My faithful Merlin II has developed a slow leak in it’s front flotation tank. Over a couple of months I’ll have maybe a couple of shotglasses of water in there.
I sit and switch a lot so sometimes the front tank is getting wet and it makes me wonder if the water seeps in through the plug in the tank (maybe gets sucked up in there and I get a few drops each paddle?). Or - maybe it’s seeping in somewhere around the edges of the kevlar fabric where there appears to be factory tape? Looking at the outside of the boat, I don’t see anywhere where it might be seeping in.
So far I’ve just been leaving out the plug on the front tank so it stays nice and dry, and I’ve been using a small towel upfront to try to catch any water that would normally hit the tank.
Anyone out there experienced with diagnosis and repair of minor flotation tank leaks?
Leak?! Don’t think can call that a leak.
Talk to some folks with big boats about how much water they pump out.
Anyway two shot glasses of water over two months of paddling is nothing to worry about. Just pull the plugs when you store it and forget it. You might wish to attach the plug to something with a tiny cord so you do not accidently leave it somewhere.
If you want to see where the “leak” is simply fill the air tank with water and watch where it comes out. If you do not have resin or want to deal with the epoxy I would just use clear silicone caulk for something that small. Sand lightly or not as you wish. Clean surfaces very good with acetone or alcohol. Let dry for at least 10 minutes before patching.
Mick
Good Advice
Good advice from Mick. The only thing I want to add is duct tape would work. I have a leak in my WVC Merlin patched with duct tape 15 years ago…the original piece is still on. Also, the two-part epoxy you buy at hardware stores is very easy to use.