: I'm getting water in the Coho I just finished; after paddling for about 2
: hours, I get about 4 cups of water in the bow and stern compartments, as
: well as in the cockpit. Because I seem to be getting water in all three
: areas, I suspect that one of the plank seam is not properly sealed.

: Just a quick rundown: - I put a sealing coat of epoxy on the outside hull,
: then covered the hull with one piece of fiberglass cloth, and then added
: three sealer coats (with a roller brush)
: - the inside of the hull also has a sealer coat, one piece of glass (darted
: at the ends) and 2 sealer coats
: - the outside cloth is almost 100% perfect; only a one or two small areas
: (maybe 2 millimeters in diameter) where the cloth was not completely
: wetted through
: - the inside cloth is not as well done, but still, no major lengths or areas
: not completely wetted out
: - although during sanding I sanded through the cloth on the outside in a few
: spots along the chines (maybe 1 or 2 inches in length, those areas were
: later covered in epoxy (but not cloth)
: - the boat is not yet varnished
: - I've inspected the whole hull, and couldn't find any cracks

: After the first trip, I filled the bow compartment with water to see where it
: was leaking; water seemed to be dribbling out of the drilled holes for the
: wire - I had thought I was very particular about filling those holes with
: epoxy.

: I also ran the hose over the hatches to see if the hatches were leaking; they
: weren't.

: So a few questions: - first, if the entire outside and inside of the hull are
: coated with epoxy; how can water be getting through? Could it be in areas
: where the fiberglass cloth wasn't completely wetted out? And if that's the
: case, why is the boat apparently leaking the whole length?
: - can anyone suggest a better way to determine where the boat leaks?
: - What are my options? The outside of the hull now has 5 coats of epoxy - I
: don't simply want to keep adding more weight

: Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!

: TIA ED

Hi Ed,
Thats a strange one, we don't hear about major leaks much here. I have also built a Coho and have paddled it for 3 years with NO leaks. You did not metion how you did your hull deck attachment or how you covered your stems. On my Coho, I covered the outside stems with multiple layers of bias cut cloth, the inside stems were filleted and covered with bias cloth and then the main cloth was applied, slit to fit the inner stem. Th hull-deck seam was filleted on the inside, taped and end poured. The outside seam is covered with the deck cloth. Is your layup similar to mine? The only place I would suspect a leak would be the hull deck seam but, thats just a guess.

Larry C.