Leak detection on tanks
During the filling test of the Duracell yacht's new water tanks, Matt unfortunately discovered leaks, symmetrical on each side. His hypothesis was that water was rising up between the old transverse ballast tank bulkhead and what remained of the outer wall at the head of the bulkhead. After cutting out small pieces, he visualized an empty space, linked to the construction method with fillet joint and stratification, but without gluing. A food coloring test confirms the passage of water through this void to the foot of the transverse partition.
Camera repair
Matt undertakes the repair, visualizing the inside of the tank with a small endoscope-type camera connected to his phone. This allows him to sand around the hole, then fill it with a very thick epoxy designed for this type of repair, particularly underwater. He then fills the void from the top with liquid epoxy and makes a final "plug" on the top of the tank.
Starting up the kitchen
While waiting for the repair to be fully dry and strong, so that he can test the tanks under pressure, Matt sets about building the kitchen furniture, according to the U-shaped plan decided on in previous episodes. With mostly flat panels, assembly is a snap. Only two rounded corners, to avoid accidents near the downstand, are created by a succession of notches in the panel, which are then filled with filled epoxy, before being shaped on a template.
