Keel damage & water in the keel

J

ja_greyscale

.
May 2, 2014
13
Hi,I have just bought a Vega 1203 and upon final inspection today I saw water dripping out from below the keel. It's coming from a void inside the keel below the big drain plug.This Vega actually have two drain plugs and the damage is to the lower chamber.My question:Do I need to be worried about this? Is immediate repair necessary or can I wait until winter?It looks like the keel has ht a rock or something - there is a 10 inches scratch on on where the water comes out.ThanksBr Jesperhttps://www.dropbox.com/s/piyt4jmzidx2oa3/image.jpgskade_koel.jpg skade_koel.jpg Shared with Dropbox View on www.dropbox.com Preview by Yahoo
 
G

graceglenda1

.
Aug 16, 2011
35
#ygrps-yiv-472782247 p {margin:0;}Hi ....Just a take ... but I'd treat this seriously. Water entering the laminate can continue to damage the layup if not cut back and repaired properly ... but it doesn't appear to be in the area of the encapsulated ballast. I'd have a good fibre glass craftsman look it over and give you his recommendations. If the boat was grounded, inspect for other damage that may radiate out from the impact area ... ie: bulkheads, hull, etc.Best regards,TomSAMS - AMS (prior owner V1690)From: "jesper@... [AlbinVega]" AlbinVega@yahoogroups.comTo: AlbinVega@yahoogroups.comSent: Friday, May 16, 2014 2:20:46 PMSubject: [AlbinVega] Keel damage & water in the keel





Hi,I have just bought a Vega 1203 and upon final inspection today I saw water dripping out from below the keel. It's coming from a void inside the keel below the big drain plug.This Vega actually have two drain plugs and the damage is to the lower chamber.My question:Do I need to be worried about this? Is immediate repair necessary or can I wait until winter?It looks like the keel has ht a rock or something - there is a 10 inches scratch on on where the water comes out.ThanksBr Jesperhttps://www.dropbox.com/s/piyt4jmzidx2oa3/image.jpgskade_koel.jpg skade_koel.jpg Shared with Dropbox View on www.dropbox.com Preview by Yahoo
 
P

pjacobs55

.
Oct 30, 2019
1,459
Hi,From your pictures it looks like quite a gouge. Cracks can get bigger when stressed so you'd be wise to fix it right away. The false bottom in the bilge is quite thin (plywood, I think) and is all that separates the inside of the boat from the cavity below. This is a diagram of the keel in the earlier Vegas like yours that did not have the fuel tank in the keel. If the leak gets worse it could cause a problem.... and congratulations on your new boat ... the Vega is great choice!Peter.mostlyaboutboats.ca
 
O

osmyrrah49

.
Mar 28, 2003
27
 
Thank you so much for this illustration.  I have been waiting for
years to see something like this.  What, may I ask is your
source?  
Paul Brown
ZAMA

In a message dated 5/17/2014 3:00:20 P.M. Central Daylight Time,
AlbinVega@yahoogroups.com writes:
 
L

lewills30

.
Apr 2, 2013
283
Hi there,   That is a nasty crack, you want to keep your boat out of the water and let it dry out. If it was my boat, I would strip the entire keel and see if there are stress cracks above this nasty one below. Did you get a chance to look inside where the keel and hull ties together? If you find cracks or any cracks at this point, you want to strip this area as well. I would really support the keel right now, don’t let it hung in the middle as to say. This is a pretty easy fix all in all. But you want to really look for all damage. I am not sure if your keel is filled with iron or lead? You might want to find out which you have. I am thinking, a crack that big, and water getting into the keel…and if it is iron, you want to stop that rust now. I think you are going to want to cut the fiber glass below and above this crack first. You will probably hit resin and sand passed the fiber glass, they sealed or set the iron in place by pouring this resin and sand mixture in the keel. Once you open up the keel, look for cracks in the resin …sand in the keel.  This stuff is as hard as rock. Grind this resin and sand somewhat flat and apply your resin and fiber glass right to this. You will also want to tapper all edges of the fiber glass you cut out.  When you get start send me a note and pictures, I will tell you how I made these kind of repairs. Larry Sent from Windows MailFrom: AlbinVega@yahoogroups.comSent: ‎Friday‎, ‎May‎ ‎16‎, ‎2014 ‎2‎:‎20‎ ‎PMTo: AlbinVega@yahoogroups.com
 









Hi,I have just bought a Vega 1203 and upon final inspection today I saw water dripping out from below the keel. It\'s coming from a void inside the keel below the big drain plug.This Vega actually have two drain plugs and the damage is to the lower chamber.My question:Do I need to be worried about this? Is immediate repair necessary or can I wait until winter?It looks like the keel has ht a rock or something - there is a 10 inches scratch on on where the water comes out.ThanksBr Jesperhttps://www.dropbox.com/s/piyt4jmzidx2oa3/image.jpgskade_koel.jpg skade_koel.jpg Shared with Dropbox View on www.dropbox.com Preview by Yahoo
 
P

pelagicasd

.
Jan 28, 2001
694
Hi, I agree with Larry, that is a nasty crack! We had a similar repair done due to a yard moving our boat while we were gone and blocking the keel fore and aft with no support in the middle. As you can see in the diagram that Peter sent there isn\'t a whole lot of structure behind the ballast. As it was our glass got a nasty wrinkle just forward of  the rudder shoe. We had to cut out about 6 inches of glass and repaired it as Larry described. Looking at your pictures I have to ask if you are sitting on 3 blocks or 2?                                                                                                       Walt, Lyric From: AlbinVega@yahoogroups.comTo: AlbinVega@yahoogroups.comDate: Sun, 18 May 2014 03:14:43 +0000Subject: Re: [AlbinVega] Keel damage & water in the keel














 













Hi there,   That is a nasty crack, you want to keep your boat out of the water and let it dry out. If it was my boat, I would strip the entire keel and see if there are stress cracks above this nasty one below. Did you get a chance to look inside where the keel and hull ties together? If you find cracks or any cracks at this point, you want to strip this area as well. I would really support the keel right now, don’t let it hung in the middle as to say. This is a pretty easy fix all in all. But you want to really look for all damage. I am not sure if your keel is filled with iron or lead? You might want to find out which you have. I am thinking, a crack that big, and water getting into the keel…and if it is iron, you want to stop that rust now. I think you are going to want to cut the fiber glass below and above this crack first. You will probably hit resin and sand passed the fiber glass, they sealed or set the iron in place by pouring this resin and sand mixture in the keel. Once you open up the keel, look for cracks in the resin …sand in the keel.  This stuff is as hard as rock. Grind this resin and sand somewhat flat and apply your resin and fiber glass right to this. You will also want to tapper all edges of the fiber glass you cut out.  When you get start send me a note and pictures, I will tell you how I made these kind of repairs. Larry Sent from Windows MailFrom: AlbinVega@yahoogroups.comSent: ‎Friday‎, ‎May‎ ‎16‎, ‎2014 ‎2‎:‎20‎ ‎PMTo: AlbinVega@yahoogroups.com
 









Hi,I have just bought a Vega 1203 and upon final inspection today I saw water dripping out from below the keel. It\'s coming from a void inside the keel below the big drain plug.This Vega actually have two drain plugs and the damage is to the lower chamber.My question:Do I need to be worried about this? Is immediate repair necessary or can I wait until winter?It looks like the keel has ht a rock or something - there is a 10 inches scratch on on where the water comes out.ThanksBr Jesperhttps://www.dropbox.com/s/piyt4jmzidx2oa3/image.jpgskade_koel.jpg skade_koel.jpg Shared with Dropbox View on www.dropbox.com Preview by Yahoo
 
P

pjacobs55

.
Oct 30, 2019
1,459
Hi Larry, Just log into the Yahoo vega site. At the top is a selection of choices, including "Files".Click on that and it takes you to a page of Vega-related files posted by others. About half way down the page is the JPG file "Keel_Construction.jpg" Just click on that and it opens the picture.Or you can try this link: http://tinyurl.com/lfsnjqu http://tinyurl.com/lfsnjqu View on tinyurl.com Preview by Yahoo
 
J

ja_greyscale

.
May 2, 2014
13
Hi all,Wow, thanks for all that great feedback - I have been reading while repairing the boat and making it ready for this somewhat short season. I decided to make a quick repair now to prevent water from entering the void and then I will make a permanent repair during winter.The previous owners have had the boat for many years and never discovered any problems 1) I grinded away old paint and entered the resin/fiber below. Here I discovered that this was an old crack since old epoxy or filler became visible in the crack. The crack is about 30-35 cm long and maximum 5-6 mm wide. The water that dripped out came from one spot in the middle.https://www.dropbox.com/s/1hyt8i1e032o8rt/2014-05-17%2016.55.48.jpg2) I dried it as best I could (and removed the 2nd plug as well) and covered the area with resin+fiber 2 timeshttps://www.dropbox.com/s/w4mgo0akl8es82b/2014-05-18%2011.41.21.jpg3) I sanded the area smooth including the edges of the keel and covered everything with a thick layer of epoxy.2014-05-18 19.58.21.jpg 2014-05-18 19.58.21.jpg Shared with Dropbox View on www.dropbox.com Preview by Yahoo The keel was indeed only supported 2 places (in the future I will support it in the center as well) but I think the damage could have come from water freezing up inside? My only concern is that the crack is quite close to the heel of the rudder. Even though it stops before the heel it's still close. I wont sail in heavy conditions before this problem is fixed permanently, but for now I am sure that water will stay out.ThanksJesper
 
J

ja_greyscale

.
May 2, 2014
13
I added a modified image of the keel (great diagram by the way) showing the location of the damage. I am puzzled by the "foam" inside, I heard it was filled with sand? The keel sounds very boxy and hollow when I knock on this area, so foam could the case. I tried to blow air through the drain plug and met resistance right away - it felt like the volume inside was quite limited (another vote for foam inside I guess)Dropbox - Error
 
P

pelagicasd

.
Jan 28, 2001
694
There very well may be some sand and resin in there as well as foam. We found foam when we did our repair. When we fixed our rudder/shaft separation we found the rudder was filled with sand and resin. The yard looked at us like we were crazy when we put more of the same in it when we put it back together. I figured that was the way it was built and was probably done so for a reason, ballast?I also found that the inside of the toerail was filled with a resin and what looks to be sawdust mix.The decks are filled with foam so delamination might be a problem but rot shouldn't be. Walt, Lyric To: AlbinVega@yahoogroups.comFrom: AlbinVega@yahoogroups.comDate: Mon, 19 May 2014 12:25:05 -0700Subject: [AlbinVega] Re: Keel damage & water in the keel






I added a modified image of the keel (great diagram by the way) showing the location of the damage. I am puzzled by the "foam" inside, I heard it was filled with sand? The keel sounds very boxy and hollow when I knock on this area, so foam could the case. I tried to blow air through the drain plug and met resistance right away - it felt like the volume inside was quite limited (another vote for foam inside I guess)Dropbox - Error
 
P

pjacobs55

.
Oct 30, 2019
1,459
Jesper,I read somewhere that if you have a crack in any kind of plastic or fiberglass it's best to drill a small hole at either end to stop it spreading, then make the repair. Sorry if this is too late for you!Peter.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Top Bottom