Midway through my second season with my TI, I took time today to investigate the source of a leak. Every time I sail, I end up with more water in the hull than I would expect. I try hard to keep the hatch seals free of sand, but it still leaks.
Today, I put the hull up on our deck and filled it full of water: the leak became obvious:
That is the beautiful Lake Huron in the background.
I hope you can see the steady stream of water shooting out of a tiny hole in the Mirage well. I filled the hull all the way up to see if anything else leaked. I did find that one of my round hatch seals leaked badly and I'll have to watch this carefully.
How to fix this hole? I just ordered the soldering-iron-based hull repair kit:
Hopefully it will arrive this week and I can fix this hole on my next visit to our cottage next weekend.
The good news is that there were no other leaks and this one is easy to access.
Anyone with similar leaks and stories of successful repairs?? I need some encouragement. I've read that the plastic welder is the way to go instead of any kind of goop/epoxy/etc. Do you concur?