1998 Hunter 376

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Greg Mott

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May 28, 2020
12
Hunter 376 Pepin Wisconsin
HI all,
This spring when I was painting my bottom I noticed a crack at the top of the keel. I put some epoxy around it and put it in the water. Sadly I have been taking on water since I splashed it. It is coming in at the bottom of the bilge. Has anyone else had this problem? Do you have any solutions I may be able to use. If you zoom in on the image you can see a circle. This is where the crack is. Its on both sides of the keel. thank you
IMG_7630.jpg
 
Rich Stidger

Rich Stidger

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Feb 10, 2004
4,069
Hunter 40.5 Warwick, RI
I have a sister ship- a 1997 h40.5. I have cracks at the aft end of my keel and according to Hunter they are nothing to worry about. They are commonly referred to as the "Hunter smile". The cause is that the aft part of the keel is a hollow section of fiberglass, and the joint between this hollow part and the hull flexes enough to cause the crack. If your cracks look like mine shown below, I think this is the correct answer for you. If they look different, then show your pictures to someone knowledgeable and familiar with your specific model.
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2002_0416_073427AA.JPG



As for your bilge water, first determine if the water is saltwater or freshwater. I assume you are in saltwater. A taste will tell you the answer. There are a lot of sources of both fresh and saltwater. The shaft log and knot/log transducer could weep saltwater and any seacock could leak saltwater. As for fresh water, you have the refrigerator drain, leaking water tanks or hoses. The first step is to determine if it is fresh or salt.
 
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Terry Cox

Terry Cox

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Dec 25, 2000
5,861
Hunter Passage 42 Shelter Bay, WA
Hi Greg, Rich offers some sage advice. Lots of discussions on this site regarding cracks in the keel stub joint. Different model boat, but we once had a similar crack where sea water was leaking into the bilge. That was in 2002. The correct way to permanently repair the crack is to drop the keel, clean up the joint and rebel with 3M-5200. That is what our yard recommended and what they did. Any other type of repair from the outside is just temporary. Our keel joint remains solid and leak and crack free after sailing many thousands of miles ever since.

It is not normal for the joint to open up like that just from bot use unless the keel hit something that caused the joint to fail. According to Hunter at the time, it takes a pretty hard hit to break the seal.
 
G

Greg Mott

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May 28, 2020
12
Hunter 376 Pepin Wisconsin
Hi Rich, Thank you so much for getting back to me. This looks a lot like the crack I have at the back of my keel. This is very good to know about the Hunter Smile. I am in fresh water so I can't do the taste test. Again thank you for the info. I will keep the search on for a stray leak some where .
 
Tally Ho

Tally Ho

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Jan 7, 2011
5,217
Oday 322 East Chicago, IN
How long has the boat been in the water and leaking?

Every year when I launch my O’Day 322, I get water in the bilge. Enough to trigger my bilge pump, for a day or 2.

I have no idea where the water comes from (or where it was hiding). But I think it is trapped under the sole somewhere. After a few days, the water dries up and she stays dry after that (except for some deck leaks when it rains…still tracking those down).

For a few years of ownership, I was quite worried about taking on water, but I make sure my bilge pump works, check on the boat for the first few days, and then vac out the water in the bilge and sleep easy.

I hope yours goes away after a few days.


Greg
 
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