Water inside Keel

[flurups62]

Dear Vega experts,
in our Vega (nr. 957) we found a screw at the outside of the keel and
drained 1-2 l of water from the inside after removing the screw. We
can find no connection to the bilge and wonder were the water comes
from. There is a thin fissure in the bottom of the keel an we suppose
it is from there. Does anybody know how the boat is built in that
section? By knocking at the outside the iron filled fore part of the
keel can be distinguished from the hollow aft part. Water seems to
have sit there for a long time. We thing that the laminate has
suffered by that and think we have to cure that next winter. Has
anybody experience with that problem?
Florian

 

[bobnlesafloat]

This water is coming directly from the bilge (lift the floor board at the bottom of the companionway steps) - its a standard fitment to allow the bilge to be drained when ashore; personally, I've never used it and keep threatening to glass over the outside of this drain-plug (your 'screw')

Bob Carlisle
Spring Fever 1776

flurups62 flurups62@... wrote:
Dear Vega experts,
in our Vega (nr. 957) we found a screw at the outside of the keel and
drained 1-2 l of water from the inside after removing the screw. We
can find no connection to the bilge and wonder were the water comes
from. There is a thin fissure in the bottom of the keel an we suppose
it is from there. Does anybody know how the boat is built in that
section? By knocking at the outside the iron filled fore part of the
keel can be distinguished from the hollow aft part. Water seems to
have sit there for a long time. We thing that the laminate has
suffered by that and think we have to cure that next winter. Has
anybody experience with that problem?
Florian

 

[btfag0s]

I had something similar a while back. It WASN'T the bilge drain
plug. There's a separate void in the keel below/aft of there that
had filled with water, it was only spotted by a surveyor who noticed
weeping after she (the boat) had been on the hard for a couple of
months. I drilled it out and glassed it over and it's been fine
since. The drain plug is still in position (albeit replaced) and is
used when we haul out overwinter.

Alisdair

 

[pjacobs55]

I think perhaps Florian is referring not to the bilge drain plug (with a diameter of maybe half inch) but to the much smaller screw plug that is hard by the bottom of the keel and aft of the drain plug. That drains some sort of cavity below the bilge.Nicholas Walsh
Nicholas H. Walsh P.A.
111 Commercial Street
Portland Maine 04101
Tel. 207/772-2191
fax 207/774-3940

This email was sent from the law firm of Nicholas H. Walsh P.A. It may contain information that is privileged and confidential. If you suspect that you were not intended to receive this email, please delete it and notify us as soon as possible. Thank you.
From: Bob Carlisle
Sent: Wednesday, May 07, 2008 10:28 AM
To: AlbinVega@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [AlbinVega] Water inside KeelThis water is coming directly from the bilge (lift the floor board at the bottom of the companionway steps) - its a standard fitment to allow the bilge to be drained when ashore; personally, I've never used it and keep threatening to glass over the outside of this drain-plug (your 'screw')

Bob Carlisle
Spring Fever 1776

flurups62 flurups62@... wrote:
Dear Vega experts,
in our Vega (nr. 957) we found a screw at the outside of the keel and
drained 1-2 l of water from the inside after removing the screw. We
can find no connection to the bilge and wonder were the water comes
from. There is a thin fissure in the bottom of the keel an we suppose
it is from there. Does anybody know how the boat is built in that
section? By knocking at the outside the iron filled fore part of the
keel can be distinguished from the hollow aft part. Water seems to
have sit there for a long time. We thing that the laminate has
suffered by that and think we have to cure that next winter. Has
anybody experience with that problem?
Florian

 

[flurups62]

First of all: Thanks for your informative replies.
Right! I was unscrewing the small screw at the bottom of the keel. I
have not yet discovered the drain plug. But from the picture in your
files directory (Keel_Constuction.jpg) I figure that the plug is what
I saw about a foot above the screw. I is larger in diameter and looks
like a paint covered flat plug. From the inside, looking down the
bilge if I open the cover at the foot of the stairs, there is no water
visible. We have an automatic pump installed at this place. I thought
it sits at the lowest point were water in the inside can go. This is
obvously wrong, as the drain plug sits lower. That leaves the question
open, if cavity the screw is connected to is connected to the bilge.
But why would anybody construct a drainage of an isolated cavity?

 

[pjacobs55]

Hi Florian,
There has been quite a bit of 'chatter' on this subject in the last
24 months. If you log in to the Yahoo Vega Forum and type "water keel
bilge screw" into the "search" box most of the relevant messages
appear.

My understanding is that this cavity is not supposed to leak, but
always does a bit, and the bottom screw is a way of draining it when
hauled out. I don't think it is of great concern, but should be left
open if sitting on the hard in freezing weather.

You boat, #957, must have the same bilge as in the diagram you found,
just like mine. I understand the later series Volve Diesel boats had
a fuel tank down there.

Hope this helps,
Peter
#1331 'Sin Tacha'

 

[pjacobs55]

Hi Florian,
There has been quite a bit of 'chatter' on this subject in the last
24 months. If you log in to the Yahoo Vega Forum and type "water keel
bilge screw" into the "search" box most of the relevant messages
appear.

My understanding is that this cavity is not supposed to leak, but
always does a bit, and the bottom screw is a way of draining it when
hauled out. I don't think it is of great concern, but should be left
open if sitting on the hard in freezing weather.

You boat, #957, must have the same bilge as in the diagram you found,
just like mine. I understand the later series Volve Diesel boats had
a fuel tank down there.

Hope this helps,
Peter
#1331 'Sin Tacha'

 

[flurups62]

Hi Peter,
thanks for your hint concerning the old forum postings. I looked there
before writing my first mail, but obviously not close enough. After
reading through the anode postings I did not continue (should have
used more search items then 'water' and 'keel'. Our Vega yields the
bilge + void setup. Anyway, the boat is watered today into the baltic
and I will continue to work on that problem next winter/spring. The
expert form the boat yard/wharf said he would recommend to cut the
void open. Osmosis seems to have developed in that area. The problem
seems to be the water that sat there for years/decades attacking the
laminate from the inside. I drained it through drillholes from
underneath the keel and fiberglassed it. That will do for the season.

Nice beaching pictures!
Thanks a lot, Florian.
I will stay connected to this great forum