Keel Cracks, am I Sunk?
Posted by Oshham@reddit | sailing | View on Reddit | 34 comments
Just noticed these after the winter haul out. They were not there last year and I didn't collide with anything.
Could the marina have caused this with mishandling during the haul out?
The boat wasn't obviously leaking, is a repair necessary?
SailToAndromeda@reddit
No, it looks like you're on dry land in these pictures š
sneakyfeet13@reddit
Not at all. This is very common. The crack is where your ballast is. The front section is metal. The back section is glass. They separate sometimes like this but it doesn't necessarily mean anything is wrong. If the crack bothers you or starts to leak you can do repairs to seal it and or fair the crack so it doesn't show. I am a fiberglass repair professional and fix damaged keels all the time. That being said I can only diagnose so much from photos. Definitely get a professional to inspect the keel in person if you have doubts of its integrity.
OkInspection8684@reddit
Hey mind if I ask about your job? Do you specialize in boats or do you work on anything fiberglass? Iām finishing my A&P doing the composites training right now and curious what kind of work there is in the field
sneakyfeet13@reddit
I only work on boats. Power and sail. I work at a boatyard on the east coast. Almost every boatyard I know of is short staffed. Should be very easy to find work on the east coast with glassing knowledge / experience. I do not only do fiberglass though, I also do fabrication, gelcoat repairs, and paint jobs. Congrats on your schooling.
OkInspection8684@reddit
Epic thanks for the info
sneakyfeet13@reddit
Just want to also add that this does happen a lot when the boat is hauled out and blocked. The pressure of the boat settling on the keel can cause cracks to form. But it is not the yards fault. It is just part of having your boat blocked.
Oshham@reddit (OP)
Thank you!
gnomegnat@reddit
How old is the vessel? And how long have those cracks been unattended to? She will or should be fine after a proper repair. For now you can use some tape and then schedule a better time to do a proper repair. There are other tapes and products that can be used as a patch, that is one I have used and it worked well as a temporary patch.
Fornicate_Yo_Mama@reddit
Reef out that crack and squirt acetone in there every day for like a week. Then let it dry a week before you do anything, OP.
gnomegnat@reddit
This sounds functional. I know yard time is costly. So the pinwheel says fast and cheap. The tape and fairing compound will get her launched again at least until all the supplies can be acquired for a two week yard time repair to be applied. Then is grinders, and keel bolts and acetone and fiberglass and wood. Is basically a keel replacement and those are not quick jobs. The tape fix and fairing compound gets her in the water today. She is sinkingish, so upgrade the auto pumps as well.
Fornicate_Yo_Mama@reddit
Thatās reasonableā¦ except the āsinkingishā part! Whereās that water coming from???
gnomegnat@reddit
Water finds the way. the core and it gets worse. I never worked on a C&C, have crewed on a couple and that was awesome.
Fornicate_Yo_Mama@reddit
Ugh. This soundsā¦ ambitious. Iām a shipwright who builds from scratch in both wood and fiberglass (done a bit of steel, no aluminum). The frustrations of significant repairs like this are why I only do them on my own boats.
Godās speed to you, Sir. May your skin be armor no glass fiber can penetrate and may your vapor cartridges never kick.
No Epoxy! PVA only for your hull. That means MEK and weapons grade peroxide! I use an outside airflow mask. Im sensitized to that crap. Itās toxic as all hellā¦ but, man, you can build anything you want as strong as you want out of itā¦ and it can flex, unlike epoxy. Definitely a love/hate relationship.
I may be preaching to an expert so apologies if you already know all this. Best of luck with yer vessel. I hope her bilges are dry soon.
sailingtroy@reddit
Does the boat leak?
Depending on the boat, that's either normal and no problem, or it needs to be ground and filled.
Oshham@reddit (OP)
It's a c&c Corvette, no leaks so far
sailingtroy@reddit
I'm not an expert on these boats, so definitely seek more opinions, but iirc, if the keel bolts are fine, then you can probably just leave it alone. We are in fresh water here, so that may be a factor. You can fair it if you please, but it may well crack again, so some find it a sisyphean task. Advice is worth what you pay for it.
LameBMX@reddit
thanks for the "sisyphean task" refresher..
sailingtroy@reddit
If anyone ever asks me why my brightwork is grey, I just say, "Sisyphus."
LameBMX@reddit
a friend's new to them boat appears to have almost never had the exterior teak touched. it's such a beautiful and even grey.
northcoastjohnny@reddit
We call that the Catalina smile on our c25 and c30
LameBMX@reddit
I thought when it was smiling it needed the keel boats tightened, while this appears more along the lines of different substrate related.
sharpescreek@reddit
How did you look at 50 years old?
WasterDave@reddit
I'm 52 and don't have any cracks.
My upwind sails to use some work though.
sailordadd@reddit
It looks like movement between the keel and the dead wood (completing the length and shape of the keel) possibly swelling of the dead wood due to exposure to water ....
Perhaps a light grinding on those cracks to remove debris, allow the wood to dry out. Cleanse the salt water out with acetone, fill with 5200 or some underwater rated epoxy and paint several layers of epoxy, finally antifoul and you could be good to go... The joint sealer should be fairly flexible...
Saltyoldseadog55@reddit
gflex would be a better goop than 5200.
the keel bolts will need to be loosened off, gflex shot into the joint, and the bolts tightened back up.
then fair the joint and repaint.
sailordadd@reddit
Good idea!
jh937hfiu3hrhv9@reddit
Even if you find it is not structural, you should fill and fair it for performance purposes. Every little bit of drag counts.
happycappy1314@reddit
More information is needed. Make/model of the boat. What is the hull material? Are there keel bolts? This could just be the compound that fills the joint between the hull and the keel working free. Itās not likely from the hauling process, unless it has been dropped. You would see an impact sign if that were the case.
It could also be the keel loosening. More information is needed, but in all likelihood, the boat is probably fine. Just needs a bit of attention.
Oshham@reddit (OP)
C&c Corvette, so fiberglass. No signs of impact so that makes sense, thanks
happycappy1314@reddit
Ok, cool. My guess is that youāll want to check the torque on the keel bolts. If theyāre within spec, itās just some of the fairing compound that is coming out. I manage a large charter fleet on the Great Lakes and see this sort of thing all the time.
Trick-Problem1590@reddit
Time to tighten/replaceto the keel bolts.
Oshham@reddit (OP)
Gotcha, thanks
happycappy1314@reddit
More information is needed. Make/model of the boat. What is the hull material? Are there keel bolts? This could just be the compound that fills the joint between the hull and the keel working free. Itās not likely from the hauling process, unless it has been dropped. You would see an impact sign if that were the case.
It could also be the keel loosening. More information is needed, but in all likelihood, the boat is probably fine. Just needs a bit of attention.
funkyonion@reddit
I would say thereād have to be keel boats as it is apparent that it is not a molded one piece keel, or at least whatās left of them if they havenāt been maintained or inspected in a wet ocean bilge.