[Rhodes22-list] Centerboard Question

Tue May 11 08:59:59 EDT 2021

I too had a badly cracked sole on the keel. In fact, the crack extended almost entirely around the base of the keel. I think it was caused by the previous owner placing a board between the keel plate and the trailer. I continued with that for some years as it looked sensible enough. The only way to see the crack was to get the boat suspended off the trailer so I could get right under the keel and look up. 

I learned through the list that the keel should not rest on anything when on the trailer. The boat is only supported by the bunks.

Because it was not visible the crack went unnoticed for years and probably was exacerbated by freezing. Material inside the keel was also washed out including what looked like flakes of metal which I think might have been some form of lead ballast. As a result there were large voids in the keel which needed to be filled - not a trivial job as resin needed to be injects higher up and through the cabin floor.

The moral to this story is 1, don’t place anything under the keel when the boat is on the trailer, and 2, occasionally get right under the keel and inspect it for cracks - especially if you have had and hard grounding or the boat has come down hard on anything. This is obviously something that you don't want to delay fixing.

I have attached a picture of the keel with the crack showing. 

Repairing the crack was a major effort. If anyone has the same problem and is interested in what I did just let me know.

Graham Stewart
Agile, Rodes 22, 1976
Kingston Ontario

-----Original Message-----
From: Rhodes22-list [mailto:rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org] On Behalf Of John Keyser
Sent: Friday, May 7, 2021 9:54 PM
To: The Rhodes 22 Email List
Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Centerboard Question

Hi,

  Hate to throw water on anyone's' parade, but I had a similar issue, and it's not just water draining through the pennant hole in the cockpit. Each year that I have had the boat (4), about two inches of water accumulated in the bilge when the boat is in the water.  I have installed two automatic bilge pumps on her, one under the raised head floor, and one in the lazarette.  When I arrive, I would manually activate the forward one, and at different times, different amounts of water would emerge from the discharge (probably 0-5 gallons).  The lazarette rarely had enough water in it to actually pump out - a sponge would do the trick.  Over the ensuing years, while hoping it was rainwater, I pretty diligently searched for any likely entry pathways, both river and rain. All the usual suspects were checked, and any faults corrected: some leaky ports; put a gasket on the lazarette hatch; rebedded a few bits of hardware; tightened clamps on the cockpit drains; etc.

  Each fall the boat would be put on a trailer in a marina asphalt parking lot. All winter long, a drip of water would appear every few seconds at the front of the opening for the centerboard. (BTW, the boat was positioned stern down, so any water flowing into the pendant tube would not be flowing down the front of the centerboard trunk) When I crawled under the boat, things always looked ok, no cracks or holes, but the inside of the front of the trunk was always moist - even after months out of the water.

   However, this fall, I discovered a pretty sizable (6-8") crack in the front of the keel, running forward from the centerboard well. As I further examined it, I found that the area had sustained damage (hard grounding or hitting a submerged object?) previous to my ownership, and attempts had been made to repair the area with what appeared to be automotive body filler covered with some sort of rubbery material, then painted.

  In the spring, I decided to tackle this and worked from below and above.

  Inside the boat, I removed the floor in the cabin, and found several cracks in the top of the hull in front of the centerboard trunk. I decided not to remove the floor in the head area, but cut an 8" access port in it. In that area, aft of the concrete ballast, cracks were also seen. The wood stringers supporting the floor, as well as the bulkhead separating the main cabin from the forepeak were reinforced with pressure treated wood screwed and fiberglassed in place. The top of the inside of the hull where the cracks were was sanded and then covered with alternating layers of fiberglass mat & mesh. The same treatment was given to the entire area forward of and alongside the centerboard trunk up to the stringers on each side.

   Access was limited in the head area, and any crack that extended under the concrete ballast was inaccessible anyway, so I just ended up first pouring some fiberglass resin into the area, hoping that it may find its way into the cracks, then covering it up with some matting. Along the way, all of the centerboard trunk cover bolts were snugged up, and the pendant tube clamps replaced with new SS ones.

  Underneath the boat, I opened up the crack and drilled a shallow hole at the forward end of it to stop it from spreading. The entire area was then sanded, and repaired, again using layers of fiberglass mat and mesh. The repair area was then painted with an epoxy coat, then bottom paint.

  This spring, the boat was launched, and, while not completely dry, it seems to be much better, with just a little puddling visible in the bilge now.  I can probably live with that in a 40-year-old boat, but will certainly keep an eye on things.

  Anyway, the point is that wishful thinking doesn't always pan out - it didn't for me.

Best Regards,
John Keyser
1980 R-22 "Deci-Belle"
Philadelphia, Pa

________________________________
From: Rhodes22-list <rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org> on behalf of ROGER PIHLAJA <roger_pihlaja at msn.com>
Sent: Friday, May 7, 2021 6:00 PM
To: The Rhodes 22 Email List <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Centerboard Question

Jim,

I agree with Todd, it’s most likely just water draining from the cockpit seats thru the centerboard pennant hole.  There are no nooks and crannies in the centerboard well.  Thus, there is no place for water to accumulate in there to drain out when you shift the boat on the trailer.  Likewise, if you had a crack in the centerboard, it’s very unlikely that shifting the boat on the trailer would cause water to dribble out.  Let not your heart be troubled!  Go sailing and be happy.

Roger Pihlaja
S/V Dynamic Equilibrium

Sent from my iPhone

> On May 7, 2021, at 4:06 PM, Todd Tavares <tavares0947 at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Jim,
>
> It could just be water draining from the cockpit seat gutters down through
> the centerboard pennant hole.
>
> Todd T.
>
>> On Fri, May 7, 2021, 3:22 PM JimIggy <zooba72 at hotmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> Again, I really appreciate the information.   I was hoping to avoid doing
>> anything with the Centerboad prior to doing a test launch.  However, today
>> I
>> re positioned the trailer because it was not level and it wasn't draining
>> properly. Once I got it level, I noticed water dripping out from around the
>> Centerboard.  Is it safe to assume that if water escapes, it will get in
>> too
>> ?
>>
>> This pic failed the capture the water leaking but I tried and you might see
>> a few drips
>>
>>
>> <http://rhodes-22.1065344.n5.nabble.com/file/t1015/CB1.jpg>
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Sent from: http://rhodes-22.1065344.n5.nabble.com/
>>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: cracks in keel b.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 138985 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://rhodes22.org/pipermail/rhodes22-list/attachments/20210511/ef4f354b/attachment.jpg>