Andy,
Congratulations on finding the leak. They usually are quite easy to find  
and as in this case caused by a previous owner.
I forget where you are sailing. If you are in a northern climate with  
freeze thaw cycles, the ballast must be completely dry before repairing.  
Actually, no matter where you are, the material has to be dried. This can be  done 
with heat lamps or whatever you have to dry the ballast completely.This  
could take a week or more. Once dried, a well placed fiberglass repair  should 
take care of the problem. Apparently the previous owner was in a hurry  and 
put a band aid on it and had planned on repairing it at a later date. The  
band aid held so well he simply forgot about it or didn't think it was an 
issue  when he sold it to Stan.
 
Rummy
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