Hello. i picked up a 22' South Coast Seacraft. the previous owner said the keel pin was leaking water in the cabin and that the fiberglass was soft. what should i do? it seems solid in the keel trunk. should i just redo the fiberglass covering the pin or remove the whole assembly and replace??? any help would be much appreciated. thx
South Coast 22
- Thread starter LakeMan
- Start date
The boat is a nice little Alberg design, should sail well.
Solid fiberglass doesn't generally get "soft" unless there has been some impact and the glass is delaminating. Fiberglass components with a wood core do get soft when the core gets wet and begins to rot away.
It would be helpful to have a few photos of the area and to know if there is a wood core in the suspect area.
Solid fiberglass doesn't generally get "soft" unless there has been some impact and the glass is delaminating. Fiberglass components with a wood core do get soft when the core gets wet and begins to rot away.
It would be helpful to have a few photos of the area and to know if there is a wood core in the suspect area.
Calling @SailingLoto He should have a good idea on what to do as he has a South Coast 22.
any pics ? my keel pivot bolt is glassed over . only spot it can really leak is where the winch cable passes through, and it would have to take on substantial water before coming in there. I would dry it out and look it over good. back it in the boat ramp and look for leaks.
I'm pretty sure the keel tunnel is all solid glass.
that being said, every bit of the interior is crappy plywood.... bulkheads, stringers, all furniture.... I gutted everything non structural in mine.
start by putting it in the water and see if it's actually leaking.
I'm pretty sure the keel tunnel is all solid glass.
that being said, every bit of the interior is crappy plywood.... bulkheads, stringers, all furniture.... I gutted everything non structural in mine.
start by putting it in the water and see if it's actually leaking.
What @dlochner said. Cut out any "soft" fiberglass", patch and redrill the keel pin hole. I would also add a bushing made of SS pipe all the way through the trunk while I was at it.
If you have never patched a fiberglass hole, do a search on this forum .... there has been a lot of good posts on the subject. It is not hard and won't take you very long ... and you will have a keel trunk that is stronger than what the boat originally had.
If you have never patched a fiberglass hole, do a search on this forum .... there has been a lot of good posts on the subject. It is not hard and won't take you very long ... and you will have a keel trunk that is stronger than what the boat originally had.
thanks everyone. ill try and send a picture of the keel pin. the previous owner cut the fiberglass off to expose the pin.
jack and block the keel in place and pull the bolt and see what is going on with it. If it wasn't single digits and lower the next couple days, I would study mine better. If you need pics or comparisons, I can go off mine. There is also an owner's group that might be useful.
Let us know what you find. These are fun little boats.
Let us know what you find. These are fun little boats.
Glassing over is one way but to my thinking a thick rubber washer gasket is the better way. Glassing over creates an "out of sight... out of mind" situation.
thanks SailingLoto and rgranger does the keel pin actually rotate in the fiberglass or is it stationary?
I sail a Macgregor 22 - a make and model known for its low price and cut corners. Yet my keel bolt is stainless steel. Seems odd to see yours rusting.
Chip V.
s/v Sand Dollar
Chip V.
s/v Sand Dollar
To be honest, he's making me question my keel bolt. I might have to give it a close look when it warms up.
Good Catch... that post made me go look at the picture again and there are other issues that need addressing as well. Your lock-down pin is also glassed over. My guess is that something like this happened....
The P.O. never bothered to lock his keel in the down position and/or didn't know he should. At somepoint the rubber gaskets dry rotted and started to leak so he glassed over them to keep the cabin dry.
I fear you need to drop that keel and inspect it. And then repair the pivot pin hole and remove the glass covering your lock-down pin. The purpose of the lock down pin.... if you see a bad T-storm coming or you want to really hotdog on a stiff breeze, you want to secure your keel in the down position in chase you get knocked on your beam. If the keel is free to swing, it could come crashing back up into the trunk and bust through... then your boat sinks in seconds. I'm not 100% sure that is the lock-down pin but I'm 90% sure. When you drop your keel for inspection... if you see a second hole that looks like that pin should go throught it, then it is the lock-down pin.
When you get the keel trunk right, you can keep water out by using a butyl rubber washer. McMaster Carr sells them...
McMaster-Carr
McMaster-Carr is the complete source for your plant with over 595,000 products. 98% of products ordered ship from stock and deliver same or next day.
Just put the rubber side against the keel trunk and put a regular SS-washer against the bolt head. When you tighten it up, the rubber will close any holes and keep the water out... don't glass over... SS needs exposure to air to keep its corrosion-free properties. Otherwise the SS will start to get crevis corrosion.
The lockdown pin on mine is forward of the pivot. It is a 3/8 bolt with fender washers and rubber washers. my pivot bolt is glassed over just like his was. I do not see the lockdown bolt or hole in this picture.
We get sunshine this weekend. Hopefully I can get the foot of snow out of the cockpit and give it a better comparison.
Nothing like trying to figure out an issue the previous owner had via pics on a forum....
Is that a lock down or a stop bolt to keep the keel from dropping more since this keel hangs at an angle?[/QUOTE]
This chat is very helpful guys. S you think i can just get away with using a ss bolt and nut with rubber on each side as the keel pin?
