We’ve been sanding down our new to us Bayfield 36 to apply a barrier coat and new anti fouling paint. We noticed what looked like some wet spots and upon removing the kewl bolts water came out.. about a litre or maybe 2. Can’t tell where it’s coming from. It has since stopped leaking. We discovered one of the bolts was actually 2 shorter bolts going in from either side and one hole is just filled with epoxy of some kind. We’re concerned and not sure what to do from here.. i guess just let it dry out and paint over ? There’s also a repair job of some kind on the keel as well… will attach pictures..
Leaking Hull help
- Thread starter bayfieldboater
- Start date
Welcome to the SBO forums!
A few questions. Does the boat have an internal or external keel?
Is there a deep bilge area just forward of the rudder skeg?
A few questions. Does the boat have an internal or external keel?
Is there a deep bilge area just forward of the rudder skeg?
Sorry i made a few errors in my language above. I said keel bolts but meant the rudder foot bolts as shown in the picture.
The boat has an internal keel, milder lead incerts (Bayfield 36 sailboat) and it has a deep bilge in front of the rudder sketch yes but it has been dry. The boat has also been out of the water for the past 2 years.
Sorry for my errors! I’m a newbie
The boat has an internal keel, milder lead incerts (Bayfield 36 sailboat) and it has a deep bilge in front of the rudder sketch yes but it has been dry. The boat has also been out of the water for the past 2 years.
Sorry for my errors! I’m a newbie
That area is almost certainly solid glass. Just dry it out thoroughly and use a good flexible sealant when repairing.
A liter or two of water coming out of rudder gudgeon bolts on a boat that has been out of the water for two years is not a good thing. If you're on Lake Champlain, (South Burlington) asking if it was salt or fresh water is not going to help determine how it is getting there. If the bilge is dry, there is probably a fissure or crack somewhere below the waterline that let the water in. It could be close to the rudder or at the other end of the boat. Maybe a previous owner hit a rock. at some point? Rain or snow on a leaky deck would have shown up in the bilge first. Winter freezing will tend to make this problem worse, so it is important to figure out how the water got in there and fix it. If the area around there were solid 'glass, how could there be space for 1-2 liters (a half gallon) of water?
The bilge area behind the lead is probably the reservoir for the water. Does the deep area extend aft under the prop (see arrow)? Is there a false bottom to the deep area? Are the lead billets sealed in resin or cement or are they loose in the keel?
The water's source still needs to be found. In the absence of any external evidence of cracking, it seems unlikely that the source is from the keel. Get a good bright light and closely inspect the bilge. If there is an internal leak there will be evidence of the water entering the bilge.
Looking at a photo of a Bayfield 36 (a picture is worth a 1000 words on a question like this) one source of the leak could be around the shaft log or the stuffing box. Water drips down from the packing gland and runs in to hollow area behind the bilge. Freeze damage would be minimal if the ice has room to expand, which in this area it would have room.
The water's source still needs to be found. In the absence of any external evidence of cracking, it seems unlikely that the source is from the keel. Get a good bright light and closely inspect the bilge. If there is an internal leak there will be evidence of the water entering the bilge.
Looking at a photo of a Bayfield 36 (a picture is worth a 1000 words on a question like this) one source of the leak could be around the shaft log or the stuffing box. Water drips down from the packing gland and runs in to hollow area behind the bilge. Freeze damage would be minimal if the ice has room to expand, which in this area it would have room.
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Thank you dlochner for such a detailed response. We will spend the day looking deeper and with a light and will take some pictures. Our boat is very similar to this but the rudder is differently shaped not that that matters. It does appear some damage was done and it occurred while we were not present in the boat yard. As Canadians we were unable to get to our boat in the states over Covid and are just getting back to revive her and take all the time and shmeckels needed to get her back to healthy. Thanks again for your time and response !!
@bayfieldboater, Paul made this statement because in salt water, tasting the water is an easy test to see if the water is coming from above the waterline or below. If the water is salty, it is coming in from the sea, if fresh then it is a deck leak or a fresh water system leak. Obviously it doesn't work for sweet water boats.
I see, thank you for clarifying his previous comment, that makes a lot of sense when you put it that way !
I miss understood your comment previously, apologies ! Thanks for your thoughts PaulK!
There are sometimes voids in full keel boats that are not obvious from the outside or even when inspecting the bilge. It is very challenging to completely fill down at the bottom of the keel from the inside when molding the hull. It is quite possible that the water crept in through the rudder shoe bolts and was trapped in a void, not escaping until you removed the bolts. Are you a member in a Bayfield owners group? Or maybe search Gozzard as well. These owners groups are often the best source for information on brand specific peculiarities such as this.
Quite correct. Built by ’sandwiching’ both halves together inherently creates void spaces between solid glass sections.
I don't know much about this boat but I had a lot of trouble with trapped water in a Balboa 26 in the past. I found that even after you let all of the water drain out... I could still pull some water by placing the end of a shop vac hose flush up agains the drain hole. I'd recommend that you try to pull out as much water as possible. It is possible that the water entered the heel through the bolt holes you just now opened up. That would be a best case scenario. Let her dry out (use a moisture meater) and seal it up when you put it back together. You might want to squirt some expanding closed cell foam up into the void. But you want to be sure of where the water is getting in.
A good way to search for potential entry points is to pressurize the cavity and then search for escaping air. If you don't have a compressor, try reversing the shop vac hose on the discharge end and duct tape the hose over the drain hole. Then go into the boat and see if you can hear or feel any air coming up through the bilge. Then walk about the boat and see if there are any cracks. If nothing is obvious, take a pail of water with dawn dish soap and "paint" (brush) suspected entry points. If the air is able to escape the bilge from some place other than the bolt holes, the painted soapy water will create bubbles at the leak point. Then you know where to start your repair planning.
A good way to search for potential entry points is to pressurize the cavity and then search for escaping air. If you don't have a compressor, try reversing the shop vac hose on the discharge end and duct tape the hose over the drain hole. Then go into the boat and see if you can hear or feel any air coming up through the bilge. Then walk about the boat and see if there are any cracks. If nothing is obvious, take a pail of water with dawn dish soap and "paint" (brush) suspected entry points. If the air is able to escape the bilge from some place other than the bolt holes, the painted soapy water will create bubbles at the leak point. Then you know where to start your repair planning.
Thank you so much for your thoughts! I forgot i did join a bayfield owners group on Facebook, i will go there next. Your insight into the keel build is very helpful, thanks again!
rgranger thank you so much for your reply ! There are so many great ideas in here and we will attempt them all to figure out where the water is coming from. Thank you so much for your thoughtful response ! I hope you managed to dry out your hull!
It certainly would be nice if you learned some of the sailing terms. When I read your question I thought you really had problems. Fortunately, you do not and it is a fairly easy/inexpensive fix.
Think "gudgeon" rather than keel bolts.
Think "gudgeon" rather than keel bolts.
It would be nice wouldn’t it ! Only one way to learn.. thanks for your informative response ! I’m sorry to have alarmed you sir…