Solving Water Leaks

I am new to this forum and new to being a timber boat owner . i have bought a recond. 1956 Everingham clinker ski boat and whilst it is now complete , i cannot stop the leaks and even with 2 bilge pumps , i am struggling to keep up with the inflow . should i soak the boat the boat from inside before use ? and for how long . any suggestions to slow/fix leaks will be appreciated . will follow with photo's soon . Peter

 

Almost always, if a lapstake boat doesn't "take up" it's for several reasons and not one specific single reason. The usual suspects are loose fasteners, but which ones and why is generally the head scratcher.

So, much depends on how it's built. There are several ways to fasten a lapstrake, clench nails, roves (rivets), screws, machine screws or a combination. Each fastener type have good and bad points. Next is planking type, of which there are two choices, solid wood planking or plywood planking. Lastly is the construction type (scantlings), which I'll assume is very light, considering it's what it is.

Do not flood the boat. You'll just break more stuff (you already have broken stuff, trust me). Do not sink the boat, again, you'll just do more harm then good. Once a lapstrake starts to get "pissy" you have to fix it, as no "trick" will do.

Now, we need to see pictures. Considering her age, it's before they started using polysulfide and polyurethane in the seams. I'll guess because she's taken a beating from racing and blasting along at high speed, you have several frames with cracks and/or breaks. Also the fasteners are sloppy in their holes and letting the planking flop around, which is no good for water tightness. Answer as much as you can and post pictures so we can see how she really is.

 

Flooding a boat will open her seams and may cause structural damage. Loose fastenings are often the problem. In the case of rivets, they may be able to get tight by resetting. Clench nails usually need to be changed. Bolts and nuts can be retightened. Ideally , you need someone to inspect the hull