Lead Keel Crack Continued

Status
Not open for further replies.
S

Steve Carpman

As indicated a couple of days ago, we discovered a crack in the lead keel on our 1991 Legend 37.5. The crack is about at the midpoint (front to back) of the keel. It runs from the hull - keel joint straight down about 6". The Hunter customer service people have been very helpful in diagnosing. In our boat, there is a hollow in the keel, about 12" long x 4-6" deep at the center for the top of the keel - right where the crack occurred. The wall thickness at the hollow is no more than 1". We believe water entered the hollow, froze during the winter and blew out the lead causing the crack. Since the keel bolts extend into the solid lead beneath the hollow, Hunter does not beleive the crack is structural. I checked the hull-keel joint around the remainder of the keel and there is no sign of cracking or separation. Apparnetly, lead repair is not too difficult. Grind (maybe undercut) the crack with a dremel tool, coat with unthickened west epoxy and fill with thickened epoxey. The main culprit for the source of the water is the keel bolt holes. Hunter says the keel stub (the surface that mates with the keel) is solid fiberglass and can only leak at the keel bolt holes. We have since recaulked and tightened the keel bolts. Even though we believe we have stopped the water flow into the hollow, we are considering installing a small screw-on plug into the keel as a drain for the hollow. When we pull the boat in the fall, the idea is to open the drain and any water we may have collected (hopefully none) drains out. All this is under way and we feel confident we are doing things right. We are wondering if anyone else has had a problem similar to tis one and what they did to repair and eliminate?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.