Sunfish and water retention

Chris B.

New Member
My 1980 SF takes on water and I cannot figure how. There are no cracks in the hull. I have a port which I need to drain water after every sail. How is the water getting in?
 
There are several good You Tube video's on how to run a leak test on Sunfish. Be careful about using too much air pressure while running your test.
 
The soapy air bubbles will show quite clearly where the leaks are happening. In my case, I found a leak where the deck is attached to the hull and another where the splash guard is bolted to the deck.
 
Tape over both sides of the daggerboard trunk, see if you can draw a soap bubble over a hole you've poked in the tape.

While you're looking for an air source, top up the mast step with water, check for a loss; however, your air source could be right at hand--and free!

 
Usual culprits are the daggerboard trunk, bailer hole seam, gudgeon or a popped hull/deck seam. Check the chine carefully as well, sometimes there are crush spots there, the gelcoat looks okay but there can be microcracks in the fiberglass underneath.

FMI: Air Leak Test
 

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