Pinhole leaks in the anchor locker

August 15, 2010

Who thinks about the anchor locker? I didn’t for years until we wanted to anchor in the harbor and watch the air show. The big anchor chain was a rusted mass at the bottom. So begins the anchor locker project.

bottom of anchor locker
Bottom of anchor locker

After clearing out the rust the bottom epoxy looked pretty thin. Sure don’t want leaks in the v-berth so smearing with siliconized latex seemed to do the job for about a year and then…

A bit of water in the bulkhead between the anchor locker and v-berth.

Fixing the anchor locker correctly involves fiberglass reinforcing and epoxy

- that’s not going to stick to the siliconized latex so the first step is getting that out of the bottom. Head first down into the locker with a putty knife to scrape and peal that stuff out.

Now the pros can do the job right. Filling the anchor locker with water, Gary said “it’s not leaking” – unbelievable! Ultimately he found and sealed the pinhole leaks, then painted the whole thing with thickened gelcoat. No more leaks and looks pretty too.

Anchor locker after repair
Anchor locker after repair


Projects

Universal M25 Diesel

Heat Exchanger

Engine Compartment Insulation / Soundproofing

Anchor Locker

Macerator

Batteries

Head

Generator

Bimini for the Boat

Dinghy

Topside

Edson Pedestal Controls