I'm gonna be sinking soon.

[David Mack]

If this is the counter plate you could remove enough ballast from the back of the boat so that the counter is just above water level. That way no water will come in while the boat is static. It will soon pull down when you are under way, so it shouldn't draw in air while you are moving.

Might also be time to invest in an automatic bilge pump (and a solar panel to keep the batteries charged) if you don't already have one.

Edited July 7, 2017 by David Mack

[rusty69]

7 minutes ago, David Mack said:

If this is the counter plate you could remove enough ballast from the back of the boat so that the counter is just above water level. That way no water will come in while the boat is static. It will soon pull down when you are under way, so it shouldn't draw in air while you are moving.

Might also be time to invest in an automatic bilge pump (and a solar panel to keep the batteries charged) if you don't already have one.

Some good thoughts, thanks. There is some ballast that could relatively easily be removed whether it would be enough,I guess I wouldn't know without trying.

I will be installing an emergency pump tomorrow, it won't be automatic , but may consider this too.

 

 

[Dylan]

Bilge alarms are quite cheap on ebay etc. Might be a good idea for when you get underway.

[Neil2]

FWIW I get moisture all over the uxter plate surface but I have seen it from below after grit blasting and I know it is in pristine condition (it was the only part of the boat that was).  I have concluded condensation is the cause.

Having said that, nothing lasts forever and a boat of this age with 6mm plate I would also be concerned that in the absence of any other explanation it could be a deep pit .  

The problem is, if the uxter plate is perforated you have to assume the rest of the hull is at risk.  And the only way you will ever get a true picture of the condition of the plating is by having it grit blasted.   

[rusty69]

Update. Still dry, no drips from above on kitchen towel

5 minutes ago, Dylan said:

Bilge alarms are quite cheap on ebay etc. Might be a good idea for when you get underway.

I'm gonna shove Mrs Rusty down there for the duration of the trip

[rusty69]

5 minutes ago, Neil2 said:

The problem is, if the uxter plate is perforated you have to assume the rest of the hull is at risk.  And the only way you will ever get a true picture of the condition of the plating is by having it grit blasted.   

I think I have come to the same conclusion.If its thin or pitted there, it will be the same in other places. Not sure when patching turns into a full overplate,but sure the surveyor will enlighten me,although its not being grit blasted prior to inspection.

[rusty69]

21 minutes ago, Neil2 said:

FWIW I get moisture all over the uxter plate surface but I have seen it from below after grit blasting and I know it is in pristine condition (it was the only part of the boat that was).  I have concluded condensation is the cause.

We get condensation in the Winter but not summer.Is your condensation all year round?

[MtB]

If I were you I'd carefully mark out where the map of Australia was with something indelible then keep an eye on it and get on with boating.

Even if it returns it is hardly going to sink the boat in less than about five years. It's probably drying up as fast as its leaking in. The bigger risk is that the whole uxter plate is like a piece of lace so wedging a patch with a brace to the deckhead runs the risk of tearing a far larger hole. 

On balance I think you'll find a perfectly solid uxter plate with nothing on the other side either when you dock the boat, and today's damp patch will remain a mystery forever.  

[rusty69]

2 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

If I were you I'd carefully mark out where the map of Australia was with something indelible then keep an eye on it and get on with boating.

Even if it returns it is hardly going to sink the boat in less than about five years. It's probably drying up as fast as its leaking in. The bigger risk is that the whole uxter plate is like a piece of lace so wedging a patch with a brace to the deckhead runs the risk of tearing a far larger hole. 

On balance I think you'll find a perfectly solid uxter plate with nothing on the other side either when you dock the boat, and today's damp patch will remain a mystery forever.  

I wish I had drawn around Australia when it was there.Unfortunately it turned into Tasmania before evaporating altogether.

I will make up some wedges,and get in various bits of carpet (thanks Phill Atterley), grease,tea towels,etc. The things is, it doesn't feel thin, but I aint gonna hit it and find out.

I hope your right.Trouble is its a bit like the thread where the lady has oil in the bilge.There must be a reason for it. Question is, What is it?

 

[bizzard]

If there is a leak its bound to be in the Alice Springs area.

[MtB]

2 minutes ago, rusty69 said:

I wish I had drawn around Australia when it was there.Unfortunately it turned into Tasmania before evaporating altogether.

I will make up some wedges,and get in various bits of carpet (thanks Phill Atterley), grease,tea towels,etc. The things is, it doesn't feel thin, but I aint gonna hit it and find out.

I hope your right.Trouble is its a bit like the thread where the lady has oil in the bilge.There must be a reason for it. Question is, What is it?

 

 

If it were my boat I'd need to find out the degree of the problem immediately. I think I'd find a decent bradawl with a point and press hard all over the area. If it goes through, leave the bradawl in the hole and find a self tapping screw and some silicone, then bung the screw in the hole. This way you'll find out for sure if you have a lace counter, or not. An if you have, you can fix the exploratory hole with the s/t screw and silicone with little or no collateral damage.

[rusty69]

4 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

If it were my boat I'd need to find out the degree of the problem immediately. I think I'd find a decent bradawl with a point and press hard all over the area. If it goes through, leave the bradawl in the hole and find a self tapping screw and some silicone, then bung the screw in the hole. This way you'll find out for sure if you have a lace counter, or not. An if you have, you can fix the exploratory hole with the s/t screw and silicone with little or no collateral damage.

Now , Thats pretty much what Phill Atterley advised.Replace hammer with bradawl.If I had a crane outside my window I would feel braver attempting this,

I will sleep on it.

5 minutes ago, bizzard said:

If there is a leak its bound to be in the Alice Springs area.

Who the F is Alice

Edited July 7, 2017 by rusty69

[koukouvagia]

Make sure you have some marine epoxy putty handy.  

Last year my son was knocking off some rust below the waterline at the rear of our butty prior giving the hull a coat of red oxide.    Ooops, off came a large chunk of rust and in came the water - rather like a tap being turned on.  While he held his finger over the hole, I fetched the epoxy putty out and slapped on a lump, smoothing it down and holding it in place for about five minutes.  The leak was cured.  So much so that when a nearby boatyard applied a welded patch, it needed a hammer and chisel to remove the putty.

The story didn't end there, though.  In November last year we took the boat up to WFBCo to have some work done and the full horrors of the state of the hull were revealed. The hull had passed its survey four years ago, but it was now paper thin in places and only a layer of bitumen was keeping the water out.  

Six months later the hull has been expertly rebuilt and all is well.  

Several holes below the water line were revealed after needle gunning

70% of the rear end needed rebuilding

Rear end now as good as new.

 

[bizzard]

2 minutes ago, rusty69 said:

Now , Thats pretty much what Phill Atterley advise.replace hammer with bradawl.If I had a crane outside my window I would feel braver attempting this,

I will sleep on it.

Who the F is Alice

Dunno, but Christopher Robin went down with her.

[rusty69]

1 minute ago, koukouvagia said:

Make sure you have some marine epoxy putty handy.  

I was looking for some of this today. Do you recall who make it?

Someone also suggested a plastacine type two part putty plumbers stuff from  screwfix, but I couldn't find that either.

[cereal tiller]

4 minutes ago, bizzard said:

Dunno, but Christopher Robin went down with her.

Yeah, but Alice got time off for good behaviour ?

[bizzard]

9 minutes ago, rusty69 said:

I was looking for some of this today. Do you recall who make it?

Someone also suggested a plastacine type two part putty plumbers stuff from  screwfix, but I couldn't find that either.

Milliput is a two part epoxy that will cure on wet surfaces. Usually available at Model and hobby shops.

[koukouvagia]

9 minutes ago, rusty69 said:

I was looking for some of this today. Do you recall who make it?

Someone also suggested a plastacine type two part putty plumbers stuff from  screwfix, but I couldn't find that either.

I used Milliput Epoxy Putty.  I've also used the stuff made by Plastic Padding.  

I wouldn't be without it.

 

[rusty69]

2 minutes ago, bizzard said:

Milliput is a two part epoxy that will cure on wet surfaces. Usually available at Model and hobby shops.

To Milliput it is then, land of the little people

2 minutes ago, koukouvagia said:

I used Milliput Epoxy Putty.  I've also used the stuff made by Plastic Padding.  

I wouldn't be without it.

 

To Milliput it is then, land of the little people

[MtB]

Just to cheer you up, here is a photo of the 7" square of iron cut from the bottom of my boat, with the rust hole in the middle. Note the cut edge is still roughly 1/4" thick as built.

 

[bizzard]

18 minutes ago, cereal tiller said:

Yeah, but Alice got time off for good behaviour ?

I always thought that ''Alice'' was an illness when I heard that Christopher Robin had gone down with it, ''Alice.

Edited July 7, 2017 by bizzard

[rusty69]

8 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

Just to cheer you up, here is a photo of the 7" square of iron cut from the bottom of my boat, with the rust hole in the middle. Note the cut edge is still roughly 1/4" thick as built.

 

That has cheered me up a bit. What caused it? No don't tell me.....Rust?

 

Did you chop a bit off the keyboard and stick that in its stead?

Edited July 7, 2017 by rusty69

[MtB]

5 minutes ago, rusty69 said:

That has cheered me up a bit. What caused it? No don't tell me.....Rust,

 

Yes, about 100 years of it...

[rusty69]

Milliput ordered 

Still dry

Im going to bed

[koukouvagia]

I've got a very similar chunk here.  It's quite alarming that a hull survey can easily miss such small, localised thin bits when the metal a few inches away is as sound as a bell.  The metal in the picture had rotted from the inside of the hull behind the wooden lining.  From the outside it looked perfectly OK until it was needle gunned.

 

Edited July 7, 2017 by koukouvagia