Cemented Bilge???

[gRussell]

It appears that a prior owner of my 1973 O'Day 22 filled the bilge with cement. I assume to add weight, which I have read about on other boats.

Can anyone give me some guidance on what I should expect ie: sailing, maintenance, future problems).

Thanks in the advance.
Russell

 

[RichH]

The 'grout' was used to hold the iron ballast, either a casting or 'punchings'/scrap iron, in place and prevent it from shifting. As long as there is no water leakage into the cavity containing iron ballast and 'grout', everything should be 'fine'. That means prevention of water intrusion from outside the keel .... as well as 'inside' through the fiberglass 'membrane' that covers the top of ballast cavity in the bilge.

The danger is that if you wind up with water inside this ballast cavity, the iron will/can rust and then SWELL thus 'pushing the encapsulation APART'.

Suggest that you go to drmarine.com, look up your specific boat and check out if the 'cement' was OEM or was added later on. If in doubt, ask for 'Rudy' at D&R to comment on what you have .... he's the worlds remaining expert of ODays.

 

[Sunbird22358]

Cement ballast was definitely NOT OEM on any O'DAY!
I guess the real question is whether it is just cement/concrete or if there is any iron/steel/other metal encased in hte concrete. I'd be perhaps concerned about any moisture that seep into the concrete freezing in hte winter.... and maybe cracking and/or expanding the concrete. The problem is that there is no way to really answer some of these questions without talking to the owner that installed the concrete to find out what else is in there? Also, how much was poured in there and how much (approximately?) does the added ballast weigh? This may be a concern due to added weight possibly overcoming the buoyancy of the foam flotation if the boat ever swamped (not everyone worries about keeping the boat "unsinkable".

In the mean time........ go sailing! Enjoy the boat!

 

[kpgraci]

I've heard of adding 200# of lead shot and epoxy to the 73 , but it suppose cement is an option as well. The problem is to add ballast you want to go low, adding it to the bilge above the keel is less than ideal. Same argument as against water ballast, but at least cement is denser than water. Since you have to live with it I would just accept it and carry on, you probable have a more stable, slightly slower oday 22'. I've found that the relatively light 600# original is adequate for the design of boat even though it was rethought in later years by the designers. If I wanted to add more weight I would glass on a lead bulb under the shoal keel, that should not be too difficult and may prove to be a real performance enhancer. Or how about wings?

 

[Sunbird22358]

Added ballast from factory in later years was due to change to a K/CB design, with a shallower keel. Less depth to keel requred more ballast to retain same righting moment.
1979 ballast increased from 600# to 700# when keel was changed to K/CB, draft changed from 1'11" for the original shoal keel to 15" (CB up, 4'3" CB down) while the original rig was retained. For 1980-83, the ballast was again increased to 800# when the rig was changed from the original masthead rig to a taller, Fractional rig with an increase in sail area.

 

[gRussell]

Thanks for the info, I'll continue to try and find what is down there. It is obvious there are lots of very smart sailors on this site. Thanks for the help.
R

 

[Panta Rei]

I filled the void in the keel with scrap lead in the form of wheel weights. It's stiffer but nothing compared to putting my large #$% on the rail.
I think your only concern is water trapped in the keel and freezing during the winter. Maybe that is not an issue for you in NC.
I put a plug in the bottom of my keel so I could drain any way each fall. Is there any signs of water in and around the cement? If not, I don't think you have anything to worry about.