what a muck around to find it but it did find it so well done
I wouldnt remove the inflation plate until you've repaired the hole, that way you can test it
Isn't there a danger of de-laminating the fibreglass over a wide area? If it's 24 inches away and say the leak path is just 1 inch wide then even just 20psi is going to put nearly a quarter of a ton of force inside the laminate pushing outwards.
You could now you have found the entry, connect a vacuum to the air connection and apply vacuum while feeding/running some liquid sealer into the hole maybe ?
I've been meaning to mention your leak with my boss for awhile, anyway we had a quiet spell tonight so I explained what you'd done to find it (he liked your idea of using a compressor) anyway his thoughts were it's worth blowing though with the compressor for awhile to dry it as much as possible. He recommends drilling the pinhole from the outside and countersinking it a little, then blowing though with the compressor to clean the hole before using Creeping Crack to seal it up.
Does your compressor have a water filter ? And is there at least 18 feet between the compressor and the filter if not the water filter can get warm and stop working then your half hour with compressor running will be blowing more water into the boat
Well you will have blown more water in for sureNo water filter as yet but i got a 3m of line from tank to reg then there is 10m to the end.
Well you will have blown more water in for sure
As your only using low pressure how about weld a couple of airline connections onto a smallish tin and fill it with desiccant, that should ensure you only blow dry air in.
You can reuse desiccant by drying it in the oven afterwards, In the past I've dried it in the oven as it's cooling down after use so it's effectively using the free heat.