water between lead and fiberglass jacket of keel

Dfox

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Mar 17, 2014
18
279
Has anyone ever had issues with water getting between the fiberglass keel (jacket) and lead? I understand the keel fiberglass is non structural, but notice doing a tap test there are gaps between the the fiberglass and lead. I have had an issue with water getting in between the two and when the water freezes it creates a crack in the keel fiberglass jacket . I think the water is coming from the bilge thru the keel bolts and seeping thru some how, or possibly the water is seeping down the lifting point in the bilge to the hull/lead interface--not sure this lift point goes to the lead or not. There is no evidence of any hull cracks or keel cracks to allow the water in. The hull also has 6 coats of barrier coat. thoughts?
 
Last edited:
Nov 13, 2011
163
Oday 23 New River Az
Drill some drain holes when it is going to be sitting for a while. Pour some isopropyl alcohol where you think it is entering. When everything is nice and dry seal the top, and repair the holes.
 
Jan 22, 2008
506
Catalina 310 278 Lyndeborough NH
Has anyone ever had issues with water getting between the fiberglass keel (jacket) and lead? I understand the keel fiberglass is non structural, but notice doing a tap test there are gaps between the the fiberglass and lead. I have had an issue with water getting in between the two and when the water freezes it creates a crack in the keel fiberglass jacket . I think the water is coming from the bilge thru the keel bolts and seeping thru some how, or possibly the water is seeping down the lifting point in the bilge to the hull/lead interface--not sure this lift point goes to the lead or not. There is no evidence of any hull cracks or keel cracks to allow the water in. The hull also has 6 coats of barrier coat. thoughts?
I found some "hollow sounding" fiberglass where the keel and the hull attach when I first got my 1988 Capri 22 in 2009. At the time, I thought I had stalled the area up sufficiently.

But last season, I noticed water in the bilge when I never saw any before.

After taking the boat out at the end of last season, I noticed "leakage" from both sides of the keel to hull juncture.

I ground out all of the hollow area after letting the area dry until late June. Once the offending area was removed, I used West Systems Epoxy thickened with 404 filler. Once cured, I wrapped the keel in several layers of fiberglass.
 
Aug 17, 2015
25
379
Had a similar problem recurring year after year. I would grind out the area where a frost wedging crack would form in the winter and put high quality multi directional glass with poly resin . fair and sand, gelcoat, inter-protect . After fixing it a few years in a row it has finally stopped leaking and the winter frost damage seems to have stopped. We had a pretty tough winter last year and I expected to get out the grinder and glass in April, but not this time. For reference I have a 1988 wing keel, and the damage is usually about 10 inches below the keel hull joint.