes at the transom, they both appear to be intact and connected to the hull. I've tilted the boat on a trailer and drained every last drop and then taken it out on the water and voila,full of water again. I love the boat, but obviously at this point, it's too dangerous to use. Does anybody have any suggestions? This boat is my first RIB and I've fallen in love with it but it's determined to sink itself!

BogMonster · 21 August 2010, 02:29

I don't know what the Zodiac design is like but on some boats - the Vipermax is one - I think if there was a leak between the hull and tube in the stern corner it could allow a lot of water in through the transom boxes (which are open if you take the tubes off) and this would end up running down into the hull. Maybe the Zodiac is suffering from a similar problem?

Nos4r2 · 21 August 2010, 02:43

Does it take on water when at rest?

waterboy120 · 21 August 2010, 03:07

You'll have to forgive me, this is the first time I've participated in a forum and I haven't the faintest idea what I'm doing. I put the boat in a slow moving river last week and stayed close to the dock for a while just doing slow circles. I didn't see any water in the bilge so I took a couple of high speed runs down the river. I did notice the bilge pump "cycled" a few times. When I got it back on the trailer and pulled the drain plug it drained for a good 10 minutes! Other than the spray coming up between the port tube and the transom from time to time I couldn't explain how i took on that much water in such a short time.

biffer · 21 August 2010, 08:56

look at it logically, water is getting in, get it on the trailer and fill it up with water and see where it's coming OUT

DGR · 21 August 2010, 09:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by biffer

look at it logically, water is getting in, get it on the trailer and fill it up with water and see where it's coming OUT

He says he's already done that.

Is your bilge pump and auto one, or one on a float switch? If it's on a float switch, then when it cycles you know that water has gotten in somewhere.

Put it on the water, leave it there for a while, and then take it out and see how much water has got in. If there is a lot of water, you'll know it's getting in through the tubes/hull of the boat, rather than shipping it over the side when you are moving. If there isn't much, then it's probably coming in over the top!!

Poly · 21 August 2010, 09:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by DGR

He says he's already done that.

I read it that he'd stuck a hose on the deck and partially filled up the boat from the top. I think biffer is suggesting sticking the hose (tightly) in the drain bung and leaving it running until it comes out somewhere - its not a small leak he's got it should be fairly obvious.

BruceB · 21 August 2010, 10:31

I'd be wary filling up the hull completely with water. I know of one guy that left his cover off a fibreglass hardboat and the drain plug in and over the winter the hull filled up to the brim with rainwater.
The rollers came right through the hull due to the weight of all the water!

matt h · 21 August 2010, 10:40

it sounds like when at rest and manual filling is not producing the leak so to speak, so i would look at the hypolon (or whatever) cladding, its likely the water is forced up under the rubbing strake and into the hull.

biffer · 21 August 2010, 11:34

polwart's right, we had a boat in with similar problem, we found the deck had delamned from the hull, from the outside it looked ok because the tube were still attached to the hull, from the inside the tubes were still attached to the deck, the water was finding it's way along the attachment strap from the transom and filling the hull up, poking a hose up the hole for a little while won't do it, and i hope our usa friend has a better built boat than the one that ate the trailer rollers, didn't sound like he looked after it anyway

gotchiguy · 21 August 2010, 12:15

Why not just take the tubes off, I'm pretty the Pro open of that age had the removable tube system, simply deflate, remove the straps and slide off (use washing up liquid as lube

) the you can see better as to whether the hull and deck are de laminating or find the holes that are causing this leakage.

Just to clarify is it both the topside deck (where you stand) AND the hull cavity that fill with water?

waterboy120 · 21 August 2010, 13:49

It's primarily the hull cavity that's filling with water. Yes, I believe I can slide the tubes off.
Will it be obvious visually that the deck is separating from the hull? If it turns out to be separated, is this a " relatively " easy fix or is it a major ( and costly ) repair?

yorfuoj · 21 August 2010, 14:09

the grp boat is made by assembling the hull (bottom part) to the deck part, and there is probably a broken section somewhere around the assembly line, which opens when you ride, and leaves the water going through.

First you should remove the pontoon as indicated, then carefully check to find where it is broken.
Depending on where the defect stays, it could be relatively easy to repair, using a liquid epoxy which foams, and seals even under water - but better to dry before ...!

jyasaki · 21 August 2010, 14:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by BruceB

I'd be wary filling up the hull completely with water. I know of one guy that left his cover off a fibreglass hardboat and the drain plug in and over the winter the hull filled up to the brim with rainwater.
The rollers came right through the hull due to the weight of all the water!

Trailer failure is the second problem with that method.

If possible, though, partially filling the boat and then using a jack on different sides may get the water to cover the leasking area. Nose, port, starboard.

I'd suspect something towards the back if it's filling at high speed. The nose of the boat will largely be out of the water when running at a decent speed.

Luck;

jky

Daibheid · 27 August 2010, 18:57

A friend had a newish rib that had a similar problem and was ready to set fire to it with frustration so I had a go at it. I plugged an air pump into the transom bung and started pumping air into it and then stood by with the washing up liquid solution. In the end I only had to listen and found a cracked area which when flexed a certain way would allow a lot of water in.

It was a quick and easy GRP fix albeit not an invisible one. I hope this helps you.

achille2124 · 11 November 2010, 19:25

I don't know if you fixed you "suicidal boat" issue but I think I might help. We've encountered the same problem on few Pro's and Pro Open's before. The problem comes from the deck drain outlet on transom, the caulking (or gasket) behind the one way valve (part number #Z60033) is not good and has to be redone with Sikaflex or 3M 5200.

Hope it helps.

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josoder · 14 July 2011, 10:06

to TS: Did you work this out, or is there any development in the matter? I have a brand new Zodiac Pro 12 with a mysterious water leak in the hull. I'm looking for tips to where to start looking...
Regards
Jorn
Norway

Red Fox · 14 July 2011, 17:19

Water could be getting in through the deck drain and then passing through the hull into the void below via a badly fitting bilge pump/locker box or any other bit of kit screwed to the hull. Put the plug into the deck drain and see if that fettles the water ingress. Unless all the deck fittings have been sealed around the screws/bolts etc then this could be the problem. OR the bow locker may be cracked inside and as water can splash up between the bow tube fitting and the bow itself, it will then drain into the hull. Good hunting.

m chappelow · 14 July 2011, 19:49

Could it be getting in through a Tow Eye on the bow or any other fitting ,,we had a boat that let gallons into the bilge resealed the bolts and cured it though it sounds a bit more on your boat ,