If only I had checked her out better!

[jelofam]

I keep finding one thing after another on this boat. When I dropped the keel I exposed all kinds of rust and it just was not solid around the bushing - new (used) keel thank you ebay. Got that job complete and go to paint the keel trunk, the previous owner painted the bottom and keel but not the trunk and did not check the keel bolts and pivot pin, this is what I found as I started exploring under the boat.

I am not sure how to begin to address this, and I certainly wish I had seen this before I bought the boat. Any suggestions from the collective wisdom here would be helpful.
It is the port aft weldmont that is compromised if that is helpful.

Many Blessings

Jeff

 

[Benny17441]

There is a proven principle about making repairs to old boats. Whatever you may budget for a job double the cost and triple the time to do it. Any job can be never ending so one has to know when to stop and declare the job finished. Parts that upon inspection it may be deemed that they are ready fail and that failure will endanger safety must be taken care of right away. Other parts that may be deemed to have some useful life left or may be possible to replace underway may not require immediate concern or action.

 

[jelofam]

Benny those are wise words and are indeed true. I would not have seen this unless I dropped and removed the keel. I had not worried earlier because all the bolt were in great shape and even though the keel was in awful shape it someone had taken the trouble to put a bushing in it. More a lesson in frustration and maybe a little intimidation, this is a scary area of the boat to cut into and fix.

thanks for the reply

 

[JRT]

So is that where the keel line comes out? If the winch mount is solid this might not be that bad. I bet it was cracked because the keel was not tight up and motion caused it to slam into this area.

I'll definitely take time off on Friday and take a closer look for you.

 

[Gene Neill]

No, worse. That's one of the four weldments where the keel hangers bolt on. Fixable but a PITA. It was clearly "fixed" once already.

So is that where the keel line comes out?

 

[jviss]

I know this doesn't help you, and I feel sorry; I don't know what these go for, but do others hire a surveyor for a C22 purchase?

 

[JRT]

No, worse. That's one of the four weldments where the keel hangers bolt on. Fixable but a PITA. It was clearly "fixed" once already.

Ah I see it better now on my computer vs my phone. I missed the details on the small screen. Gene do you know of anyone who has fixed this and documented it before?

 

[Hardhead]

I'm not even quite sure what I'm looking at here - but is it possible you could bring it into a welding shop that can weld cast iron?

 

[LakeShark]

It is fixable and has been done here before. Search Weldment repair and there are a bunch of threads on this topic. Here is one with a link from @CloudDiver that likely will help give you an idea what you're in for.

https://forums.sailboatowners.com/index.php?threads/keel-weldment-repair.169977/

Sorry @jelofam that your having so much trouble. But don't be too hard on yourself as I don't think you could have seen that damage before dropping the keel which you surely would not have done before buying the boat.

 

[JRT]

it is a crack and hole in the fiberglass around a attachment bolt for the keel. What about this product for this repair assuming the weldments are in good shape and don't need to be removed.

https://www.amazon.com/Marine-Tex-M...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=E11233FYZXSN11ZMX6AC

 

[jelofam]

Thank you folks. I contacted a guy at Catalina and he said that if the weldment does not move to open the crack up and clean it out then fill with an epoxy putty or M-tex. Any recommendations on a epoxy putty that can be sourced locally. I am going to try to take care of it tomorrow. M-tex is a couple of days away via Amazon and the skipper is becoming leary of all the packages that come to the house, lol.

 

[Gene Neill]

I would not use marine-tex for this repair. If you are fortunate enough to be able to just grind out and refill the crack , I would suggest West 105 epoxy, thickened with West 404 filler. You want the strongest thing known to man, and marine-tex definitely ain't it.

 

[greg_m]

I would not use marine-tex for this repair. If you are fortunate enough to be able to just grind out and refill the crack , I would suggest West 105 epoxy, thickened with West 404 filler. You want the strongest thing known to man, and marine-tex definitely ain't it.

I can agree with this sentiment... A Dremel tool, flexible extension and a small routing type bit would be a good tool to invest in as it can be used very precisely and accurately to clean out cracks and cut through fiber glass. To get into that space you also need something small.

Also agree with making your own "putty" but something I learned from a youtube channel "Frisco Boater" was to add finely chopped glass fibers into the putty mixes I make... takes bending and shear strengths to a whole new level!

Also from my engineering experience with dealing with cracks in steel plating you need to find the very end of the crack and drill it out with a small hole to remove the stress fracture point.

Just take it slow and check twice, cut once!

 

[JRT]

Try calling the local boat dealerships (Guntersville Boat Mart, Alred, Guntersville Marine, Erwin Marine) to see if they have the west system in stock, you can add fiberglass to a mix pretty easy with just shredding up some and put it in the mix.

 

[Daveinet]

I'm finding it difficult to get perspective on what I'm seeing. Is this where the cast iron meets the fiberglass? If so, the cast iron will continue to rust, so the epoxy will not be able to bond to it. You may need a chemical solution to get rid of the rust. If you are not going to open up the crack, I'd be inclined to vacuum bag the crack, that way the epoxy or whatever bonding "glue" you use to fill the crack gets all the way down into the small crevices of the crack.

 

[Leeward Rail]

I don't know what these go for, but do others hire a surveyor for a C22 purchase?

I did. The boat was 1500 miles away so I hired a professional to check it out. Worth every penny of the $600 i paid.

 

[jviss]

I did. The boat was 1500 miles away so I hired a professional to check it out. Worth every penny of the $600 i paid.

Excellent. I've only had an insurance survey before, but I've hired a surveyor for my Tartan 3800 purchase. I'm surprised, though. I'm expecting to spend about $1,000; maybe I'm too optimistic! He charges by the hour, and I'd like him for the sea trial, too. Might even hire an engine surveyor, a specialist.

Cheers,

jv

 

[jeepbluetj]

2nd (or 3rd, I lost count) on 404 as the filler of choice. I like to use very slow kicking epoxy if I can get gravity to help me on the repair.

Do not use MarineTex, Bondo, or other similar products - you need strong as possible.

 

[Leeward Rail]

I'm expecting to spend about $1,000; maybe I'm too optimistic! He charges by the hour, and I'd like him for the sea trial, too. Might even hire an engine surveyor, a specialist.

I just checked, and I was WAY off on what I paid.
It cost me $16/ft or $344 (NOT $600)

Over a certain length, If I remember correctly, he also charged by the hour.
That makes sense due the major increase in complexity, and volume, of boat to dig around in, as the length goes up.

 

[jviss]

I just checked, and I was WAY off on what I paid.
It cost me $16/ft or $344 (NOT $600)

Over a certain length, If I remember correctly, he also charged by the hour.

Yea, I'm paying by the hour, for a 38 foot boat. That's for both the inspection and the report writing.