Today I went down there, and the front of the boat was in the water! I bailed it out with gigantic buckets, and we towed it into shore. Everyone there assumed that the problem was that when the boat bounced up in the air, it made a dent, and water got in it. To make a long story longer, we put it on the trailer, and water immediatly began pouring out! There were holes in the back that were supposed to be corked, far below the water line, which went into the seats (think long, water tight benches), which normally wouldn't allow water in except that there were no plugs in them! Of course, the inspection ports on the seats, which would allow one to look inside to see how much/any water was in there, had terrible seals, the water crept through the ports! I got down on my back under the trailer, and felt the whole boat, there wasn't a hole or a soft spot in it! I corked it all up, and brought it out, and now we have a beautifful new boat.

To think that we thought that the boat would need extensive fiberglass patches, and it turned out it just needed a cork. The lesson? Occum's razor: the simplest solution is usually the correct one!

i've been a camper there for 6 years, and starting 3 years ago, i became the official "sailing bitch." all the fun jobs.... bailing out sunk boats, fiberglassing, sanding, bottom painting, etc.(luckilly they're only sunfish, laser, day sailors, and *gasp*optimists. but at least i'm payed twice as much as everyone else, and i'm payed by the hour with overtime (everyone else gets minimum wage (5.00 or so and assumed 15 hours/week, except for the director and i). i can put down the first two years as “gracious volunteering” on a resumé at least

the worst thign in the camps history was the day after we purchased the laser, it was our pride and joy, and we were so busy celebrating that tieing it down was neglected. it was foudn the next day onthe other side of the pond.