Possible crack in bottom of boat

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Givey1982

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Location
Oklahoma
LOCATION
Oklahoma
I am still making improvements to my 96 Crestliner Kodiac. I am concerned that there may be a hairline crack in the bottom that is leaking. There is no way to fill the boat and find it as that does not place enough water pressure to cause a leak. It only leak when it is in the water under pressure. My question is since I cannot spot the leak with my eyes is there a roll/brush on reliable coating to paint the bottom of the boat with. Or if someone knows how to find a leak like mine since it is welded and no rivets.

Thanks
Greg
 
Givey1982 said:
I am still making improvements to my 96 Crestliner Kodiac. I am concerned that there may be a hairline crack in the bottom that is leaking. There is no way to fill the boat and find it as that does not place enough water pressure to cause a leak. It only leak when it is in the water under pressure. My question is since I cannot spot the leak with my eyes is there a roll/brush on reliable coating to paint the bottom of the boat with. Or if someone knows how to find a leak like mine since it is welded and no rivets.

Thanks
Greg
Why not? Up on heavy duty saw horses, 5" of water inside will be the same as 5" displacement. Remember, the leak could be behind a strake.

Dry the hull, and look for moisture. Perhaps an empty boat blocked on its side, and then a pressure washer...

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First I’d put jack stands under the trailer. Then fill that sucker up with the hose. If a foot of water doesn’t make it leak then it doesn’t leak.
Another option in looking for a crack is to go to a welding supply and pick up a liquid penetrant kit. The kit will consist of a cleaner, dye penetrant and a developer.
Clean all the weld seams and spray on the dye. It’s like wd40 with dye in it. Let sit for 20 minutes then wipe off excess penetrant with a clean cloth. Then spray seams with developer. The developer is like snow in a can and dries white. Any cracks will show up quite visibly. It’s a welded boat. If you find the leak, have it welded rather than patching with goop of some sort.


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Weldorthemagnificent said:
First I’d put jack stands under the trailer. Then fill that sucker up with the hose. If a foot of water doesn’t make it leak then it doesn’t leak.
Another option in looking for a crack is to go to a welding supply and pick up a liquid penetrant kit. The kit will consist of a cleaner, dye penetrant and a developer.
Clean all the weld seams and spray on the dye. It’s like wd40 with dye in it. Let sit for 20 minutes then wipe off excess penetrant with a clean cloth. Then spray seams with developer. The developer is like snow in a can and dries white. Any cracks will show up quite visibly. It’s a welded boat. If you find the leak, have it welded rather than patching with goop of some sort.


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Thanks a lot
I will try filling it with water again. If I cannot find anything then I will try the second option. If I find a leak then I will get it welded for sure.
 
Having dealt with a couple of leaky boats...

Does it leak when it just sits in the water floating and still?
Does it only leak when it is under-way?
If under-way, does it leak at only fast speeds?
Do you have a speedometer? (often times the speedo tube is split or loose and only lets water in when underway)
Do you have bilge pumps; baitwells; livewells?

Tons of ways for water to get in.
 
richg99 said:
Having dealt with a couple of leaky boats...

Does it leak when it just sits in the water floating and still?
Does it only leak when it is under-way?
If under-way, does it leak at only fast speeds?
Do you have a speedometer? (often times the speedo tube is split or loose and only lets water in when underway)
Do you have bilge pumps; baitwells; livewells?

Tons of ways for water to get in.

It leakes when sitting still. I have not been looking when itnis underway. I have a bilge pump also.
 
Well, leaking when sitting still ....not when running...actually eliminates some of the crazier things that I've experienced or read about.

Some possible places, other than a crack..are..

Believe it or not, tons of guys have found that the rubber stopper plug had dried out. Replacing or even just realllllly tightening it solved their problems.

Motor bolts have been known to leak. One guy had brand new ones, installed by the dealer, leak, but only the bottom bolts! Remove; re-install, but don't fully tighten the 3M5200 for a few days. After it sets up, tighten again, or so that solution was posted.

Any and every through-hull is a potential leak.

Anything screwed into the hull can do it, too.

Bow hooks can work loose, but they usually aren't below the waterline when at rest.

Of course, your original idea may be true. Bad weld, and, as suggested above, it might even be inside and hidden by the strake.

Good luck. Hope you find it.
 
You might have to jack the boat off of the bunks.

Once I had a boat with crack right above the bunk, took me a while to figure that one out.
 
Stupid Stupid Stupid ](*,) ](*,) ](*,) ](*,)

So after filling the boat to 12” as recommended I see a small 1/8” stream of water coming out of the back transome area. The hole is right where some idiot removed a screw when he painted the boat and never replaced it!! I never saw it before since I never filled it that full.
 
WONDERFUL!!!!!

You found it. And, as Thomas Edison said (paraphrasing),

"you've found a large number of other areas that are not the trouble item."

Great news. Congratulations.
 
I’ve been there buddy so don’t feel special. Lol. Wait till you launch it and forget to put the plug in! Lol. Glad you found it and the fix is cheap.


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