I have a 1972 22 with the shoal keel. That's as early as these boats get. I don't know if this changed in later years or not, but there's a "bilge" in the form of a narrow tall void in the keel. This is only accessible by a small round hole in the cabin sole.
Below the small round hole in the sole is a hard metal plate of some sort, also with a hole. Below this is the bilge inside the shoal keel.
I have not measured exactly, but the depth of the bilge is probably about a foot from the sole, maybe a little more. It is only a few inches wide. I have no real idea how long it is, because without dropping a small camera in there, I have no visual on the fore end of it.
All it does is collect water.
The source of the water it collects is another problem, and one that I am attempting to address. That's a discussion for another day.
I want to do something with this bilge. It's useless. An original owners manual suggested one could add more ballast in there, but I have no real desire to do that.
It's difficult to pump water out of it, due to its depth, narrow width, and lack of access. A standard bilge pump just doesn't fit. I have to resort to the shop vac to really clear it out.
I've spent a great deal of time considering how to increase access to the space, but cutting the fiberglass sole doesn't appear to be an option due to (I assume) the continued existance of that sheet of metal just below the sole. Okay, I could possibly cut the metal, but I don't really know what's happening there structurally, and that scares me. (I'm assuming the metal has something to do with supporting the 600lb weight of the lead in the keel to keep it from tearing away from the hull.)
If I can't increase access, that leaves 2 options:
1) continue to ignore it and deal with it, which has worked for 46 years I guess, but it bothers me
2) this just occurred to me: Fill it with something. O'Day suggested adding more lead, but why not something else? fill it at least partially with something cheap and then pour epoxy in to seal it?
One thing I know is that whatever goes in there is probably not ever going to be able to come out again, so I'm looking for some advice. Is this a good idea?
If yes, what should I use to fill the space?
If no, what other solutions might work?
I'm adding some photos so you can see what I'm talking about.
Thanks!
The hole:
the view into the hole, showing metal plate. the purple thing is a flashlight.
Below the small round hole in the sole is a hard metal plate of some sort, also with a hole. Below this is the bilge inside the shoal keel.
I have not measured exactly, but the depth of the bilge is probably about a foot from the sole, maybe a little more. It is only a few inches wide. I have no real idea how long it is, because without dropping a small camera in there, I have no visual on the fore end of it.
All it does is collect water.
The source of the water it collects is another problem, and one that I am attempting to address. That's a discussion for another day.
I want to do something with this bilge. It's useless. An original owners manual suggested one could add more ballast in there, but I have no real desire to do that.
It's difficult to pump water out of it, due to its depth, narrow width, and lack of access. A standard bilge pump just doesn't fit. I have to resort to the shop vac to really clear it out.
I've spent a great deal of time considering how to increase access to the space, but cutting the fiberglass sole doesn't appear to be an option due to (I assume) the continued existance of that sheet of metal just below the sole. Okay, I could possibly cut the metal, but I don't really know what's happening there structurally, and that scares me. (I'm assuming the metal has something to do with supporting the 600lb weight of the lead in the keel to keep it from tearing away from the hull.)
If I can't increase access, that leaves 2 options:
1) continue to ignore it and deal with it, which has worked for 46 years I guess, but it bothers me
2) this just occurred to me: Fill it with something. O'Day suggested adding more lead, but why not something else? fill it at least partially with something cheap and then pour epoxy in to seal it?
One thing I know is that whatever goes in there is probably not ever going to be able to come out again, so I'm looking for some advice. Is this a good idea?
If yes, what should I use to fill the space?
If no, what other solutions might work?
I'm adding some photos so you can see what I'm talking about.
Thanks!
The hole:
the view into the hole, showing metal plate. the purple thing is a flashlight.