Leaking Strut

[JupiterSeaBee]

I just bought a '78 O'Day 30 and the shaft support strut is leaking below my gas tank. It is causing my bilge pump to run fairly constantly. I have dived below and scrubbed the area as clean as I can but cannot see any template that bolts into hull (must be painted over?). It looks like the leak is coming from the edges where the strut goes into hull. I have filled the area around the edges w/ underwater epoxy putty for now. Haul out next week.
Any experiences of this issue ???

I have pulled the support board from the gas tank to see what it looks like inside but terrible repair job is covered by a sheet of fiberglass. I will have to tear it off but it will leak profusely so I am looking for answers before I tear down the dam.
Any idea of what disassemble problems that I will incur or what parts or supplies to have before I start.

 

[Shoaldrafter]

leaks

I just bought a '78 O'Day 30 and the shaft support strut is leaking below my gas tank. It is causing my bilge pump to run fairly constantly. I have dived below and scrubbed the area as clean as I can but cannot see any template that bolts into hull (must be painted over?). It looks like the leak is coming from the edges where the strut goes into hull. I have filled the area around the edges w/ underwater epoxy putty for now. Haul out next week.
Any experiences of this issue ???

I have pulled the support board from the gas tank to see what it looks like inside but terrible repair job is covered by a sheet of fiberglass. I will have to tear it off but it will leak profusely so I am looking for answers before I tear down the dam.
Any idea of what disassemble problems that I will incur or what parts or supplies to have before I start.

JSB,

First, some leaks are not always from the obvious spot. While it seems likely your analysis is correct. It may be coming from a nearby source and infiltrating laterally.

Second, do you have digital camera? Post pictures.

Ed K
26

 

[Shoaldrafter]

2nd reply with request

I just bought a '78 O'Day 30 and the shaft support strut is leaking below my gas tank. It is causing my bilge pump to run fairly constantly. I have dived below and scrubbed the area as clean as I can but cannot see any template that bolts into hull (must be painted over?). It looks like the leak is coming from the edges where the strut goes into hull. I have filled the area around the edges w/ underwater epoxy putty for now. Haul out next week.
Any experiences of this issue ???

I have pulled the support board from the gas tank to see what it looks like inside but terrible repair job is covered by a sheet of fiberglass. I will have to tear it off but it will leak profusely so I am looking for answers before I tear down the dam.
Any idea of what disassemble problems that I will incur or what parts or supplies to have before I start.

JSF

Would you post diagram of where leak comes in and your stuffing box?
Do you have a double seal with outer seal leaking and then infiltrating to bilge?

If you cannot see any entry point on bottom of hull, keep looking. Water can and does move laterally thru layers in fiberglass.

Ed K
26

 

[JupiterSeaBee]

JSB,

First, some leaks are not always from the obvious spot. While it seems likely your analysis is correct. It may be coming from a nearby source and infiltrating laterally.

Second, do you have digital camera? Post pictures.

Ed K
26

I have posted a couple of pics (maybe twice). It may provide a better idea of what i have to attempt.
thanks

 

[Shoaldrafter]

Good pictures now need arrows

I have posted a couple of pics (maybe twice). It may provide a better idea of what i have to attempt.
thanks

JSB,

Good pictures.

Now use your paint program to draw arrows where you think water is coming from. That would be helpful.

You have done good job cleaning area to do repair work. After all repair is finished put down a clean layer of glass with pigments to make area look new.

You said that you are pulling boat. With chalk mark places where you think water is coming in, both inside and out. Get more than one experienced repair persons opinion. You might get two very different opinions.

Becasue of the location of leak, I would consider getting very experience fiberglass surveyor to evaluate and make his recommondations for repair. A couple of hundered dollars would be worth future safety.

Now you may have three or more very differnent opinions.

If boat is to be out of water for anytime, wating until area is dry is best way to insure repair is good. Fiberglass hulls do retain moisture and the better they are dried, the better the repair.

I am sure you will or have gotten recommendations to read Don Casey how to fix it books. And, they are good.

Alan Vaitses is a more technically complete authority. See his book, "The Fiberglass Boat Repair Manual." Chapter 8 is "Repairing Keels and Other Underwater Parts" which would include your problem. See figure 8-2.

If boat is going to be on hard for enough time to really dry, try to run small heaters and fans next to area to be repaired. There are also expensive moisture extraction devices used by boat yards. Only your best yards will have such equipment.

Also, if you find any damaged area that will be removed before fixing, cut it out now so adjacent areas can dry better. Take pictures before removing anything.

I saill on a COE lake and the guy who owns the marina where I keep my boat and one of his workers are very knowledgeable in old FRP boat repair.
Unfortunately, the cost of trucking a boat from there to here would be prohibitive.

If you plan to do it yourself, again get, and that means pay for some expert opinions. Your boat can be fixed, and if done correctly will last another 40 years. I do not trust yards to have any worker just make repairs without constant over the shoulder checking. And, choice of materials matters.

Ed K
26

 

[jibes138]

In general you can't fix a leak from the inside. You need to fix a leak from the outside. Pressure of the water will try to separate any material you use on the inside while on the outside will compress any material into the hole/gap/seam/ so the pressure works for you from the outside and against you from the inside. The strut should be bolted in place so you likely need to un bolt it and rebed it. alignment of your shaft will be an issue so you may need to have some experts do the reassembly with a laser to get the strut aligned properly. As noted get an expert opinion once it is on the hard.

 

[JupiterSeaBee]

Re: Good pictures now need arrows

thanks for the info. I am getting a fiberglass repair fellow to come out to the yard and allow me to assist (to better learn my boat). He was going to get the schematics on the O'Day before coming out. I am going to repaint the gas tank, paint around the bilge area and storage area.
I will also need to chip away the barnacles from my drop keel bec it is stuck in the up position and the cable has broken.... maybe this should be a new post......Yeah !

 

[JupiterSeaBee]

Re: Good pictures now need arrows

Any idea where the grounding wires go to ?? Looks like one goes to the keel. Have not found the other one.
Chris

 

[Shoaldrafter]

Strut Repair

thanks for the info. I am getting a fiberglass repair fellow to come out to the yard and allow me to assist (to better learn my boat). He was going to get the schematics on the O'Day before coming out. I am going to repaint the gas tank, paint around the bilge area and storage area.
I will also need to chip away the barnacles from my drop keel bec it is stuck in the up position and the cable has broken.... maybe this should be a new post......Yeah !

-------------------------------------- // --------------------------------------------
JSB,

1. No idea where second ground wire goes on your boat. Does your boat have (did it have) exterior ground plate near bottom of keel? Does it go to motor?

2. I mentioned in previous post that from looks of area you cleaned for repair to put down new layer of glass. Does not have to be heavy layer.

I recommend doing so in areas of deterioration and in other areas using penetrating or thin epoxy as paint. It will add waterproofing and grease proofing to interior and look good. It will hold up better than exterior paints and since it is inside you do not need to worry about UV deterioration.

When it cures it has a glossy finish which is easier to clean.

3. The alignment of strut to shaft is very important. The recommendation to remove and rebed strut is very good. Using a lazer alignment tool will help.

Current discussions on another list discussing installation of new engine on old boat cites the critial tolerances in the hundreths of an inch. That is beyond my expertize.

Technically it is called shaft coupling alignment. You might try positing question under that subject to see if you get specific comments. Or, try seaching archives under that subject. Could it be that out of alignment caused your leaks in the first place? Ask question of someone experienced in this shaft alignment, not just glass repair person.

Ed K
26

 

[JupiterSeaBee]

Answers:

1. Does not have an exter ground plate. Still looking for other ground.
** 2. What I found is that the plate does not bolt onto hull. it actually is held in place by a layer of fiberglass that holds it down. Not a good design and not bolted onto anything ! I can't believe that it was designed this way. I will take pics of the brass plate that is sticking up once we ground the fiberglass off of it. Also, I will be painting the whole area with a white epoxy.
3. I have found that it is very impt to have the alignment correct. A friend has the measuring tools and will help me to get it aligned.

 

[JupiterSeaBee]

Answers:

1. Does not have an exter ground plate. Still looking for other ground.
** 2. What I found is that the plate does not bolt onto hull. it actually is held in place by a layer of fiberglass that holds it down. Not a good design and not bolted onto anything ! I can't believe that it was designed this way. I will take pics of the brass plate that is sticking up once we ground the fiberglass off of it. Also, I will be painting the whole area with a white epoxy.
3. I have found that it is very impt to have the alignment correct. A friend has the measuring tools and will help me to get it aligned.

Here are the uncovered Pics: Here are the pics after I grinded down all of the fiberglass around the strut support. I can't believe that it just wraps a layer of fiberglass around this thing and expects it to hold. Very curious design. Did they design the boat around this thing ????? How did they get it thru the hull ??????

 

[Shoaldrafter]

Very curious design

Here are the uncovered Pics: Here are the pics after I grinded down all of the fiberglass around the strut support. I can't believe that it just wraps a layer of fiberglass around this thing and expects it to hold. Very curious design. Did they design the boat around this thing ????? How did they get it thru the hull ??????

Jsb:

Actually some designs are meant to breakaway in an accidental grounding rather than take whole bottom of boat with it.

This type intentional weakness is occassionally seen in other places on boats so as not to destroy boat upon gross impact.

So when rebuilding consider original design lasted how long? and if you hit some rocks would you rather just break strut or have big whole in bottom of boat?

Ed K
26

 

[RAD]

I have a 1978 32CC and had the same thing except I broke one bolt trying to extract so one bolt is thru bolted, another piece of caution if its not to late is I found stacks of washers between the strut and hull that acted as an alignment for the shaft and the bond wire goes to the back stay and forward to the engine

 

[JupiterSeaBee]

Well, repair job is finished and working fine. Ended up buying a new shaft since my old one was pitted severely. Got a new stainless and kept the old brass one as a relic. Drop keel was released as I chipped away the barnacles and oysters. restrung the keel w/ orig cable but still hangs a bit lower than it was before. It should be able to come up a bit higher. I didn't use the Norseman fitting, instead i just looped the cable and used cable clamps which may be causing the cable not to go up into the tube as possible.
New bottom paint since it was already out.
New problem is that motor tends to vibrate thus causing the shaft to vibrate at low speeds. Not sure if it shook like that before bec I was concentrating on other issues. Don't want it to cause my strut to vibrate loose again.

 

[Shoaldrafter]

Jupiter Sea Bee

Well, repair job is finished and working fine. Ended up buying a new shaft since my old one was pitted severely. Got a new stainless and kept the old brass one as a relic. Drop keel was released as I chipped away the barnacles and oysters. restrung the keel w/ orig cable but still hangs a bit lower than it was before. It should be able to come up a bit higher. I didn't use the Norseman fitting, instead i just looped the cable and used cable clamps which may be causing the cable not to go up into the tube as possible.
New bottom paint since it was already out.


New problem is that motor tends to vibrate thus causing the shaft to vibrate at low speeds. Not sure if it shook like that before bec I was concentrating on other issues. Don't want it to cause my strut to vibrate loose again.
-------------------- // ----------------------------
JSB,

We are following your exploits. Maybe show us picture of repaired shaft?

Vibration at low speed?

Was a laser sight used to make sure that shaft was aligned straigt to coupling/trany? Since you are telling us that that the vibrations occur only in a narrow range and at low speed this is not the most likely cause according to nigel calder.

Rather he suggest vibrations at low speed in a narrow range are caused by other things.

Have you checked air intake and exhaust systems?

Does your boat have bushings between the motor and motor mounts? Are all bolts involved in mounting tight?

Again, keep us informed of the coninuing saga.

Ed K
26