Day 47 – Water Leak Update – Leak fixed

16 Apr, 07 – 21.30    
16.3098N,37.4474W
24 hr progress: 25.8 Nautical Miles
Distance to Antigua: 2499 Nautical Miles
Distance left to Antigua (straight line): 1379 Nautical Miles ( 2551 km) (1 NM = 1.85 km)
Wave height: 5-6 ft, Winds: 10 knots E, Bearing: 240 - 280 degrees.

Inches: And how are you this morning, Sir?
Churchill: All right, I think. Thank you for asking. Missing her, of course, but that’s to be expected. No point in dwelling on her absence. We must KBO.
Inches: Yes, Sir. Keep buggering on at all times, Sir.
Churchill: KBO. That’s the order of the day.
—— from Hugh Whitemore’s screenplay for the BBC/HBO, production of The Gathering Storm
My main goal for today was to work on the leak and reduce the rate of water inflow, if not stop it completely. Although bailing out water has worked itself into the routine, it's been distracting from the job of rowing.
This afternoon, I went through every inch of the stern and the part of the hull below the waterline - the rudder hinges, steering cable, mooring rings, nuts and bolts going into the fiberglass back. Watching and waiting for the water to leak thru as the waves crashed against the stern.
The presence of moisture everywhere and the white paint on the inside, made it very difficult to see where the water was coming in. I mixed a bit of toothpaste with ink from a pen to make a blue colour paste, a kind of tracer, and used it to fill the area around every single join, so that it would color the water as it entered the cabin.
I discovered that the rubber valve on the steering cable (at the back of the cabin wall) was torn in a place that I had missed earlier. Every wave that hit the stern was forcing water thru the torn rubber valve. Other large streaks of blue water coming from the top part of the rudder hinge revealed another large gap that I had also missed earlier and small areas where the sealant had failed to fix.
Following the blue water trail, I found that the water seemed to be seeping down to the lower watertight compartments through the wooden panelling that supports the sleeping surface. I have no way of knowing from where or how much water is seeping in from the hole in the hull, or if any, as it's below the waterline and impossible to fill with the blue tracer.
I've made a large plug (like a bath plug) out of a part of the bottom of a plastic water bottle and a 10mm piece of wire. The wire of the plug passes from the outside to the inside thru the hole in the cabin wall valve caused by the torn rubber valve. The plastic plug is then pulled up tight against the outside of the stern by securing the wire from the inside of the cabin. The plug should work better than sealant as it uses the water pressure from the outside to seal the hole. I've secured the plug with layers of sealant and tape. I spent some more time resealing the existing and new areas around the rudder hinges and mooring with a combination of sealant, plastic bags, and tape.
By the looks of it, the leak has slowed down to a manageable ½ a liter a day. I should be able to make it the rest of the way to Antigua by bailing out ever 3 or 4 days.
So its been quite a productive day in all. Hope the fix holds.
When Churchill said KBO he just may have meant “Keep Bailing Out” as well.
B
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Rubber valve (in black)

Joints at the fiberglass back of the cabin

Sealant on the backing panel for the mooring ring