by Guest » Mon May 07, 2001 10:31 am
Jack, how well was that original bailer sealed to the hull and cockpit? Water may have leaked in around the bailer and into the plywood between the hull and cockpit moldings. Also, maybe the transom drain for the bilge was not fully sealed, and water could have migrated in through that area. My transom is a little wet, I have tried drying it out over the winter by removing the bilge drainplug and flange, and then resealing the flange. I have also removed and resealed the rudder gudgeons, including changing from 2 screws and 2 bolts, to 4 bolts for each one. I think that most of the moisture in my boat's transom actually came from the outboard bracket that the original owner installed (I'm owner # 3) the bolts were not sealed properly and water obviously leaked in, worse yet was the one mounting hole where he could not get access to use a bolt and used a STEEL lagscrew. The last possibility for a leak is the 1" brass or bronze draintube in the transom that is above the lower gudgeon, mine had slowly corroded away, and this could have allowed water to seep into the transom core and could migrate to the area around the self-bailer. I replaced that and sealed it well.
My 1979 appears to be solid fiberglass around the bailer, but maybe yours is different.
Rod Johnson (rjohnson24-at-juno.com)