Mark Ludbrook

I want to clarify that I posted here not to name and shame, but to try and get a selection of advice firstly for myself and my predicament and secondary to hopefully help advise any other newbies to the world of model boat sailing. For the record I don't believe I was knowingly sold a leaking boat. You were helpful and had much advice when I purchased. I contacted you privately with the issues i had, and my intention was to keep our discussion private.... So back to the issue...I very much doubt the collection has had any such impact on the condition of the boat no matter the size of the car it travelled in....as it was protected and has been in every journey it has made with me. The fact remains it has leaked from the first time I put it on the water. Firstly through the joint where the deck meets the hull. These became apparent (visible) after 20 mins of sailing with areas visibly lifting and the boat lettingin water. These areas were repaired and then we tried sailing again some days later. Unfortunately the boat was still taking on water.. I continued with further investigation and this is how I discovered the fin box to be an area of issue. Unfortunately, as I had discussed with you privately, this is proving a difficult fix and I have taken on board the advice of yourself and others on this forum. The leak is quite severe and can only be tackled from the outside as the access through any deck holes is to limited for hands to be able to get to the area to facilitate a repair. Because of the speed of the leak from the keel box any liquid is only going to sit in there for only a moment before poring into the boat. I have to be careful that this would cause no further issues. I have had other club members look at the problem but the general opinion is it could be counter productive and raise further issues, however I am going to try as I have little choice at this stage. I have had a generous amount of help from the local sailing club who have gone above and beyond to assist me in how to move forward. I hope if you have any further thoughts, you may message me privately because this posting was, as I said earlier, intended to provide newbies with purchase advise and not become an area to air dirty laundry....

I could and have considered this. Thanks for these ideas, they are appreciated and have been considered. The fear is if I get it wrong I will not be able to refit the keel....

Unfortunately it's the keel box that leaks the most, as well as the deck coming away from the Hull... Unfortunately non of this visible when I purchased it... every time I repair one area another appears, and unfortunately the keel box is not possible to get to despite my best efforts ....

Can anyone offer purchase advise for newbies starting out in the model boat sailing world. I have unfortunately just purchased a boat that takes in water than a teabag . It is so bad, that it is to much of a risk to sail it... and can't find a solution to cure the issue due to the amount of leaks it has. One of them being unreachable. This has been a costly error due to my naivety I now having to start all over again and probably absorb the loss.... I regret not meeting the seller at his local pond when i collected it, to see the boat sailing when I collected would have been obvious at this point that it wasn't going to be a good purchase. To avoid this happening to other new members buying their first boat, can anyone offer purchase advice on what to look for and make sure someone is not just selling on their crap to an unsuspecting novice... Not just boats, but any related equipment may be helpful.