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?
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.
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
One may be the drain plug. They can be screwed to adjust for a tight fit. Look for cracks in the Gel-Coat and around bolts and screws in the transom that below the waterline and re-seal with Silicone Rubber. I suspect the patch work. Boats use Epoxy Resin mixed into the fiberglass. Now I not the expert in boat building. But, my understanding is Polyester Resin should not be used on top of Epoxy Resin. It OK the other way, epoxy on polyester. So, the patch may look like epoxy and may be polyester as it cheaper. You could try removing this and clean down to fiberglass. Now I explain what to do. At the Auto-Parts stores and Wal-Wort, go to the car body repair stuff. You will see fiberglass cloth in a package. It about $4 for 8 sq. feet. More than enough and plenty to save for future use. DO NOT buy the Resin you see. Most likely it the Polyester and sell for around $12-20 for a Pint or Quart, I not remember. You want to be sure to use Epoxy Resin. Look, it come in a small tube for home use and it in a two section dispenser like a hypodermic syringe, about $3-4 (May need two, if it a big patch. Equal parts stir with a Popsicle stick of what ever. Cut about a 10- 12 square (Depends on the size of the area that was patched) from the cloth and shred it up into small strands. It easy if it cloth and not the mat, but, both work. Make a birds nest of the fiberglass that fit where the patch was. Now you can see your bird nest fit your hole and then make a small patch to fit over from the cloth and leave whole.Squeeze out the epoxy and mix and soak your fiberglass and put into the hole and lay the solid piece over. Take some wax paper from the kitchen and lay over all that and you can use a board and bottle jack to make a press. Leave overnight. Next day remove the press board and wax paper. Sand and paint if you want. Then if it leak I not know and just wasted your time and money on the patch, sorry!
