Water In New Laser

Mullet Time!

Mullet Time!

Member
I Just bought a new Laser and i have sailed it twice. Today i took out the plug to find that i had 2-3 liters of water inside. Im just wondering if this is maybe normal, i hope it isn't since my '90 laser is perfectly dry. I know one uy at my club did have this problem tho.
 
Hello Eric....
You've got a leak... no matter what kind of conditions you sailed in... 2-3 liters of water isn't right.... and I'd think it is more then a fitting leak... Maybe centerboard trunk or bailer... unless ya spent a bunch of your time capasized...
Good luck in finding it... plenty of threads here to give you the advice on how to hunt it to ground and fix it.
Fishingmickey,
150087/181157
 
Mullet Time! said:
I Just bought a new Laser and i have sailed it twice. Today i took out the plug to find that i had 2-3 liters of water inside. Im just wondering if this is maybe normal, i hope it isn't since my '90 laser is perfectly dry. I know one uy at my club did have this problem tho.
Click to expand...

Tape over the little vent hole below the forward attachment point of your hiking strap. Then cover your laser all over with soapy water and blow into the drain plug, looking for bubbles. It helps to have two people. Don't miss the inside of the centerboard trunk, the cockpit rails, the strap attachment points, around the bailer both inside and out, the mast step.... don't forget the hull/deck joint all around the rail. If that doesn't turn anything up, you may have a crack that is tight when the boat is sitting still, but that opens up when the boat is loaded.

Use a gentle source of air -- like your lungs, or a vacuum cleaner in reverse held near the drain hole. DO NOT USED COMPRESSED AIR -- even 1 PSI (or, for those of you who use them funny units, 0.07 BAR or 7 KPa) is more than enough to blow the deck right off the hull. If you use your lungs, be sure your girlfriend gets a photo of you kneeling behind your boat with your mouth on the drain plug.....
 
Eric, your boat should still be under warrantee so as soon as you locate and can determine the source of the leak, contact the dealer who sold it to you immediately! This is not right and I'm sure that it will be fixed for you free of charge if they don't give you a new hull.
 
Don't even bother with all the hassle of finding the leak yourself. New Lasers should not leak. Take it back to the dealer and get him to find and fix the leak.
 
Hi,

I'd say there is a 90% chance that the leak is in the thru hull fitting that the bailer plug fits into. This is angled, so it needs to be fitted right, and rebedded/tightened. I've used an O-ring on the outside a few times with success, but we always used to silicone the gap, and rebed it.

Al Russell 164308
 
ive got to agree with "old geezer" & "macwas16" a new hull shud be pretty much bone dry, i suggest that u get in touch with the company u purchased it off, they shud then fix it if ur waranty is still valid, and remember the customer is always right
 
Do not ask for a repair, but for a new hull! You don't want to spend the next couple of months on getting the water out of the hull (an enclosed space such as a laser-hull does not ventilate very well). I would not be satisfied with anything less!
Good luck!
 
If you have nothing better to do and have read almost every laser forum thread, then you might have come accross one of my rants about vanguard hulls. Well, the last two regattas that I have charter boats at (brand new Vanguard hulls), the boats have filled up with water, and much more than two liters in my cases. Good way to have your regatta partly ruined.

Anyways, both times it was the screw in the autobailer. I helped load these boats and it took and extra person to load them on trailers because they were so waterlogged, even after a day of not leaking. I am disgusted, and of course I could not get my charter money back. I also have gotten a boat of of warrenty because the hull cracked, and that was a long process. I guess all I have to say is that I am not surpirsed and still disgusted.
 
Sorry I forgot,
Redrill the hole, even with the same screw, but with tons of silicon (more than you would ever think needed). Also, a dealer told me the next most common place was the boat plug in the back. The same silicon procedure takes care of that also.
 
Yeah, Mark, im here down at Midwinters West, my Dad thought he might want to start sailing so i think heel use myold boat, and buying a new boat down here is a bit cheaper than at glenmore.

Anyways, we talked to two coaches that were here and they both told me to get a new boat. With the vanguard Rep we did the soap check and went through it found no new leaks, although we did reseal the plug area and the bailer. If it leaks tomorrow, than ill just get a new hull.
 
Hey Tulkster,

Congrats on the new boat.
The last shipment of lasers I worked on. None had any sealent around the bung plug. You have all been warned.
 
Yeah I forgot i had the breather hole taped up from yesterday, so today when i took my plug out after sailing it made this cool vaccum pressurization noise, and there was no water, which worked out good
 
Mullet Time! said:
Yeah I forgot i had the breather hole taped up from yesterday, so today when i took my plug out after sailing it made this cool vaccum pressurization noise, and there was no water, which worked out good
Click to expand...

That doesn't necessarily mean the problem was 100% fixed.

This is a bit farfetched, but you could have a crack below the waterline that is closed untill you start flexing the boat. So onshore, you can blow air into the hull and it holds; no bubbles

Since you left the tape over the vent hole, when you put the boat in the water there was still some pressure in the hull. If the crack opened and closed while you sailed, the pressure in the hull kept water from coming in, and the fact that the crack was below the water line (where the static pressure is higher) kept all the air from blowing out.

Sail the boat again, hard, with the vent hole unplugged. If it stays dry then, you can be pretty sure that the caulking fixed the problem.
 
Yeah thanks for the help, but the hull is good now, dry and all, i was out at midwinters west racing it for the first time. It seemed fast too, i was in 6th for much of the regatta until i had a problem with a black flag and an Over early. All dry, although interesting theory.
 
still dude, you shhould sail it hard in winds above 7 knots, i was also at MMW, and it was the wost regatta ive been too in years, terrialbe conditions, the wind SUCKED!!! and the insane chope dident help either, i think you should sail your boat like its your last day in 15-20 knots, and with some good chop and/or good swell, and se if theres and water
 
salsa 88082 said:
still dude, you shhould sail it hard in winds above 7 knots, i was also at MMW, and it was the wost regatta ive been too in years, terrialbe conditions, the wind SUCKED!!! and the insane chope dident help either, i think you should sail your boat like its your last day in 15-20 knots, and with some good chop and/or good swell, and se if theres and water
Click to expand...

I respectfully disagree. For the laser standards (I don't know about the radials), that was probably the best race committee job I have seen in years. When compaired with Miami PCR and MWE, MWW was the best regatta of the year, so far. It was never consistantly 5 knots and I was almost always pressuring the rail, which means that there was more than sufficient wind. O, BTW, I was told Bernard Luttmer's laser leaked the first day, before it was fixed (It was brand new out of the box). This leaking problem is disgusting.
 
salsa 88082 said:
still dude, you shhould sail it hard in winds above 7 knots, i was also at MMW, and it was the wost regatta ive been too in years, terrialbe conditions, the wind SUCKED!!! and the insane chope dident help either, i think you should sail your boat like its your last day in 15-20 knots, and with some good chop and/or good swell, and se if theres and water
Click to expand...

Although i apretiate your concern for my boat, but i assure you, its fine. I was bouncing quite extensively in the chop and waves and had water all over the boat.
but...
Woah Woah Woah dude, First you make fun of my spandex, than you tell me to cut my mullet? Now your dissing a wicked regatta? How can you say it was terrible conditions. Any regatta where youve got 60+ boats per fleet and you get off 9 races is good. I was hiking most of the bloody time. The chop was tough but you needed to adapt, And if you can't handle it than dont complain.
 
Okay Your Tulkness. I agree time to lose the mullet and the Rush addiction (You all don't have to travel in a van with this guy). The spandex can stay. "So Hot" as Paris told me.
 
yeah, as my dad has said "your a fashion commando" He always has the best metaphors. but yeah, now we got floyd to listen to in the van, I know you like them, but my dad was sure annoyed when half the cd's i brought to MWW were Floyd
Although I do know there will be many many objections from Danish and co.
...And as for Paris...well...
 
Mullet Time! said:
I Just bought a new Laser and i have sailed it twice. Today i took out the plug to find that i had 2-3 liters of water inside. Im just wondering if this is maybe normal, i hope it isn't since my '90 laser is perfectly dry. I know one uy at my club did have this problem tho.
Click to expand...

The vent hole forward of the cockpit (as Chris123 referred to) was the cuplrit when I experienced the same thing with my brand new boat. I didn't get the water from sailing; it was mostly from washing to the boat after use.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top