Re: Re: [AlbinVega] Vega water filling the bilge

[Brian Hofler]

Dear Dave,

In my (humble and inexpert) opinion one should try to locate where the water
comes from.
I tightened the glands in the combi variable pitch propeller assembly and
put on some new grease. Thereafter it se e m s that it stopped leaking.
To put the battery in water proof boxes is circumventing the problem.

Its like trying to live in a watertight house , when the dikes in Holland
break thru!
As you know we have solved it in a diferent way. we have a boy who puts his
finger in the dyke. (sic!).

Best regards,
Henk Jansen
Naarden Holland

 

[reefmagnet]

Dear Dave,

My Vega stops leaking. I donot know the reason, but I'll watch he carefully.
She is a capracious lady.

If you take her out of the water this winter, the first thing you should do
is to take a large srewdriver and loosen the copper crew in the keel. As
a rule there will be plenty of water coming out then for the next 10
minutes. If you leave the water in there the keel might freeze to pieces.
I assume you are well aware of this.

In German they say:" dobbelt gemoppelt ist besser als gar nicht" (which
means : if you say something twice its better that to shut up)
I took the sails (about 12!), the cushions , the sleeping bags, the
navigation equipment and all other stuff out of my Vega today. My car , a
Volkswagen Passat was fully loaded.
I took it to a befriended lady who has a large unused attic for winter
storage.

Its an old historic house with two large flight of stairs, which I had to
climb about 16 times. The exercise was beneficial!
Good luck,

Henk Jansen
Naarden NL.

 

[reefmagnet]

Thanks Henk, this winter when she's out I'll try to find the source of the leak and won't move the batteries just yet. Dave # 3233

 

[reefmagnet]

Henk thanks for the clue about the keel screw. I didn't know about it. This is the first winter the boat will be out of water for me.I'll let the water drain and infuse the engine with anitfreeze. Also all the personal gear, cushions, sails and electronics will be removed also. I'm curious about how to cover the boat as i will leave the mast up but remove all the sheets. Any concern about snowpack on the window seams,hatch or companionway? Thanks in advance for your advice.
Dave #3233

 

[reefmagnet]

Henk, can you tell me specifically where the copper screw is in the keel to drain the water. I took #3233 out of the water yesterday and inspected the keel. The screw has either been painted over or fiberglassed over. It isn't cold enough to freeze yet so I want to drain the keel soon.
thanks
Dave#3233

 

[reefmagnet]

Hi Dave & folks,

have you found the keel screw?
I bought a Vega last summer (Vela #2XXX, 1973, with original MD6A
Combi), and it was a great pleasure for the whole family as we had
been years without a boat. Closer to the end of the season we had
water overflooding the bilge once, but the problem disappeared with
some more grease in the stuffing box. However, by the end of the
season, the bilge pump was producing oily reddish-brown stuff
(smelling a bit of diesel oil), and at times there were traces of it
in the bilge wall at one place but no flooding. I thought there was a
leak in the fuel system but none could be identified, and it did not
look like stuffing box grease. As the ballast is mostly iron, I
wonder if leakage into ballast cavity and ensuing rust could at least
partly account for the unsightly stuff. Now the old lady is out of
the water, and the keel should be drained soon, perhaps through drill
holes if there is no screw to be seen, to avoid Big Trouble in these
arctic circumstances... Anyone with similar kind of
trouble?

Lauri Soinne
Finland

 

[reefmagnet]

Hello Lauri,

I have been owning a Vega since 20 years and the leakage of the screw has
not completely disappeared.

Do you still have the original construction with a copper axe or has it
been replaced by a stainless steel one.
Perhaps you could answer me this question first of all. If its the copper
axe it has been damaged by the rotation and it starts leaking considerably.
The rust water might come from engine parts.

Looking forward to your comments.

Kind regards, Henk Jansen

V.1782 Le Cygne
Naarden Holland

 

[reefmagnet]

I did have a persistent I could not identify. Then last spring when the
boat was out of the water and I was filling the bilge with a hose to test
the bilge pump I noticed water seeping from the lower rudder bearing, at
the bottom of the keel. If water could come out water could come in, so I
removed the big stainless bolts that hold the fitting and bedded them with
compound. No more leaks.