It Went "Pop"

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Oct 7, 2004
54
- - Melvern Lake - Kansas
Okay, did I do something stupid and break my 1998 C-22 mkII? While the boat was on the trailer, I used a 3 ton hydraulic jack positioned just aft of the end of the keel on centerline with no other support (dumb in hindsight) to slowly raise the stern just enough to get at the keel cable pin. I did have the keel cable slacked (i.e., the trailer supporting the keel weight), but as I took some load on the jack after ~1in of lift I heard a sharp fiberglass-like “pop.” I aborted the lift and took it to a boat yard and had the cable replaced. Now, when I sail in a moderate breeze I hear the same kind of “pop” when I heel moderately on both tacks. It is like the sound of moderately striking the hull with the end of a 2x4. The sound comes from underneath the cockpit in the vicinity of cable through-hull area. The previous owner made no mention of the noise and has moved elsewhere, so I can’t determine if it was preexisting (he made no mention of problems at the time of the sale and the test sail was in light winds). Lest you wonder, the keel is all the way down with significant slack in the cable to keep it from humming underway. Partially raising the keel doesn’t make much difference. I did put the boat on the trailer to see what I could see and also verified the keel casting bolts were tight. No problems noted. Is there some fiberglass hull backbone that I broke? Thanks, as I am at a loss here. Mike.
 
D

Dick of Sylvan

Not Good!

Mike: That sounds bad. May have broken a fiberglass connection between a bulkhead and the hull. I'd look for that everywhere you can and if you find such a problem repair with heavy fiberglass cloth and epoxy resin. If you can't see it you may need professional help. In the future, try to place the jack close to the transom for the stern of the boat and at bulkhead for the front. Or maybe you have the well known keel "clunk" sound which is caused by a worn pin or enlarged hole in the keel itself where the pin goes through. In that case, read in the archives of this and in the C22 technical manual available thru the C22 association. Good Luck. Dick
 
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