I have had problems with water in the keel and it appeared that there was leak in the bilge, allowing water to seep down between the lead and the fibreglass. Some of this may have come from the bilge pump attachment screws but the joins between the floor and the side of the bilge also looked suspect. I drained the water out last fall before heading south. The boat is out on the hard and the keel appears to be dry but I would prefer to make sure there is not a repeat of the problem by sealing the bilge. I opened the bilge floor up, intending to take the old floor out and lay in a new floor of cloth and epoxy to seal it all up. I found that there is what appears to be sand underneath the bilge floor, several inches of it. Is this normal, and if so what is the best way to seal the bilge up? I assume just putting a substantial layer of cloth and epoxy, sealed at the sides would be effective. David Marrison