Moisture Meter

I know Marine Surveyors have been using these things for years.

So does anyone have one?
*If so what make, model etc is the best.* Most user friendly *to use.

I have some leakes I would like to trace.

SD

skipperdude wrote:

I know Marine Surveyors have been using these things for years.

So does anyone have one?
*If so what make, model etc is the best.* Most user friendly *to use.

I have some leakes I would like to trace.

SD

Click to expand...

SD,

The best I understand them is their readings are subject to interpretation and I'm not sure if they can be used to find a leak.* They can tell where the water or moisture ends*up (and I'm guessing you know that already)*but not sure they will help find a trail or path.

*

JD wrote:

*

Click to expand...

not sure they will help find a trail or path.

*
If they work and depending on ease of use. I would imagine i could at least spot the pool. or where most of the water is. I could try and trace from there.

How do you mean interpretation. doesn't it show if there is moisture or not?

SD

*


-- Edited by skipperdude on Monday 13th of September 2010 10:06:53 AM

I have*a model CT-33*you can find it here** http://www.electrophysics.on.ca/e_index.htm*

Also have the calibration plate.
It is easy to use, not so simple to interperet. I used it a lot on my old Mainship 34 and it pin pointed all the areas with wet core, however one area the meter showed wet*but all the core samples were dry. Oh well, it's not perfect.
I used it to to cull out several boats when I was looking to buy a trawler, and it definately helped me. As a matter of fact the surveyor I got for my current boat had the same moisture meter.**
I think a lot depends upon the core material, in other words balsa core reads differently than plywood, etc.

Ralph borrowed my meter prior to getting his hull peeled and he kept records of how it "dried" while on thehard *so perhaps he can comment on how it works on solid fiberglass surfaces.


-- Edited by jleonard on Monday 13th of September 2010 10:51:19 AM

skipperdude wrote:
How do you mean interpretation. doesn't it show if there is moisture or not?

SD



*


-- Edited by skipperdude on Monday 13th of September 2010 10:06:53 AM

Click to expand...

Yes they do show moisture content but from what I have heard it is not black and white.*There is a science to reading one, like an x-ray. *I've been told that to really tell if a hull has moisture content it must be out of the water for several days so the surface water doesn't effect the reading.

Just what I have heard, no real life experience.

What kind of water problem are you chasing?

*

JD wrote

What kind of water problem are you chasing?

Click to expand...

Pretty sure of where it gets in. Just wanted to know the extent.

Not my boat.
A friends 36 ft Bayliner. There is a group of us with old boats we all work together. lend tools help thru discussion and stand around offering advice and offen to pass the wrong tool.
Mostley empty brown bottles and talk about boats and the screwed up job so and so did.*
You know boat s**t.

SD**

*

It's a lot more art than science. When we were drying my hull with the hotvac system, we did some scientific tests. There are three different meters that work on different principles. All of them were designed to measure moisture content in wood, not fiberglass. Bits of metal in the FG will drive them crazy, as will any metal fixture on the inside of the hull. I did things like take 50 measurements in the exact same spot one after another. We compared the three different meters in the exact same spots. All read differently, and different readings all over the place. I even took a piece of my hull that we had cut out for a bow thruster, dried it in the oven for 24 hours, then tested that (you can tell I'm single).

All I can tell you is that the best it's going to do is give you relative measurements from one area to the next. It won't pinpoint anything except metal.

Huh.
What do you know.
*That's cool thanks for that my man.

SD

skipperdude wrote:"Mostley empty brown bottles and talk about boats and the screwed up job so and so did.*You know boat s**t."
SD*

Click to expand...

I love it!* My kind of* people!

*