You are correct, water will only seek it's own level. My experience has  been 
that over time these things have a tendency to seal themselves. Slime has a  
way of clogging leaks. PT is old school and has a tendency to over think 
things.  Nothing wrong with his way of thinking, but if it ain't broke, don't fix 
it.  Most of the sailboats I've owned over the years all had leaks. The Rhodes 
is the  only one that hasn't developed a leak. I suppose I'm tempting fate, 
but I tend  to live on the danger side of life anyway.
 
Rummy
 
 
In a message dated 5/28/2008 6:08:56 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,  
mweisner at ebsmed.com writes:

Rummy,

She seems to have stopped leaking since I tightened the  fitting.  My guess 
is that the sealant is mostly gone at this time  and it is just plastic 
against fiberglass.  That might account for  the loose fitting.  I am just 
afraid to put too much torque on a 27  year old fitting for fear of failure.

The interesting this is that at  anchor, she took on only about a half gallon 
overnight, even when  leaking.  My thought is that the water will only flow 
in until the  height of the water inside equals that on the outside of the 
hull.   Since the stern barely sits in the water, the level probably will not 
rise  much even with a leak.

I wonder if Peter's concern and glassing in of  the laz is warranted, unless 
the water came from another source such as  rain water.  In that case, a leak 
to the sea might permit the laz to  drain down to a reasonable level.

It is still better to sail and watch  the leak than to be on land - went 
sailing this morning before work and  had the best breakfast in years.

Mike
s/v Shanghai'd Summer  ('81)
Nissequogue River, NY

From: <R22RumRunner at aol.com>Sent:  Wednesday, May 28, 2008 7:39 AM

> Mike,
> Congratulations on your  launch. Ed has a great deal of experience in 
> dealing
> with the  rear cockpit drain. If you don't want to take her out of the 
>  water,
> simply put up with a slow leak for the time being. Only one of  two things
> can happen. It can either self seal itself, or, become  worse where you 
> will want
> to pull her and do a proper  fix.
>
> Rummy
>
>
> In a message dated  5/27/2008 3:48:47 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
> mweisner at ebsmed.com  writes:
>
> On  Friday I picked up the 2-1/2" square 1/4"  thick steel tube stock that 
> is
> now  the new extension  tongue for my R22 trailer.  After fitting a new 
> coupler
>  and drilling many holes in the steel on Saturday, I pronounced the  trailer
> "launchable" once again.  Sunday morning I removed the  winter tarp and
> checked out the boat.  All was as I had left it  last September when we 
> failed to
> launch due to a collapsed  extension tongue at the ramp.  I  purchased 
> fresh  gas
> and oil, ran the old Suzuki DT7.5 engine in a garbage can   (started on 2nd
> pull!) and hitched up.
>
> We launched  without  incident.  Once I was happy that there were no  major
> leaks or problems, I  parked the truck and trailer.   We motored over to 
> our
> mooring to get away  from the  busy ramp area.  Once safely anchored, we 
> stepped the
>  mast and  rigged.  We went for a short sail (2 hours) and came back  in to
> discharge  passengers (helpers) and clean  up.
>
> I noticed that we had a bit of water  in the  laz.  We pumped out about a 
> half
> gallon, total.  We  had been  in the water for only four hours.  Oh well, 
>  she
> hadn't seen water in  several years (I think 3 years of  repairs and
> restoration), maybe some seals  had shrunk and would  swell when wet. 
> Reluctantly, I
> boarded the dinghy  and  made for land, dinner and some well deserved rest.
>
> The  next  morning, Sheryl and I went back out and were pleasantly 
>  surprised
> that only  about a half gallon of water was present in  the laz.  The 
> forward
> bilge  remained  dry.
>
> I mopped up the water and found the leak to be  coming  from the cockpit 
> drain
> through-hull  fitting.  I had suspected this and  brought along a wrench. 
>  It
> was fairly loose so I tightened it securely  and the flow is  pretty nearly
> stopped.  I am afraid to put too much  torque  on the nut since it and the 
> fitting
> are from 1980 and failure  would be  catastrophic.  I assume that the 
> sealant
>  (gasket, bedding, etc.) has  deteriorated significantly over the years.  
> At
> this time, I am afraid to  play with it any more than  I have until she is 
> safely
> on the   trailer.
>
> Has anyone had experience with rebedding or replacing  the  drain 
> through-hull
> fitting while in the  water?  Is there a safe method of  beaching to access
> the  area below the cockpit drain?  I think that when I  service it, I  will
> replace the fitting, the hose and the clamps just to be   safe.  Does 
> anyone know
> the size of the fitting, the  hose and the clamps  (you needn't run out and
> measure them - I  will measure mine in the next  day)?
>
> Is there a way to  seal the fitting (temporarily) without removing  the
> fitting, so  that it may be done while in the water?  I was thinking  about 
 
> using
> some duck-seal or similar putty or  caulk.
>
> Somehow, while I  was rebedding all of the  portlights, deck fittings, the
> seat drains, etc. I  forgot about  the cockpit drain.  Word to the wise, on 
> a 25+
> year  old  boat, service and rebed everything, especially the fittings 
>  below
> the water  line.
>
> Thanks to all on the list  who provided information and links to 
> information
> that helped  me learn the art of fiberglass repair.  Probably  the best
>  information I received was to purchase Don Casey's books - I now have   
the 
> entire
> set, I think.
>
> Even with the slight  leak, it is much better  to be in the water and 
> sailing,
>  finally ...
>
> Mike
> s/v Shanghai'd  Summer  ('81)
> Nissequogue River,  NY
>  __________________________________________________
> Use   Rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org, Help?   www.rhodes22.org/list
>
>
>
>
>
>  **************Get trade secrets for amazing burgers. Watch "Cooking  with
> Tyler Florence" on AOL Food.
>  (http://food.aol.com/tyler-florence?video=4&?NCID=aolfod00030000000002)
>  __________________________________________________
> Use  Rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org, Help? www.rhodes22.org/list
>
>  


__________________________________________________
Use  Rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org, Help?  www.rhodes22.org/list





**************Get trade secrets for amazing burgers. Watch "Cooking with 
Tyler Florence" on AOL Food.      
(http://food.aol.com/tyler-florence?video=4&?NCID=aolfod00030000000002)