Repairing grounding damage

[PotomacDaysailer]

My Pearson 26 was grounded in a storm in July and was taking on water. The marina I had her at has no facilities for hauling sailboats but the yacht club across the lake does, so I joined up (long overdue anyway) and motored across. The club suffered extensive damage in the same storm, lost at least one boat and several on trailers tipped over - at any rate one of the docks has to be completely rebuilt and so all the boats in those slips had to be hauled, resulting in a shortage of trailers. So I stayed tied up in a spare slip with a bilge pump/float switch keeping me from sinking.
Well, the commodore found a trailer and very kindly loaded my boat and hauled her, so I've had a chance to examine the damage.
There is a crack all the way through the fiberglass, about 12" long, at the turn of the bilge on the port side amidships, a good ways out from the keel to hull joint so I'm hopeful that no water got into the plywood core where the keel bolts through. Not sure how to test that.
The other main damage is to the rudder, I think that the post is bent and I think the whole assembly will need to be replaced so I need to find a used rudder if possible.
So any advice on repairing and how to find and install a replacement rudder is much appreciated. The aforementioned commodore is extremely helpful but he's a very busy man and I need to accomplish as much as I can on my own.
I've attached a couple photos of the damage.

 

[dlochner]

Have you talked to your insurance company yet? They will want to have a surveyor take a look at it.

First thing to do is get a power washer and get that growth off the boat. The longer it stays on, the harder it is to get off and it may be hiding other issues.

It would be helpful to know how the boat grounded. That will give you a good indication of where to look for damage. There may be more damage than is apparent than the photos show.

The hull damage may be more extensive than is visible. The fiberglass may have delaminated, requiring a large patch. It can be checked by sounding the hull with a hammer. If the fiberglass is intact, it will have a nice sharp ring to it. If it is delaminated, it will sound dull.

Next check inside the cabin. Look at the bonding between the bulkheads and the hull. Is the tabbing still intact or is it cracked or separated? Do all the drawers, cabinet doors, and cabin doors open and close easily and are still aligned properly? The boat will either have floor timbers under the cabin sole or a molded floor pan. Check the timbers, are they still intact and bonded to the hull? Are there any cracks or other damage to the timbers? If there is a molded floor pan, is it still in good shape and attached where it should be attached? Look for tabbing between the various pieces in the cabin, is the tabbing still in good condition with no cracks or separation from the hull?

Check the hull on the opposite side of the visible damage. The photo looks like the boat was lying on a rock and was pounded during the storm. Some of the energy may have been transmitted through the hull causing damage and delamination on the opposite side of the visible damage.

Check all of the supports around the rudder tube. It took a lot of force to bend the rudder post and the hull had to absorb the energy, is he tabbing still intact? The supports still solid? It looks like the rudder bearing has fallen out. It will need to be reinstalled. Check the upper rudder bearing too.

The West System website has a lot of information on repairing damaged fiberglass boats.

Hope this works out for you. Good luck.

Dave

 

[sailingseadragon]

Potomac
Check with Rudy at DR Marine - he is very knowledgeable when it comes to the Pearson 26 and more....
http://www.drmarine.com/products.asp?cat=290

Garner

 

[dscribner]

Dude! Sorry about you woes. I went thru something similar but MUCH LESS extensive. Flo sent here best adjuster up from Mass and gave me quite a bit for what it was. I can't offer solid advice on the keel other than to say it looks fixable. But as far as the rudder goes, you can straighten that. I did mine by making a strong frame to hold the rudder, sliding a steel pipe inside the post and using a bottle jack (inside the frame) Worked fine. I might have pics on my phone if you're interested.

 

[PotomacDaysailer]

Rudder definitely needs replacement, it turns out the shaft was cracked, when I went to remove the rudder/shaft assembly it sheared off. So I'm looking for a used rudder assembly.
Checked the bulkhead tabbing on port side and found it's cracked and the hull fiberglass delaminated at the joint there. Also tried the hammer test and found delamination on the port side around the damaged are and there may be some to starboard as well.
Lot of work to be done before getting back on the water!
Thanks for the link to DR Marine!

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

I think you are at the marina next to Reagan Airport? You may have to bite the bullet on the rudder shaft as I doubt you will find a used one. Once you have cleaned the bottom typical of the Potomac, can you post more photos of the damage.

 

[PotomacDaysailer]

No, not on the East Coast (any longer) - I came up with that user name Potomac Daysailer when I was working in DC in 2010. I bought a Bombardier 4.8, a '70s era Canadian-built (same people who make jet skis and commuter airliners) daysailer/centerboarder which I sailed out of Leesylvania State Park about 30 miles south of DC and later here in Oklahoma. I do know the marina you're talking about.
My dirty bottom came from years, maybe decades, in the water at Ft. Gibson Lake in Oklahoma near where I live now. PO had no trailer (thus my long wait for a loaner from the sailing club here) so she sat in the water accumulating grunge.
I just got done power washing 98% of the grunge off and have some updated photos that I will post later, can't at the moment as I'm on my work laptop taking a little break. The last 2% will require scouring I think.
I have some feelers out for the used rudder, nothing solid yet but still hoping.

Added in edit: I have attached some updated photos.

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

suggest that you readjust hopefully the adjustable support pads as it appears the hull is being pushed in. They are too high. Not sure if there is any hull damage from that. You need to check

 

[PotomacDaysailer]

Yes you're right. She is actually sitting cockeyed on the trailer, heeled about 5 deg to port. I need to unstep the mast and get her under the hoist and get her squared on the trailer with the keel blocked so that her weight is supported on the keel. Those pads should not be bearing any appreciable load, just keeping her from tipping over. It's a matter of getting the right people to meet me out there when we all have free time to git-r-done. I don't have the necessary experience/ability/tools to do that by myself.