[Rhodes22-list] Center Board Well Leak

Tue Jul 14 09:32:38 EDT 2009

Dave

I rejoined the list just last week.  Roger is MN but on the road with  
his job most of the time.

If I re do my cap with either barrier coat or better than than, 3/16"  
thick garolite as well as putting it on  the flange,  make it totally  
level all the way around,
I could get away without the silicone.  The current flange has too  
many dips on the outside edges.  To me, doing this type of  
restoration is SO  time intensive and must be done in the off season.  
We had such a miserable spring and late winter in NYC we are only now  
getting good weather consistently.  I have a rubber wholesaler/ 
retailer on Canal st and he ususally has scraps of neoprene that will  
not cost much.  Enough neoprene for 2 gaskets costs me about $40.  
this time.

I still have not tried soaking my last year gasket in mineral spirits  
for a week and then peeling off the residue.

thanks for sharing that info about the silicone I appreciate it greatly!

sail safe,

Lou

On Jul 13, 2009, at 6:08 PM, david.walker5 at comcast.net wrote:

> Lou,
>
> My CB cap is sealed only with a 0.25" gasket of neoprene - no  
> silicone. I apparently have had no leakage at that seal.
>
> Is Roger still on the list?  Last time I was active he/you had  
> dropped off
>
> Dave
>
> Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Lou Rosenberg <lsr3 at nyu.edu>
>
> Date: Mon, 13 Jul 2009 16:23:55
> To: The Rhodes 22 Email List<rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
> Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Center Board Well Leak
>
>
> David
>
> Well documented!
> I just spent last Fri and Sat installing the CB on my restored 1981
> boat.  I didnt have that piece of UHMWP in the shape of an upside
> down V but someone did install a V shaped SS at the bottom of the
> forward end of the trunk on the exterior.  This we guessed (Roger
> Pihlaja and I) was to suppress and additional side to side movement
> with out encumbering vertical movement of deployment/retraction.
>
> I think I ve made all the mistakes you could make taking the board in
> and out.  This spring I  forgot to run the hose from the pennant hole
> through the open slot to the yard floor when I pulled the board. So
> you guessed it,  the rain filled my bilge and luckily just spilled
> over the open flange and out but my bilge had been redone and not
> perfectly so some water did find its way into the cockpit foam Im
> sure.  That small amount did drip out of the aft end of my keel for a
> few weeks before I painted.
>
> The process of adding the silicone even in small amounts to the top
> of the flange while the cap and the gasket are inches away waiting to
> be installed is
> painful. I used plastic wrap to protect the  pennant from fouling.
> I recently thought about adding some kind of plastic strip which
> would run the entire length of the trunk and have two sets of tabs to
> separate the gasket from the top cap and the bottom flange. THe idea
> is to create a small 1/2" space when everything is all stacked up,
> but NO bolts in would allow you to add the silicone easier and then
> pull out the plastic after applying the silicone all around on both
> surfaces  top and bottom of the gasket.  The inside pc of plastic
> keeps the
> goo from entering the trunk and you pull them out laterally spreading
> the goo evenly and taking out any extra you've put in.  Then you just
> add bolts  tighten and
> torque.  Easier said than accomplished for sure!
> Btw this job is done best by people 4ft tall so if you're vertically
> challenged I want to hire you now!
>
> for us 6fters out there, does anyone have a good pilates tape they
> want to share?
> Lou
> sv Miracles
>
>
> Two strips of hard plastic it could be acrylic or even garolite one
> inch high with 90° angle tabs.  The tabs would ride along the  
> flange top
> On Jul 13, 2009, at 3:42 PM, david.walker5 at comcast.net wrote:
>
>> Greetings to the list.
>>
>> I haven't been active on the list for a few years but have been
>> actively sailing my boat, Windswept, out of Salem harbor in MA. I
>> re-signed up to share with you all something I found this spring
>> that I think should be brought to all owners attention.
>>
>> For the 11 years I have owned my R22 (bought from Stan in 1998 as
>> recycled) I have been fighting a slow leak. Many helpful
>> suggestions pointed at rainwater leaks, which I did have and were
>> mostly fixed. However there was a consistent salt water leak that I
>> could not find. I pretty easily ruled out the thru hulls and was
>> left with the centerboard well. Two years ago I removed the cap and
>> cleaned the mating surfaces, replaced the fender washers and
>> removed a small block that was through bolted to the top of the cap
>> (part of the 4:1 board raising tackle). This didn't make any change.
>>
>> Last summer returning to the boat (at her mooring) after a weeks
>> absence I found water about a foot above the sole. The battery was
>> under water and completely shorted out. Its unclear whether the
>> bilge pump failed or the increasing leak rate caused the pump to
>> discharge the battery. Anyway, I limped to the local marina where I
>> winter store, pumped out the bilge with a home sump pump, had an
>> emergency haul and had it blocked for the winter. (I was pretty
>> discouraged and was about to leave on a 3 week trip).
>>
>> This spring I resolved to find the leak once and for all. When I
>> opened the boat I found a little rain water in the bilge but
>> nothing was leaking out. I filled the bilge to above the cap and a
>> steady trickle started to run out of the aft end of the CB slot. I
>> lowered the water with a pump to just below the cap seal and the
>> trickle continued. I lowered the water level to about halfway from
>> the cap to the bilge and the trickle stopped. Very strange. This
>> eliminated the cap seal and the pennant thru hull as a leak.
>>
>> I removed the cap (fun job) and carefully inspected the inside of
>> the well. At the aft end I found a piece of UHMWP in the shape of
>> an upside down V wedged from side to side at the top of the well.
>> My guess is its job is as a seat for the top of the CB when it is
>> up to keep it from moving side to side. The critical thing is that
>> this piece was screwed in place with long screws from the top of
>> the piece, diagonally down through the side of the well from inside
>> to outside. The tips of the screws were actually though the outside
>> of the well about halfway up from the blige to the cap. After years
>> of the board banging into this, the screws had loosened in the
>> fiber glass and I could literally just pull them out with my hand.
>> These screws were loose in their holes had provided literally two
>> holes in the bottom of the boat. I took them out, dried out the
>> area, ground it down and patched with epoxy and two layers of glass
>> inside and out.
>>
>> My point in this post is that this may or may not have been done at
>> the factory and I'm not blaming anyone, but it was present in my
>> hull. If anyone has a slow leak in this area, it would be worthwile
>> to check it out, and if you pull your cap for any reason definetely
>> check it. Now I just have to finish all those pesky port light rain
>> leaks!!
>>
>>
>> Dave Walker
>>
>> __________________________________________________
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>> __________________________________________________
>
> Lou Rosenberg
> Videographer
>
> Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and
> Human Development at NYU
>
> 239 Greene Street, Room 315
> lsr3 at nyu.edu
>
> (212) 998-5122
>
>
>
>
> __________________________________________________
> To subscribe/unsubscribe or for help with using the mailing list go  
> to http://www.rhodes22.org/list
> __________________________________________________
>
> __________________________________________________
> To subscribe/unsubscribe or for help with using the mailing list go  
> to http://www.rhodes22.org/list
> __________________________________________________

Lou Rosenberg
Videographer

Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and
Human Development at NYU

239 Greene Street, Room 315
lsr3 at nyu.edu

(212) 998-5122