Ariel #24

[ebb]

dunknow Tim,
Looking at it, by design, how could the fitting leak? It has to go thru solid material. Just forward of it maybe, that is where I too drilled some 'drainage' holes straight up and got 'dry' frp. Drilled two DEEP holes. Then I drilled one thru the side couple inches up and got lucky. Drilled into the sump. That's when I first discovered how thick 338's hull is. Not! There seems to be considerable differences in Ariels. Refilling the deep holes underneath took some thinking too! Side holes, of which I made a few, cause I filled the keel void, are more accessable and can be sealed with a bit of mat over the dished hole and faired.

If I remember correct: the keel holes remained wet for a long time, the side drain hole didn't produce any water, but the holes drilled into the ballast keel area drained a little bit for the longest time. Months. I figured the LAMINATE itself did do a little bit of draining. More like drying. But VERY minimal. Like water under pressure getting into imperfections. If the bottom of the keel gets really cruched somewhere, it's possible delamination could occur that would let in water, even if it still appeared to be in good shape.

I also found water in the filler block encapsulated in the upright keel molding where the rudder swings, it's opposite the hole in the rudder in outboard models. Nobody ever talks about it. That water did enter thru the factory encapsulation and as an entry point could explain some of the water problems a coupla feet below it inside the rudder shoe. I didn't explore it and it seems farfetched. Like the rudder, all rudders being built the same whether for an inboard or outboard Ariel - I would think the hulls were all built the same, and therfore the propeller aperture would be gellcoated along with the rest of the hull, and a filler blank would merely be pasted in place. No interior connection.