My boat is a 1984 MacGregor 25. I was motoring yesterday with the swing keel in the locked down position. While in the middle of what was supposed to be a 14 foot channel,which I've traveled several times before, I struck something hard. The keel lock bolt broke, but not after being shoved about an inch through the fiberglass. Water immediately started coming at at the keel hinge bolt, which I immediately tightened and headed for a dock. Once at the dock, I more closely examined the damage, which appears to be threefold. 1. As mentioned, the keel locking bolt holes are deformed. These are normally above the water line. 2. The sealing gaskets or washers on either side of the keel locking bolt crumbled, thus the leaking around the bolt. (The arrangment is a rubber or some other compound washer with a cone-shaped larger metal washer cupped over it so as to compress it inward when tightened.) I capped this off with marine epoxy in an attempt to reestablish the seal as well as possible, but water is still seeping in appaently. 3. The fiberglass making up the leading edge of "box" into which the upper end of the keel rises to be locked no longer is shiny and the color of honey, but looks like dusty powder. I assume this is the result of the keel having slammed back into the upper position after the impact. I can only see one side of this, but it feels "intact" and was completely dry. This area is lower than the keel locking bolt, but I believe is above the water line. Of course, I've not been able to inspect the keel itself, but don't expect damage there. I could not remove the boat from the water yesterday due to lightning, and will likely not be able to do so again today. My fear is that the seeping leak will lower the boat significantly in the water that it will either pour in through the keel locking bolt holes or even start seeping in through "injury number 3". I have no electric bilge pump on board nor plumbing to get water out of the boat. (Have always used portable electric and/or manual bilge pump and bucket to remove excess water.) Can anyone comment on (a) steps I can take to keep the boat afloat until I have opportunity to take her out, (b) whether damage to this extent is "fatal" or fixable, and (c) any other pertinent advice. Moral of the story: Don't lock the keel unless you need it locked, i.e. where a knockdown is legitimately possible. If it had not been locked, I know I would have raised it while motoring through this channel. It is likely that the obstruction was a large submerged tree...could have even been a vehicle...washed down in recent flooding. Fortunately, I had all tools on board including TWO 15/16" wrenches necessary to manipulate the keel bolt. Otherwise, there would have been immediately serious problems. EVERYONE should have a bilge pump, electric or manual and operable from the cockpit.
URGENT - Keel Trunck Damage - taking on water!
- Thread starter Steve Z
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Here's my two cents worth...
This is by no means a professional opinion, but the good news is that fiberglass is some of the most repairable stuff a boat can be constructed of. Repairs not only fix, but in some cases make the damaged area better than new (if done correctly). I have no doubt that once you get her out of the water, someone who knows what they're doing can fix the damage to a "as new or better" condition. I know it looks bad to you now, but you'll be surprised how well you'll be able to repair it all and have a good story to tell later. As far as keeping her afloat, you MUST have some kind of pump ready to handle the inflow of water, or you run the risk of losing the boat. Either get a proper boat-type bilge pump (which you really need to get anyway) with enough power, battery or otherwise, to run it until you can get her out of the water, or go to Lowes or Home Depot and get a sump pump that you can plug into shore power and pump her out. Maybe one that can run dry until water flows in. It only has to run for a couple of days. I'd trade a $40 pump to not sink my boat any day. As a last resort, and I mean LAST "THIS BOAT'S GONNA SINK" RESORT, if I could get the rudder to a position where it wouldn't be torn off, or do some other subtantial damage to the prop or drive train, I'd carefully (so it can be pulled off later) beach as much of the bow of my boat to keep it from sinking as I could instead of letting it sink. Better to be resting on the ground than in 10 feet of water. I know there will probably be some disagreement with the beaching idea, but I'm just trying to tell you what I'd do if my I were in the same boat (pun intended). Bottom line - Damage is fixable, get a proper bilge pump, good luck.
This is by no means a professional opinion, but the good news is that fiberglass is some of the most repairable stuff a boat can be constructed of. Repairs not only fix, but in some cases make the damaged area better than new (if done correctly). I have no doubt that once you get her out of the water, someone who knows what they're doing can fix the damage to a "as new or better" condition. I know it looks bad to you now, but you'll be surprised how well you'll be able to repair it all and have a good story to tell later. As far as keeping her afloat, you MUST have some kind of pump ready to handle the inflow of water, or you run the risk of losing the boat. Either get a proper boat-type bilge pump (which you really need to get anyway) with enough power, battery or otherwise, to run it until you can get her out of the water, or go to Lowes or Home Depot and get a sump pump that you can plug into shore power and pump her out. Maybe one that can run dry until water flows in. It only has to run for a couple of days. I'd trade a $40 pump to not sink my boat any day. As a last resort, and I mean LAST "THIS BOAT'S GONNA SINK" RESORT, if I could get the rudder to a position where it wouldn't be torn off, or do some other subtantial damage to the prop or drive train, I'd carefully (so it can be pulled off later) beach as much of the bow of my boat to keep it from sinking as I could instead of letting it sink. Better to be resting on the ground than in 10 feet of water. I know there will probably be some disagreement with the beaching idea, but I'm just trying to tell you what I'd do if my I were in the same boat (pun intended). Bottom line - Damage is fixable, get a proper bilge pump, good luck.
Follow Up Info
Decided to get her out of the water. Good news is that I CRAMMED the bilge areas absolutely full of marine grade foam this spring. Should keep her sell afloat, even if completely holed. Also have a nifty battery powered bilge pump from West Marine...just in case. Am headed to lake to pull her out. Then gotta find someone to do the repair work. Oy!
Decided to get her out of the water. Good news is that I CRAMMED the bilge areas absolutely full of marine grade foam this spring. Should keep her sell afloat, even if completely holed. Also have a nifty battery powered bilge pump from West Marine...just in case. Am headed to lake to pull her out. Then gotta find someone to do the repair work. Oy!
Hope floats
A real danger to these boats, sorry to hear about it. Visible damage sounds repairable without removing keel; a new pin and bushings and repairs to lockpin holes might stop the leak. The fact that the gaskets were trashed, however, says to me that the pivot pin must have moved enough to damage them, which means the pivot hole itself is deformed. On mine, I could see the hole's elongation even before pulling the pin; repair would require dropping the keel. As Debo says, these parts are fixable and thats what I had to do on my 22. Mine was elongated from simple wear, but impact may fracture and delaminate some f'glass, making the repair more extensive. The keel itself and those cup-shaped washers are about the only unique things that would make repair hard. A square hit won't hurt the overall integrity of the keelwell, but I try to avoid lateral forces on it. A battery and bilge pump are the obvious solution, but we know these boats are admirably beachable, so do what you gotta do. If you are near a lift or forklift or crane, you would want to set the boat on cinderblocks and stands to remove the keel. Have you done this before? Its becoming a well-established procedure on these sites, and an opportunity for refurbishing seldom accessed places. Let us know what you find, good luck. Your incident reinforces my belief that the keel is best left unlocked until the weather and water depth warrant it. Its also an argument for using a compromised lockpin that will hold during knockdowns but give on direct impact.
A real danger to these boats, sorry to hear about it. Visible damage sounds repairable without removing keel; a new pin and bushings and repairs to lockpin holes might stop the leak. The fact that the gaskets were trashed, however, says to me that the pivot pin must have moved enough to damage them, which means the pivot hole itself is deformed. On mine, I could see the hole's elongation even before pulling the pin; repair would require dropping the keel. As Debo says, these parts are fixable and thats what I had to do on my 22. Mine was elongated from simple wear, but impact may fracture and delaminate some f'glass, making the repair more extensive. The keel itself and those cup-shaped washers are about the only unique things that would make repair hard. A square hit won't hurt the overall integrity of the keelwell, but I try to avoid lateral forces on it. A battery and bilge pump are the obvious solution, but we know these boats are admirably beachable, so do what you gotta do. If you are near a lift or forklift or crane, you would want to set the boat on cinderblocks and stands to remove the keel. Have you done this before? Its becoming a well-established procedure on these sites, and an opportunity for refurbishing seldom accessed places. Let us know what you find, good luck. Your incident reinforces my belief that the keel is best left unlocked until the weather and water depth warrant it. Its also an argument for using a compromised lockpin that will hold during knockdowns but give on direct impact.
Repair facility
Steve, A couple of folks in our sailing club (Rocky Fork)have used a place near Lunken Airport. I think it is called Fiberglass Custom Repair. They are located near the corner of Kellogg & Wilmer at 128 Wilmer. Ask for Prentice at 513-321-8809. Good luck, hope it all works out. Bob
Steve, A couple of folks in our sailing club (Rocky Fork)have used a place near Lunken Airport. I think it is called Fiberglass Custom Repair. They are located near the corner of Kellogg & Wilmer at 128 Wilmer. Ask for Prentice at 513-321-8809. Good luck, hope it all works out. Bob
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