Yellow/Red water in bilge

[Brian Hofler]

Hello:

In my 1968 Vega the bilge drain screw was portside. I removed it. Also
the foam that filled the keel aft of the ballast was full of water.
When the water in there froze in winter it oozed reddish water pus out
of blisters in the side of the keel. I opened that keel area, removed
all the old foam, put another layer of glass mat inside with epoxy
resin, sealed it back up, and re- filled it with closed cell foam. It
was a mess but is stronger now and the fiberglass in the keel does not
get stretched when it freezes and expands.

You could be getting water in your ballast but the Vega site says that
the ballast is encapsulated with 1/2" of fiberglass.

Good luck
David Ham
Juneau, Alaska

 

[reefmagnet]

Thank you all for valuable advice.

Henk, the axle is still the copper one and should be checked and
perhaps replaced anyway. Also the rudder bearings. With Iver's
localization there will be no problem with the screw. Right now,
the 'reddish pus water oozing out' seems a close description of the
phenomenon, and we will see if the etiology turns out to be the same
as David's. The urgent part now is of course the drainage, before the
frost comes in. You are quite right there: if the ballast itself is
encapsulated, problems should be rare.
Then, over winter, we can brood over the corrective measures...(and
then, we will still have a handful with the MD6A).

By the way, you owners of older Vegas, have you had trouble with
delamination?

thanks again
Lauri Soinne
Kerava, Finland

 

[reefmagnet]

Dear Lauri,

I have read many Vega Newsletters from the late Sid Rosen in Florida, but I
have never read the the Vega suffer from delamination.

As regards the shaft , I think it should be replaced by a stainless steel
one.
Mine has been replaced a least 12 years ago and since then the leakage is
within reasonable limits. When it was replaced by a nearby wharf the old
copper shaft showed a deep groove on the spot of the rubber fittings. Of
course that caused the water to leak inside the boat.

Drainage: In case you do not drain the boat before your early finnish winter
comes, that put plenty of anti freeze into the bilge. That prevents the
hull from freezing too.

Of course also the engine should be filled with anti freeze before the
winter.
I am watching the weather in Holland but so far we did not even have a
decent night frost. The world is definately heating up.

Keep well,
regards,

Henk Jansen