X tried to sink!

[midget]

Knocked my transom mounted depth/fish finder transducer off my X and didn't know it until about two weeks later I noticed it listing to the port side and getting low in the water. I pulled it onto our lift and found the transducer hanging by its cable. Obviously the screws pulled out allowing water to fill the bilge and boat. I got all the water out but I'm scared the fiberglass in the transom got soaked (inside) and don't really know what to do now/ next. Any thoughts/ important points would be greatly appreciated.

[kmclemore]

No worries, midget. Fiberglass does not 'absorb' water per se. Drain or pump out as much of the water as you can, mop out the rest, and go through the bilges and wash things down with a bucket of lightly soapy water w/ about a cup of chlorine bleach (to cut down any mold before it gets too far), and make sure your cabin is well ventilated while you do this, so you reduce your exposure to chlorine vapors. Use a spray bottle with a mixture of water and chlorine bleach to get to remote areas. Then, put a space heater and/or circulation fan in a safe place in the boat and/or put the boat out in a sunny area and leave the hatches and bilge covers wide open... it should fully dry out in a couple of days. The fiberglass will not be damaged by the water.

[tangentair]

I venture where wiser men often fear to tread. While I agree completely with kmclemore on what you should do, and I might even add kitty litter in the hard to get to spots and then vacuum it, I do not agree that "fiberglass" does not absorb water. Fiberglass does not absorb water but the resin that is used to form the structure does, the fiberglass gives it its strength (but I digress) - The purpose of the gel coat is to protect the resin from the water. While your immersion time was so short that little or no damage was likely to have been done, you might consider reading this article(it's short) and while it talks about blisters, the technique is the same for screws or bolt holes that were not sealed and now the water has weaken the surrounding materials. If your screw holes are torn out and the materials shredded, you might want to use epoxy plugs and then drill and through bolt the mounting.

[puggsy]

hi Midget...Have you considered a " wetbox"for your transducer...mounted inside your hull. No more possibility of the damage you described.
However, you do lose the option of the boat speed impeller that some transducers have...
I have described the construction of same in the mods section, but right now it is down.
Let me know if you want the details...pugwashjw@iinet.net.au

Puggsy 06

[Oskar 26M]

tangentair is right. Osmosis blisters caused by salt drawing water into the fibreglass resin through a damaged or ineffective gelcoat can become a huge problem if your boat is constantly in the water.

My previous fixed keel boat suffered badly from osmosis because of the poor quality gel-coat applied when it was originally originally manufactured. Some of the blisters were saucer sized and quite deep, although I never had one perforate the hull. The boat had to be regularly dry-docked so that the osmosis "blisters" could be ground out and the affected area completely dried before the gel-coat was patched and sealed with two-pot paint. Although the repaired areas were usually fine, new blisters continued to pop up in other parts of the hull. After a while the boat looked like it had had a bad case of smallpox.

Osmosis was one of the key factors that led me to a trailer-sailer this time around

I suggest you get the boat out of the water, grind out the affected areas, rinse well with fresh water to get rid of any sea salt (the chief powerhouse for osmosis), then dry the area thoroughly before applying the new gel. Should be as good as gold after that.

[kmclemore]

I agree that raw fiberglass layup, if *left* in water for an extended period of time, will absorb water. But in the conditions described, I don't think there's major cause for worry. Dry it out as I described and you should be fine.

[cuisto]

for fear of the same thing i mounted a 12"x4" hdpe plate on my transom at water level. thru bolted and gooped with 5200. then transducers mounted to plate with smallish screws. the wimpy screws will pull before transom dammage can become a leak risk.

[LOUIS B HOLUB]

I successfully mounted my transducer under the galley, flat on the floor with a generous amount of silicone on the floor, and along the sides of the unit. It has worked well...no holes. (Its important to avoid any bubbles in the silicone during this installation).

I just thought I mention this in case you wanted an alternate installation idea.

[March]

Happened to me too. The original transducer screws did not go all the way through though--but the transducer was lost. It happened while the boat was at anchor (had a second one at the stern, and the rode caught the transducers and pulled it out, breaking its transmitter cable, too)

The solution: I mounted the new transducers on a rectangular piece of fiberglass (actually on two sandwitched together) that were leftovers from when I installed cockpit windows. I filled in the original holes with marine tex, and applied another rectangle of fiberglass on top of them, glueing it to the hull. The two rectangles interlock. I used some basic metal interlocking hinges (don't know the technical word for them). When I anchor the boat, I bend over and remove the transducers and keep it in the cockpit. Any strong acciedntal pull on the transducer will break the fiberglass plate--but that can be replaced very easily. No harm done. But it has never happened. I also attached the transducer to the transom via a thin steel cable--just in case. I also remove the transducer and tie it to the rudder assembly while trailering

I have never had a problem in this configuration for the past three summers. It's not all that high-tech, but it works for me.

[opie]

Water is plastered all inside the fiberglass water ballast container much of the time. No damage. Same fiberglass that is inside the boat for the bilges. Water damage after getting wet inside? Think about it.

[johnnyonspot]

I agree with KMC, there should be no issue here with osmosis.

[ralphk]

I am very uncomfortable drilling near and obviously below the waterline.
Heres what I did for Hakuna Matata.
Cut a baseplate out of 1/2" starboard about 3/8" oversized all around.
I am not aware of any adhesive that can bond to starboard, so I made a mechanical/geometric fastener.

My solution was to cut some slots on my router table using a dovetail bit.

As I recall I think 3 slots in the short direction, 4 the long way, so that the grooves cross like a "#" sign.
Then carefully filled all dovetail grooves with marine epoxy and glued it in place.
Clamping to the transom is out of the question, so I had a sawhorse and some heavy weights ready to apply a little resistence.

Now I was able to drill short screws the starboard. Come to think of it, I've since changed transducers.

The wider "bottoms" of the dovetail ensure that the board has no escape, captured against this epoxy grid.
3 - 1/2 years later it's as solid as can be.

[kmclemore]

....I am not aware of any adhesive that can bond to starboard, so I made a mechanical/geometric fastener....

3M "Scotch-Weld" #DP-8005 works very well for this purpose, and is recommended by King Plastics, maker of StarBoard.

One word of caution, however - DP8005 has a very short working time - on the order of 2.5-3 minutes at room temperature, and less at warmer temps. So, gather and organize absolutely everything you'll need before you get started - assistant(s), clamps, pre-torn tape strips, application tools and cleanup items. Then, only mix a little adhesive at a time, and be prepared to work fast. Full cure in 24 hours at room temperature.

[AJ]

Small square of PET breadboard stuck to the stern with 5200 and coated with antifoul. Transducer screwed to it. Hasn't moved in 12 months. Boat in the water year round and prefer to have no through hulls below waterline. Bilges allways dusty.

[midget]

Thanks all for the replies and tips. KMC- what ratio mix of bleach to H2O do you recommend?