DF65 02 28 2021 (50 min 1 sec)

sailboat start (3 min 47 sec)

I have had a leak the last two times sailing, The first time I thought I had re-used the hatch tape too many times but after replacing I'm still taking on water. I can't see obvious cracking, I have not removed the keel trunk to look for cracks, is this the most common source of leaks? How hard should I look for source of leak that likely can't be fixed VS ordering a new hull?

Thanks

Originally Posted by 732002

I have had a leak the last two times sailing,

How much water is leaking into the hull.

I get a small amount in my new V6 hull and the advice provided by the club members was to apply CA to the deck fitting holes especially the main bridle points.

Others say also apply some grease/vaseline in the bellows for the rudder/power/main but others say this is overkill.

I am going to do all the deck fittings first and also apply a new mylar deck patch for the battery hatch and see how that goes.

Originally Posted by womble66

How much water is leaking into the hull.

I get a small amount in my new V6 hull and the advice provided by the club members was to apply CA to the deck fitting holes especially the main bridle points.

Others say also apply some grease/vaseline in the bellows for the rudder/power/main but others say this is overkill.

I am going to do all the deck fittings first and also apply a new mylar deck patch for the battery hatch and see how that goes.

About 10-20ml over 2hrs, before this it has been completely dry for two years.
Not leaking fast enough now to sink but don't want to wait for that either.
I will try thin CA on the deck fittings and go for a test sail.

I cut gorilla tape to fit battery hatch.

I'm getting more inclined to just replace the hull in a faster color.

I have not had any issues with water however I do 3 things on a new hull: 1) remove each screw eye, put a small dab of epoxy in the hole and screw it back in, 2) seal the fin as per the youtube video loaded by dragonsailing, and 3) I use electrical tape around the clear plastic hatch cover. Good luck.

Sealing the keel trunk is a good idea but would keep water out of the keel trunk not the hull,
It might help if there are cracks in the hull in that area but then I would worry about the structure. I'm going to try putting rubbing alcohol in the screw eye holes to see if that helps find a leak then remove keel trunk to look for crack in hull that is covered by keel trunk. I have taken some hard hits from larger boats at fun sails.

It does look like the gasket is out of place on the bottom of box.

Just seal up your hatches blow air thru drain plug hole while putting soapy water over all the deck all around eye lets if no leaks there then remove servo tray and fill boat with water let sit in stand if it dose not leak then just seal your hatch cove properly next time you sail

I was going to seal the hatches and pressure test until I realized the rudder, switch, and winch openings would leak.

Update: the alcohol test showed a deck fitting leak, will thin CA and epoxy or silicone all fittings.
Took out keel trunk and hull looks solid, trunk gasket was leaking so will silicone seal that also.

When my boat started taking on water, I eventually found it was coming in around the main bridal screw eyes. I put the boat on its stand filled each hollow with water and watched, didn’t have to wait long.
It was recommended to me to try plastic solvent cement, its water thin, and capillary action will pull it right in to where it’s needed, you only need a drip or two.
I think I got this on Amazon.
All the best, Chris.

B rig for my 95

Short sail but CA seems to have fixed the leaks around deck fittings. Thanks for the help.

df 65s 03 31 2021 (48 min 30 sec)

Hi all,

This is my first post. Please excuse that I may have asked this question of the wrong group. If someone can point me to a more appropriate one I would be most appreciative.

I have been sailing my DF65 for 1 year now and absolutely love it. I've kept it completely as is "out of the box" , and , in fact, had some success racing it in that particular category ("A sail rig only"). As a scientist and keen technologist, I have purchased a TX16S so that I can write software to allow me to interact with the boat and learn more about its performance.

Specifically, I need to know how, first, to bind with an appropriate receiver, and secondly, how to stream GPS coordinates live from the boat. I have two in-boat units already: one that logs GPS coordinates, the other that records g-force, velocity, etc. What I would like to do , after the event, is to produce an animation of the boat's performance.

I realise that this may be a "stretch" target, but our group is pretty capable. For example, we recently live-streamed our race night to YouTube , so that group members out of state could stay connected.

Thank you very much and I already love this resource -- well done!

^ Welcome, that is a neat project.
I can help with binding radio. If you have the FlySky radio that comes with boat than we will be working with that protocol in radio. 'FS2A' is the selection in radio.
Will also need to learn OpenTX programming to learn the radio
http://open-txu.org/

How-to Setup an RC Plane in OpenTX on the Radiomaster TX16s Tutorial (28 min 5 sec)