I took my Pocketship out for its first over-night camping trip this month. On returning home, I discovered 2 gallons of lake water in the bilges that must have entered through a leak in the hull. I have never seen any water in the bilges before, but this was the longest I've ever been in the water. Today's question is how to fix the leak.
What we know:
1. I don't have access to a dock, and single-hand most of the time. So, I've been forced to leave Pocketship on the concrete ramp, where motorboat wake and waves cause it to grind away the fiberglass. I'm going to super-fiberglass the keel to fix it, but for now, the fiberglass and epoxy layer have worn off completely on the keel bottom from the nosecone to the centerboard trunk.
2. The plywood forming the walls of the centerboard trunk and keel in that area were wet, and a very slow amount of water was coming out drip-drip-drip. One drip every 3-5 minutes. This was the water from inside the bilges.
My interpretation:
1. Water must have entered through the plywood in the keel, then somehow wicked up the grain, up to the end of the plywood panel (which is directly under the keelson)
2. Then, despite trying my best, the water found a tiny hole through my fillets around the keelson, and into the bilges. This seems impossible, since I have fillets and then fiberglass there. It must have been through a limber hole, where there is no fiberglass and the small size made filleting challenging.
3. Given the location of the leak (at floor 4), I'm guessing the limber holes in question are at floor 4 or floor 5.
Does this seem like a reasonable hypothesis? I'm surprised that plywood could soak up water like that. Also, I looked for any sign of water seeping in through the paint in the bilges, and didn't see anything to indicate where the leak is.