Dry boat!

Jul 25, 2016
197
Catalina 22 Sacramento
Hi All,

After all the repairs to the hull, locking pin, and other sources of water intrusion, I finally have a dry boat. I took her out this weekend and it did not have any water in the boat at the end of the day. I am soooooo excited!

My girlfriend and I are heading out to do some whale watching in Monterey Bay with our sailing club next weekend. That is one of our favorite trips and we are looking forward to enjoying a few nights in boat that only has water on the outside!

Cheers!
Kevin
 

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Tom J

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Sep 30, 2008
2,301
Catalina 310 Quincy, MA
Good news, Kevin. Enjoy your trip! The whales have arrived here in Maui, too. I'm looking forward to going out on a whale watch soon.
 
May 12, 2004
1,502
Hunter Cherubini 30 New Port Richey
Good work. I've since given up. :banghead: I keep my boat dry with a couple of Tupperware containers in strategic places. Luckily, my bilge stays dry as a bone.
 
Aug 22, 2011
1,113
MacGregor Venture V224 Cheeseland
Yeaaaaay! I never had leaks in the hull, everything comes from somewhere above and its like a war that I never win....
 
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Apr 11, 2017
571
Catalina C22 Solomon's Island, MD
It's great to hear a success story. Do you recall how may layers of cloth you added from the outside, and how large they were cut? I was wondering exactly how to go about that repair, when keel recess crack photo was posted earlier.
 
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Jul 25, 2016
197
Catalina 22 Sacramento
It's great to hear a success story. Do you recall how may layers of cloth you added from the outside, and how large they were cut? I was wondering exactly how to go about that repair, when keel recess crack photo was posted earlier.
I used 5 layers of fiberglass cloth. once I sanded the paint away from the area, I opened up the crack a little in order to taper it. Then I taped a piece of clear plastic to the area and trace it with a maker, leaving a few inches of perimeter around the crack. I took the plastic off and cut out the shape which I used for a template. I then traced it on paper and cut it out. This was used to trace out on the fiberglass cloth. Then i gradually started to reduce the shape for the other pieces. See pic. Before beginning to epoxy the cloth onto the hill, I filled the crack with some West System epoxy and 406 colloidal slica, mix to the consistency of peanut butter. Easier to handle when working above your day. I let that sit for a couple of hours before glasing the cloth in place. I didn't want the crack epoxy to be fully cured so that everything could set up together. I was going to use some 407 fairing additive to the last one or two pieces of cloth, but the yard guys said not to bother because a smooth finish is not required. In fact they said not to sand at all next your only taking off glass and epoxy, possibly weakening the repair for no gain. I took their word because I don't have any experience.

Also, use less epoxy than you think you need. I placed all my shapes on paint trays and brushed epoxy on them before assembling them on the hull. I started with the largest piece first, working to the smallest last. The larger pieces are the strongest. If I sanded, I didn't want to remove the material providing the most strength. I continued to brush on additional epoxy between each layer, but I over did it at first and a lot of this dripped down over night. See pic. I sanded this off before applying the bottom paint. Gravity wins again. Smoothing in out each layer was challenging because of the space constraints. I found an epoxy mixing stick w HBorked pretty well.

I hope I didn't confuse you. If I did, shoot me a note.

Kevin
 

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Jan 22, 2008
8,050
Beneteau 323 Annapolis MD
Nothing succeeds like success, and I've not done multi-layer hull glasswork before, but I recall you should have started with the smallest piece first? Right now, there is only the one, largest piece, is adhered to the hull. Smallest first, each one is adhered. I think your way has a stong patch by it's thinckness, but someone on here probably has something to say, one way or the other.
 

Tom J

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Sep 30, 2008
2,301
Catalina 310 Quincy, MA
but I recall you should have started with the smallest piece first?
Actually, KC's method was taught to me at my career job by a Boeing tech. It seems that by using the large patch first, the entire surface area of the patch adheres to the prepared surface, giving maximum strength to the patch. By using the smallest patch first, only the edges of each patch adhere to the prepared surface.
 
Jul 25, 2016
197
Catalina 22 Sacramento
I also forgot to mention in my post that the first patch was about 8"x 5", which covered the interior width and almos down to the bottom of the hull. The last patch only about 3"x 1.5". The last only was the most difficult to put in place.
 
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Apr 11, 2017
571
Catalina C22 Solomon's Island, MD
I've heard it said that there is nothing made with fiberglass that can't be repaired. With all the older fiberglass sailboats out there, and lackluster sales on new boats, it's going to be interesting to see how long the old classic production models keep going. 50 years doesn't even seem to make much difference, as long as the deck laminates are maintained.
 

mrreg

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Jun 16, 2014
19
Catalina 30 8087 Alameda, CA
My "solution" : I pay a visit to my C30 after a big rain and make sure the automatic bilge pump is doing it's job. Of course, the float only allows so much drainage, so I start the pump during my visit to drain the water down. I guess it's a good excuse to "go to the boat"...a statement often heard from my spouse of almost 50 years.....we both smile.
 
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Apr 22, 2016
161
Catalina 22 Folsom Lake
Congratulations, @kclancy! I think most my water was coming from the wood screws that went through the stanchion and deck into the bulkhead.
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