Purchased a 1979 8.0b s2. When I bought boat it had to be reposition on trailer before bringing home. The previous owner had the trailer completely redone and they didn't attached axels in correct place not enought tongue weight. The boat had been on trailer for 2 years. The crack in keel was caused by to many people jumping on boat while on trailer. We have enclosed pictures of damage. We have opened up crack to get better look at damage. It is about 18 in. long and looks like lead shot for ballast which has separated 3/16". My friend who has worked with fiberlass is doing repair for me. Looking for suggestion on how to repair correctly and if crack in ballast needs to be addressed. Also the boat is not resting on all of the rollers. Have read that the keel should not support any weight of the boat on trailer. If so how do you judge the space between bottom rollers and keel bottom.
crack keel
- Thread starter lukeb
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From what I know, the opposite is true. The keel must support all of the weight. The rollers only stabilize lateral motion. The ballast is lead shot / scrap encapsulated in resin. I hope it as least dry and not seeping water. Posting here will hopefully get you on the right track. Good luck with the repair.
Generally, unless the boat is a swing keel or a very high-aspect ratio bulb keel, the keel should be able to take most of the weight of the boat when it is on the hard.
Without some wider angle overview photos, it is hard to tell where the damage is located. However, regardless of where the damaged laminate is, you will have to fix it properly, and that includes fixing the ballast.
Without some wider angle overview photos, it is hard to tell where the damage is located. However, regardless of where the damaged laminate is, you will have to fix it properly, and that includes fixing the ballast.
Sailing Dog
Thanks for information. The crack is on the bottom of keel in front. I have a swing keel. What form of repair needs to be made to ballast? It looks like lead shot.
thanks luke
Thanks for information. The crack is on the bottom of keel in front. I have a swing keel. What form of repair needs to be made to ballast? It looks like lead shot.
thanks luke
Luke,
Look for a place that water can get into the keel from. I am clueless, but it looks like the keel ruptured from within. Since there is no apparent alien DNA present, I'm guessing water is the culprit. If it got into the shot somehow, and one of those Indiana winters set in, there would be a wee bit of expansion.
Look for a place that water can get into the keel from. I am clueless, but it looks like the keel ruptured from within. Since there is no apparent alien DNA present, I'm guessing water is the culprit. If it got into the shot somehow, and one of those Indiana winters set in, there would be a wee bit of expansion.
Without better photos of the entire setup, it is hard to say much, but that damage does not look like damage from people jumping up and down on the boat, especially since it is a swing keel, and I doubt the trailer is designed to put much stress or weight on the swing keel. It is probably water expansion damage, as Dscrib pointed out. Water expands about 10% when it freezes and can do really amazing damage.
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