On Sun, 20 Jul 2008 23:23:00 -0700 (PDT), "
wrote:

Hi all,
No rush for answers on this one, but I'm sinking... I found a bit
of water in the bilges and put it down to something benign, but on
inspection, found a blister on the paint inside the hull, which when I
burst revealed a ~2mm square hole in the hull on the bottom of the
boat. I've plugged it with gaffer tape, rubber mats and bits of wood
for now, but has anyone got any neat ways of fixing this without
taking it out of the water (boat is a 20 tonne wrought iron/mild steel
dutch barge, and a proper repair job would be ~£700)?
I'm thinking a bolt with a big rubber washer on both sides and
liberal use of silicon sealant. I'm hoping the rot is very localised.

cheers

Jim
UK

The old fashion way was to whittle a tapered wood plug and drive it in
the hole. The wood will swell and make a tight joint. A more modern
way is two big washers, or plates, depending on the size of the hole,
gaskets, bolts and sealant. On a ship they will sometimes pour a
compartment half full of cement. If you can keep the water from coming
in for a while you can grind the inside to clean metal and apply a
fiberglass patch. Needs to be dry though. You can also get epoxy putty
that can be applied under water.


Bruce-in-Bangkok
(correct Address is bpaige125atgmaildotcom)