Leaking Plank/Seam Temp Fix

[Suprcargo]

I have discovered small pin hole leaks next to a seam in my 36' carvel planked hull. A little history might help. Less than two years ago, She was out of the water, all seams were reefed, red leaded, caulked w/ cotton and/or okume as necessary, redleaded, interlux seam compounded, and painted with Trinidad. Over 150 BF of planks were replaced. She swelled back up in no time and has been tight ever since. This area where I now have the leak has original planking (1970) six quarter mahogany on iroko frames. It is the third plank inboard from the chine, and she's dang near flat in that area. My best guess is the dang Toredo's again. I'm down in Florida. For a temporary fix, until I can get her hauled ( it's tough getting an old woodie hauled down here, very few folks will do it), I was thinking of taking some slick seam, smearing it onto a piece of visqueen say 6 inches bigger all around than the suspect area, heading underwater and trying to put it in place using a small piece of plywood tacked to hold it in place 'till it set up. The bottom is clean of barnacles, maybe a little slime, I clean her about monthly. I've never used slick seam before, only read about it here on this forum. I would greatly appreciate any comments and suggestions on what you might do for a temporary repair. Thank You, John

[Dan McCosh]

don't know much about teredo damage--but I understand the plank could be riddled with just pinholes showing. Slickseam is a wax, and doesn't set up or hardedn. Many seam compounds do cure underwater, or adhere. Roofing tar sticks; thiokol such as Boatlife cures and sticks. Can't give any reasonable advice on a temporary fix, as it's unclear as to what the damage is. A pinhole could probably be stopped from the inside in a few minutes. But that could leave a larger problem area.

[pcford]

Sawdust in a can in the water around the leak should work for a temporary fix.

But if I may, sounds like you are getting needlessly excited.

[sdowney717]

A good test for a worm eaten plank is to take a 2 lb ball peen hammer and tap it on the suspected area. If the end of the hammer sinks into the wood and a lot more water starts coming in, then you got a bad case of toredos or gribble attacked plank.

My wooden hull is impervious to worms and gribbles since coating it with liquid polyurethane permaflex.

[RichardH]

We have used slick seam underwater as a temp fix until the next haul out. We are in the SF bay area so I don't think that we have the same bug problem. We used it when some seams were pouring pretty good after a hard pounding race. We first cleaned the slime off of the paint and then with a finger of slickseam dove and pushed it up into the seam, then smoothed it flush. It held for six months until our haul out and might have lasted longer. Also, nothing grew on it in that time. It must have some anti foulant stuff in it. If I smeared in onto a plank I probably wouldn't cover it with anything. I may be softer in your warmer waters then here, yet I would see if it held before doing anything more drastic.

[Lew Barrett]

If you have worm damage that you can see as pinholes, chances are good the little bastages have done more damage where you can't see.
I don't know if this trick will work for worm damaged wood, but it is a traditional fix for open seams: get a bucket of fine sawdust, invert it, and then submerge it and then, by tiping the bucket up under the damaged area, allow the dust to float up into the seams or holes. It actually works, but I have seen it used as a fix for dried/open seams rather than for permanent holes. However, if the boat is to stay at the mooring only until it is hauled, it might just do you.