questions ref. leak in boat, two batteries and bilge pump.

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fletchernewbie

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Hi,

I'm new to the whole boating scene and need some help please. Excuse my ignorance of boating and the silly questions below but I would appreciate your advice very much.

I have a fletcher arrowsport speed boat.

Boat leak - The last couple of times I have had the boat out the bottom compartment (where I store my skis) takes on a lot of water. So much so that the carpet is getting wet. So today when I had the boat out of the water I filled this compartment with water from the hose because I suspected that the very bottom of the boat was leaking in water. I was able to see that it was dripping water at the bottom.

I think the bottom of the boat has been damaged because it hasn't been sitting properly on the rollers of the trailer (but rather to the metal bit at the side).

How can I fix this? What should I do to repair this?


Bilge pump - I do have a switch on the dashboard for a bilge pump but I'm not actually sure if one is installed on the boat / or if its work. I presume if the boat was taking on water I could use the bilge pump? I looked inside the compartment but couldn't see any 'pump' but that does mean there isn't one outside of the small compartment, in the wider section.

How can I check if I have a bilge pump and that it works?

Can I turn it on without starting the outboard?


Two batteries - Why do I have two batteries on the boat – Sorry for the silly question! I have one battery at the back left and one at the back right. Could one be for the bilge pump??

Many thanks for your help – it is much appreciated. And again, apologies for the simplicity of the questions.

Gordon
 
Welcome to the forum.

The bilge pump on the arrowsport was usually fitted in the well between the 2 hulls at the back of the boat, you should be able to see it. If you cant see it its probably been removed. You can get replacements from any Chandlers and they are easy to fit especially if the skin fitting and wires are still present.

Boats have 2 batteries for safety, 1 for starting the engine and 1 for running the domestics. Since the arrowsport doesnt have much in the way of domestics it does seem a little overkill.
 
I'll take at face vlaue and assume genuine q's:

1. If there is a hole/split in the fibreglass hull it needs to be repaired with epoxy and glass mat. You need a specialist GRP repairer, if you can't do this yourself. Needs grinding away of the affected area, then a rivet of GRP making up by laying up new material. If there is no inside access it may need an access hatch cutting into the floor. It is very hard to work GRP upside down. Post pictures if you want more precise info. also you must fix the trailer!

2. You just need to look for the bilge pump. Size of a coke can. There are not many places to hide one. you might see wiring, a discharge pipe and you might hear it running. This is really not rocket science...

3. Whether it runs with engine dead depends on the wiring. Impossible to answer

4. Two batteries is uncommon on that sort of boat but no big deal. Might be some previous owner's bodge. They might be in parallel, or one could be for engine and other for lights/instruments etc. You could follow the wires to figure out how they're wired, again this isn't rocket science. You could even chuck one of them away if you want
 
Hi all,

Thanks for all the replies.

Once I get home this weekend I will spend a few hours and try and trace back from the bilge pump switch where exactly the electric wires lead to. Will also do the same for both batteries.

This is a complete learning curve but one which I'm enjoying, although it tends to be costly!

I also need to fix the rollers on the trailers, by possibly buying larger ones. Will pay a visit to the shop at the marina.

Thanks again for your advice. I do have photos of the damage to the bottom of the boat but I can't work out how to post photos in my forum post - how do I do it??

Cheers. G
 
I'll take you at face value here, welcome anyway. When someone doesn't give much away in their profile there's bound to be some suspicion that they are on a wind-up trip.

Repairing your hull - most will tell you to use epoxy, I don't know why as it is expensive and your boat was built of polyester resins and chopped strand glass mat originally and so long as you well rough up the surface you are bonding to the same material bonds well and makes effective repairs.

You'll need some 2 ounce (or today's equivalent) chopped strand mat, some resin, some hardener, an old brush, some pots to mix in, old McDonalds pots or Pot noodle pots work fine, and about 1/2 litre of acetone minimum to clean up afterwards. You'll also need plastic gloves to keep the stuff off of you, a disc sander to clean the area, possibly a jigsaw with metal blade to cut away some access in inner skin over the damage if not accessible. If you are not going to paint the hull you'll also want a little gel coat resin (this is as it's name implys thicker than normal) and some colouring pigment the same colour as the hull - good luck with that one!

Clean the inside of the damage over a wide area, this is not like repairing a scratch in your car, you need a wide area of at least 75mm all around the damaged area to bond onto. Well rough up the area to bond onto, if it is a gash, clean the edges and taper them inside and out so that the new material forms an inverted "V" over the edges of the hole (thus locking it in place).

Outside, clean the hull but do not rough it up. Stick a piece of plastic over the hole and support it, sticks/wedges whatever over a piece of hardboard holding it in place. Clean the inside roughened area with acetone, paint the gash/hole with gel coat resin onto the plastic support below. Having the plastic tight to the hull is good as the repair will lie flush. Book-laminating film is good here. As soon as this has gelled, but not set, apply a coat of resin over that and introduce some pieces of chopped strand mat with more resin "stippled" in with a brush to fill the hole. The natural tendency is to make it "resin-rich" which is too much resin, not enough glass. You need as much glass matt as you can get into the hole with the minimum resin to stipple in to "wet" it. It will go transparent when it is properly wetted. Leave this as flat as possible but no need to wait until it sets. Then lay up mat and resin over this, minimum area first layer, next layer straight over but wider all round, and a final layer out near the border of the cleaned area. That gives you a repaired hull and a 6 ounce layup over the repair. Allow to set and then you can remove the outside sticks/wedges/hardboard etc and buff up the gel coat and do any minor touching up necessary. Trust me on this, you'll have no further problems there BUT you must ensure the hull is properly supported on the trailer. GRP hulls are not suitable for point-loading, i.e sitting on a lump of metal but must be evenly supported on chocks and rollers.

Good Luck.
 
I'm sorry to tell you but that looks like a mess. I've seen that sort of damage before and I'd guess it was caused by the boat slamming down onto that keel roller when the trailer hit a pothole at some point. The trailer should normally have side rollers or bunks that take much of the weight, but if they're not properly adjusted this can happen.

You have effectively broken the back of the boat, at what should be the thickest part of the hull. It is repairable, but it is a big job. If you're confident with GRP (it's not that hard), then it is a DIY job, otherwise get a pro to do it but be prepared for the bill. You will need to cut out a lot of damage as the water will now be in the mat along a good stretch of the keel where the GRP has delaminated. Sorry.
 
Hmmm. That's quite a significant bit of smashing, and needs a careful repair. I think it can only be repaired from below, so the boat needs to be turned on its side or even upside down, so you need a workshop with facilities to do that and you have to consider removing the engine. Are you able to diy it? The bill for a pro repair will be quite high as wiggo says
 
If I were you I might just find myself another boat... sounds a bit drastic but if you put your boat up on ebay I am sure it will sell, then replace it with one without a hole in the hull!!

Just having a quick look, if the engine on your current boat is any good why not buy this Fletcher - hull only , swap all the good bits over and then sell your hull...

...obviously effecting a safe repair on your current boat would give you good GRP experience but if you have been using the boat the matting will be soaked, it will take months & months to dry out before you could start thinking about repairing...all IMO, quite happy to be shot down!
 
If you are a decent diy'er its fixable. We did a similar repair to a 14ft Super V in the 80's.

As Wiggo said its a big job, but we did it in a normal sized garage with standard tools. You need to remove the engine, lift the boat off the trailer and prop it up on its side. Can be done by 4 guys cos boat will only weigh about 200kg. To strengthen the hull and give a surface to work on we cut away all the damage and then bonded/riveted a piece of aluminium inside the hull. We then built the mat back up and finished with gel coat. It looked great and was still going 15 years later when I saw the boat on Windermere.
 
Hi,

I am going to bring it to a guy this weekend to have a look at. I'll be scared to ask the price after what everyone has been saying above.

I have looked at the fletcher (hull only) mentioned above for sale on ebay and might be interested in this - depending on what I'm told about fixing it at the weekend.

I would actually been even more interested in a buying a new boat (again hull only) and attaching my current mercury 90hp engine to it. Is it hard to pick up boats - hull only - and what web sites would be best for this?

Cheers, g
 
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