Ballast Leak

Posted By: Jim Kelly
Date: 7/6/08 7:46p.m.

Report: outside forum guidelines

In Response To: ballast leak (Rod)

We had a ballast tank leak on our 1990 Mac 26S. I finally found 2 leaks. The more minor leak was under the V berth where the tank was glassed to the inside of the hull. The serious leak was under the cabin floor just in front of the sink & was due to the fabric in the top of the tank not having sufficient resin so that the water was flowing through the fabric. We found the leaks by filling the boat with water while it was on the trailer, and with the ballast tank empty. We put soap in the water & then pumped air into the ballast tank with a leaf blower & watched for bubbles. I thought I had found the only hole under the v berth but the sharp eyed wife saw bubbles coming out from under the floor inside the cabinet housing the sink/counter. We siphoned the water out of the boat, cut the floor out with one of those drill saws in order to follow the cabin sole pattern (noslip texture with a smooth surrounding). We then refilled the boat with water & repeated the air pressuring/soap to find the exact spot. We then siphoned the water out of the boat, let it dry & then glassed it. We then glassed the rim of the cutout to the top of the water ballast tank to restore strength. We then made a "rim" for the cabin sole to sit on by putting epoxy paste aroung the rim, covering it with shrink wrap & replacing the cabin sole & weighting it to ensure an even setup. After the rim paste set up we lifted the cabin sole up & removed the shrink wrap. We now can lift up the cabin sole to inspect the ballast tanks. we covered the cabin sole with carpet. Our boat has been dry for 2 years now. Hope this helps !!!