Crack repair on botttom

Jul 25, 2016
197
Catalina 22 Sacramento
Hi All,

I am getting ready to have my boat put up on stands to complete a repair on my boat. I have a crack in the keel trunk case. I have no idea how it happened, but the water leak has been driving me nuts since I purchased the boat. See pictures. I tried to lift the boat off the bunks high enough to get under the boat to do the repair but I don’t have the right equipment to do it safely and it started to get pretty sketchy in a hurry. I have an appointment at a do-it-yourself marina on January 4. The marina is in Berkeley and I live in Sacramento, so it's a bit of a drive.

I plan to sand the area and grind out crack and bevel. Layer fiberglass cloth with unthickened epoxy. Let set, but before fully set, fair with epoxy thickened with filler. Let dry and sand smooth.

I don't want to miss a step in the process, so if any of you have any tips or insights, I am all ears!

Thanks,
Kevin
 

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Apr 11, 2017
571
Catalina C22 Solomon's Island, MD
That sounds about right to me, but then again, I have no actual idea what I am talking about really.
Is your plan to layer in cloth from both the inside and the outside, after grinding?

You might try posting this on a more general sailing/cruising forum as well, if you don't get many specific responses on the C22 forum. Good luck, and I'm interested in what advice is offered as well.
 
Jul 25, 2016
197
Catalina 22 Sacramento
Good suggestions.

I am only going to layer cloth on the outside, at least initially. I would have to cut apart the liner in order to get access to the other side. For now, I am going to see if the repair on just the outside will suffice. If not, then the real work will begin....
 

SG

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Feb 11, 2017
1,670
J/Boat J/160 Annapolis
Is the crack visible from inside the hull?

Do you you have more water coming in when you are "beating" into the wind, say with the board down?

Does the crack seem to "open up" at all, or is it a nagging problem? How much water comes in?
 

Tom J

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Sep 30, 2008
2,301
Catalina 310 Quincy, MA
Sounds like a good plan for the outside of the crack, but by the looks of the crack itself, I'd say it is a good idea to open up the liner and check the inside. It'l take a little longer, but it will be easier than starting over later.
 
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Apr 11, 2017
571
Catalina C22 Solomon's Island, MD
Just looking at it - it really seems kind of a mystery how that particular crack would have gotten there-

It doesn't seem like that area would have gotten any extra stress over any other area, as the keel pivot point is well away from it, and not near the end of the keel, which might have gotten stress up into the hull if it was dropped. Do you have any clues at all?
 
Sep 30, 2013
3,538
1988 Catalina 22 North Florida
I finally saw that there WAS a closeup pic. Wow.

I seem to recall from @greg_m 's work that the keel trunk is surprisingly thin in that area. Maybe something was wrapped on the keel, and then the keel got cranked up/boat put on a trailer, and whatever it was broke through the trunk?
 

SG

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Feb 11, 2017
1,670
J/Boat J/160 Annapolis
I renew the questions about how much water, does get affected by “challenging” the center board, etc. is there any way to get access visual to the inside (maybe with a fiber optic probe.)
 
Jul 25, 2016
197
Catalina 22 Sacramento
Is the crack visible from inside the hull?

Do you you have more water coming in when you are "beating" into the wind, say with the board down?

Does the crack seem to "open up" at all, or is it a nagging problem? How much water comes in?
This has always been a nagging issue since I owned the boat for the past three years. I used to notice more water coming in with the keel down, but not it does seem to matter. I get about 5-8 gallons of water each time I go sailing. I trailer it, so I am mostly day tripping, but we do like to spend weekends on the boat too. I have re-bedded everything, sealed up the rub rail, and fixed the keel bolt, all those helped, but I would still get water into the boat. I got fed up one day and decided to put on my mask and snorkel to take a look at the bottom. That's when I saw the crack and a lot of bubbles. It looks like a crack in the paint until you blow up the picture.
 
Jul 25, 2016
197
Catalina 22 Sacramento
Just looking at it - it really seems kind of a mystery how that particular crack would have gotten there-

It doesn't seem like that area would have gotten any extra stress over any other area, as the keel pivot point is well away from it, and not near the end of the keel, which might have gotten stress up into the hull if it was dropped. Do you have any clues at all?
I have also been wondering how this crack happened. I think there might have been a grounding of some sort with some debris caught up in the keel trunk? Maybe an overnight spent on the keel because of a tide miscalculation? Maybe there was a problem with loading the boat back on to the trailer?
 

SG

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Feb 11, 2017
1,670
J/Boat J/160 Annapolis
Seems like a bunch of water. More than incidental, to me.

I assume you’ve determined that it is brackish (you’re in Sacramento?) and not rain water or a leak. in your wate tank.
 
Jul 25, 2016
197
Catalina 22 Sacramento
I finally saw that there WAS a closeup pic. Wow.

I seem to recall from @greg_m 's work that the keel trunk is surprisingly thin in that area. Maybe something was wrapped on the keel, and then the keel got cranked up/boat put on a trailer, and whatever it was broke through the trunk?
The close up is really magnified, but a little scary nonetheless, for sure!

That could be a possible explanation of how the damage occurred. The area is very thin. I thought the hull would have been thick throughout the entire bottom. However, the area in the keel trunk is only a 1/16th of an inch or so. It is surprisingly thin.
 
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Jul 25, 2016
197
Catalina 22 Sacramento
I renew the questions about how much water, does get affected by “challenging” the center board, etc. is there any way to get access visual to the inside (maybe with a fiber optic probe.)
I tried a fiber optic probe. I couldn't see much, but I was trying to access the area from a channel that runs along the keel that is inside the boat in the aft end. I needed to get more towards the mid-ship area and couldn't get any good visual of the area.
If I try to cut out the liner, it will end up a big ugly mess, but I have seen some that have put a nice panel over the area.
 
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Jul 25, 2016
197
Catalina 22 Sacramento
Seems like a bunch of water. More than incidental, to me.

I assume you’ve determined that it is brackish (you’re in Sacramento?) and not rain water or a leak. in your wate tank.
Yep, definitely coming in from whatever water body I happen to be enjoying. =(
 
Jul 25, 2016
197
Catalina 22 Sacramento
Hey Folks, I completed the repair of the crack in the hull trunk. I also went ahead and did a bottom job since I had to pay to have her put up on the stands. This was my first time painting the bottom. It took me three days of work to complete. The sanding was the most difficult and strenuous. The yard guys told me that I didn't need to sand the repair because it would only take off fiberglass mat and epoxy. I couldn't get any good pics of the repair. I think the camera did not know what to focus on and therefore the pics are a bit blurry.

I'm going to put her in the local drink this weekend to check to see if she is still leaking. Praying and keeping my fingers crossed that this solved the leak problem! Kevin
 

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Mar 26, 2011
3,401
Corsair F-24 MK I Deale, MD
I've done similar repairs. My advise is to look that the movement of the casing when beating hard in a breeze. Is it flexing anywhere else? Very likely the sides are simply not stiff enough and the forces are not distributed far enough. I was fortunate that on my boat the case was not covered by the liner, so it was simple to add large stiffening beams.
 
Apr 11, 2017
571
Catalina C22 Solomon's Island, MD
Good luck with it - let us know how it goes. I'm starting to think the only time a man can get all his stuff working at the same time -- is evidently when he gives up all his stuff..
 
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