: 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.

The stern stem has the fiberglass cloth wrapped around on the outside (using the Coho manual suggested method); the bow stem has no cuts in it at all. Also, I have a piece of glass tape on the whole keel, from bow to stern including stems.

Both the bow and stern stems have epoxy pours in them, on top of the glass cloth covering the inside stems. The inside cloth was darted.

The hull deck seam is taped on the inside, and the cloth on the deck drapes over the seam by about 1 inch.

I suspect that the deck/hull seam is too high for the leak, since I haven't been doing a lot of leaning, or been out in rough water.

Also, I was very particular about filling the seams between the planks, and in the wiring holes. All seams and holes got two coats of thickened epoxy, with some sanding in between.

Also, I haven't seen any discoloration in the plywood.

Even though I filleted around the bulkheads (which are covered with cloth on both sides), it's possible tht I just have a leak in, say, the bow, and the water is just travelling back. The problem is I can't detect any major openings from a visual inspection.

Thanks for the idea about using wet soap on the outside of the hull, and then "heating" the hull to increase the air pressure; that's a good idea.