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I have a 1979 22 ft Revenge. I just had a friend who is a boat surveyor come by with a moisture meter. I found a strata of water which was aft of several drain tubes. I have one of the first smirked hulls. The keel up to the first "smirk" measured some moisture (10% to 20%) ....just up from the first "smirk" to the second "smirk", I had several areas which registered wet (25% plus)......from that second "smirk" up to the bottom paint line I had the "moist" designation again. Measuring the areas we marked out with a crayon the wet sections of the boat is about 20% of the total area never exceeding 30% of moisture in the red zone of his measuring device. Needle never got buried or off the charts.

I got the moisture reading because I decided to replace all the drain tubes. Even though my drain tubes looked intact I had to remove one for some gel coat repair. On the boat the tube visually looked OK but once removed I saw the exterior (foam side) was trashed/failed. I felt the moisture in the surrounding foam in several areas. One actually dripped some water for a bit. The worst culprit was the rigging tunnel drain where the water went straight don by the transom. The transom itself was dry.

All the water entry points were directly correlated to areas that were aft of the drain tubes. This is torturing me. I have been working on this boat for a year (missed all of last fishing season) and have been getting it dialed in with a 2009 HO 200hp Etec. My choices are to keep it dry for another season, seal the the exposed drain areas with a plastic bag of calcium chloride. Let it bake in the sun and cover from rain or....replace the tubes , go out and fish. I would love to dock it in my slip.

My ultimate goal is to leave the boat slipped for the better half of a year. Any and all input greatly appreciated. The boat is "opened up" right now and tackling it while open would be annoying but a bitter pill I would swallow. Per the bottom paint line.....the boat sits where it should in the water but who knows if the paint line is correct. Thanks.

Garris