Balboa 26 keel trunk cracked

me262

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Jun 2, 2004
55
Neptune 24 canyon lake, tx
Howdy to all!

Looking at a pretty nice B26. Main problem is a good sized crack in the keel trunk. Is that a deal killer? Lady said it happened while boat was on the trailer. I have posteda photo here in albums. What do you think????
 
Oct 19, 2017
7,733
O'Day 19 Littleton, NH
The crack, in and of itself, looks large but repairable. I don't know the B26 so I can't really tell what I'm looking at. Why did the crack happen? Is there an underlying defect? Was there trauma that could have affected other areas or parts such as the centerboard or pivot hinge?
Then,
What's your comfort level with DIY fiberglass repair? Do you have facilities and time?
If you want to hire it done, you should get a quote for its repair.

It is a good negotiating point. Repairable, but not like fixing spider cracks.

- Will (Dragonfly)
 
Jan 19, 2010
12,362
Hobie 16 & Rhodes 22 Skeeter Charleston
Hello 262
I’ve done extensive work on a Balboa once before. If you go to my media page there is an entire album of repair photos.
The Balboa has an internal hull liner that was placed inside the hull before the deck was installed. The crack you are seeing is in that liner. It is possible that crack is cosmetic only. The trunk is beneath that liner. I had to cut access to my trunk to make repairs. Yours may be fine. BUT the balboa’s are known to have keel trunk leaks. The pivot pin is below the water line so regular maint. on the pin gaskets is necessary. With that said, the balboa was the stiffest boat I have ever owned. Happy to help if you decide to pursue this boat

Ask the owner to take it on a test sail. Get her heeled over on both tacks and check to see how much water is coming in.
 
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Jan 19, 2010
12,362
Hobie 16 & Rhodes 22 Skeeter Charleston
Here are some pics below the hull liner. The P.O. had made this initial cut of the liner to do some repairs on the trunk. I ended up widening it a little to get a better angle to seal up the pivot pin and gasket. My pin was glassed over so I needed to cut out that glass. Sorry, I don't have pics of that but if you can imagine cutting the liner down to the small access hole seen in the third pic. you will get the idea. There are some pics in my album page that shows the pin and gasket repair. On my Balboa it looks like the keel cracked during a hard grounding.
keel trunk2.jpg
keel trunk1.jpg
keel pin1.jpg
keel cover1.png


Edit... I found the pics of the extra cut I made.. here they are
keel hole cleaned up.jpg
keel hole cleaned up-2.jpg
 
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jim9t

.
May 1, 2016
4
Balboa Balboa 26 Muscatine
I also have a crack in the keel trunk of my Balboa 26. (see attached pdf) It has been getting worse of the last 4 years that I have owned the boat. I think it is caused by expanding rust from a carbon steel angle iron that is embedded in the upper front of the keel trunk. The keel is farther forward in the up position than when I first bought the boat. One reason I think it is rust is because it is not magnetic in the areas get wet and is magnetic in dryer areas. What should I do to repair?
 

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