I have a 16.5 foot fiberglass bass boat. It is a 1990 Sprint Pro Bass 266. I bought it in July from someone who hadn‘t had it in the water for a couple of years. Anyway, I keep it in a wet slip on the lake. Whenever I go out there, even if I haven‘t driven my boat, I can turn on the bilge pump and pump water out of it. I would estimate that I can pump about a gallon per day. If I go a couple of weeks, that bilge will run for a pretty long time before running dry. I inspected the hull and there is one spot on the bottom where it has been pretty crudely patched with epoxy (about the size of my palm). How can I tell if that is where it is leaking. Also, is it normal for a boat to take on a little water just sitting in a slip?
the number one place for a boat to leak is of course, the drain pug on the stern. Try putting in a new one. Next place to look would be the hoses for the live well tanks. Sometimes they leak and need replacing. If you question the patch that's on an existing repair, pull the boat out of the water, sand the patch down and re fiberglass it the right way. Next, check and tighten or reseal every single point on the boat where hardware etc passes thru the hull. Good luck
There is something that you can get from most welding supply stores that is called green stick. It is just what it sounds likeit comes in sticks about 3/8x12 and one would do way more than you need for that one hole. It's easily applied by heating the aluminum(after thoroughly cleaning) to the point that the heat from the metal melts the stick. You just rub it into the hole and smooth it out before it cools completely. You can pick up the torch to do it with at wal-mart or any hardware store. It's called Bernzomatic. There are cheap ones and not so cheap ones, but any will work. This stuff is tough as nails and the patch is there from now on. I've used it on my boat and have friends who are welders who prefer it over welding on their boats. Please don't use a fiberglass patch kit on an aluminum boat. It just won't hold. It will crack and eventually break apart.
