H22@PINEHURST

[MIKE CRUSE]

INFO: this is a Hunter 22 ft. sailboat. I acquired it two years ago after my father died. He kept it out of the water when not in use by means of a lift. I think it was built about 1985. To my knowledge, he did not have a problem with leaks. I put it in our lake last fall. We sailed it for about4 months before winter set in. I did not have a problem with leaking (to my knowledge) at that time. We docked it in October of 1999. It sank at the dock on 1/17/00. After bringing it back up, I worked to clean & repair what was necessary. The keel was snapped in two as it was in the down position when it sank. I had it repaired and replaced it, making sure it was thoroughly sealed. To date, I do not know why it sank? Now for the problems:problem "A": We put it back in the water last week 5/25/00 and took it out on a test sail. Just a small amount of water appeared in the bottom less than 1/4 inch. (I had the floor boards out from replacing them so I could see into the bottom)This small amount could have been there already and just shifted? It then sat for 2 more days with no additional water coming in. On 5/27/00, we loaded about 12 people on it and took it out. We bagan taking on water. I am sure that the overload of people created some type of reverse suction, but I do not know exactly where or how the water came in? Does anyone have any ideas?problem "B": when raising the mast last year, the rope came out from the mast that attaches to the jib. I cannot get the rope rethreaded. I have tried wire, cable, etc. to get it rethreaded, but have had no success. It will go about half way down and get caught on "something" inside the mast. The main works fine. no hanging up, catching, etc. I have not taken the mast down to try and fix this. As you know, that takes a major effort. Is there something I am missing on rethreading the rope? What could be stopping it?

 

[Jon Bastien]

Hmmm...

The leak is probably a through-hull that's near the waterline- Like the cockpit drain or galley sink drain. (I'm not too familiar with the H22, but there's a cockpit drain on my H23, and it leaked like a sieve when I bought it). The fitting is probably above the water when at the dock, but with 12 people aboard, or at any kind of heel, the fitting will go underwater and leak into the bilge. The jib halyard (The line that goes through the mast to raise the sail) is probably hanging up on either a spreader connection, or a steaming light. I'm not sure how to get around it; Maybe you can attach it to the main halyard and use the main halyard as a pulling line (or "rat", as many cable pullers call them). Just be careful not to get the main and jib halyards twisted!--Jon BastienH23 '2 Sheets to the Wind'H25 'Adagio'

 

[MIke B]

jib halyard,

Never having done this , but having experience with spiders building their nests inside my sail track , I would suspect it could be someting like that, check archives about this I think there should be some things, just read a few about rerunning boom internal lines, and the general consensus was to remove ends, good luck enjoyed the joke about the 12 people / this was a joke? right ? Mike

 

[John Owen]

Sinking H22

My dad gave my his 1985 H22 last year. He got too old to sail. I'll never forget the day the marina called to announce that the boat has sunk in its slip and was being held off the bottom by its dock lines. We never had an explanation either but suspected sabotage by a spurned charter agency. After clean-up, and as a precaution, my dad had bolts that were aparrently visible on the bottom of the hull glassed over to prevent leakage. Other typical areas of water entry are the through hull on the starbord side for the sink drain. More notorious and difficult to reach are the scupper drains aft in the cockpit. You will see that they join together into a single drain (if you wriggle yourself into the nether starbord berth) in the aft region my dad calls "the bathtub." These are known to begin to leak after 10-15 years and I just had mine replaced. I opted not to do it myself so that, if the boat sank due to poor workmanship, I would not be to blame. Re your jib halyard, there could be numerous blockages: Steaming light wires, spreader bolts -- even a nest of some kind (built while boat was in storage?). I think you are going to *have* to unstep the mast and take a look at what's in there. You might try getting a VERY LONG, NARROW and RIGID pipe from Home Depot to feel for a negotiable channel in the mast. Once "threaded," you can afix the new halyard to the end and pull the pipe back through. Moral to the story: Get good at stopper knots and apply them frequently.I don't envy you. Let me know how you make out. Good luck.John OwenHunter 22WindFree