Just looking for some advise on fixing up my fiberglass canoe. I’ve done some patchwork to fix some cracks, but I still find that the boat has a minor leak.
I can’t determine where it’s coming from and I’m tempted to just throw a large fibreglass blanket over it and re-epoxy the whole thing.
Seems a little drastic (and costly) though… Does anyone have any advice on a good course of action?
Sometimes water will percolate through a quite small and not at all obvious crack. Being a fiberglass canoe, I assume that it has flotation tanks in the stems. It is possible that water is leaking into the tank, then through a seam between the tank and the hull.
Make a thorough search for a small crack and with the boat supported upside down press in all around the hull to try to discern a small crack that is not obvious. You should be able to find it.
Not to mention the added weight…
Place the canoe on a very flat driveway (May want to place several layers of newspaper under it for padding) and start to fill it with water from a garden hose. You’ll soon find out where it’s leaking from.
Make sure that the whole center part of the keel is on the ground. For instance don’t use stands or sawhorses. Water is very heavy and can deform the hull if the canoe is not properly supported…
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