Need help with Chrysler swing keel fix
Posted: Sat Nov 13, 2004 1:52 pm
Hello everyone,
I am thrilled to have found this forum. I am new to sailing, and have been learning to sail this summer on a C26 swing keel. Early this summer, my father cranked a little too hard on the keel winch and the cable snapped, slamming the keel down. We repaired the cable while in the water, and eventually got the keel unstuck and running up and down freely. Which was a very happy thing, as I then got to the serious business of learning how to sail.
The information on this forum was immensely helpful, thank you everyone who contributed to earlier questions regarding swing keel repairs.
My question is: Since the swing keel slammed down, I have noticed water seepage on the lower deck, around the aft base of the swing keel tunnel. I have not disassembled the keel winch/dining table assembly yet, but want to do this before pulling the boat from the water, so I can see exactly where it is leaking. It does not leak into the bilge, and only seeps slowly. It seeps more rapidly when the river is choppy with lots of boat wakes, or when sailing. When I was getting the boat ready for the water this last spring, there was rust and loose caulking around the leading edge of the keel, where the swing keel attaches to the fiberglass hull. I don't know if this is possibly the area where it is leaking, or whether the fiberglass hull or tunnel cracked from the keel slamming down. (I thought the whole bottom of the boat had fallen out! )
I would greatly appreciate the advice of anyone who has experienced this problem, and where to look for the source of the leak. Any and all advice is welcome, as I am completely new to sailing, sailboats and any type of fiberglass repair.
Thanks in advance for any and all information that you might be able to provide.
Lesley
I am thrilled to have found this forum. I am new to sailing, and have been learning to sail this summer on a C26 swing keel. Early this summer, my father cranked a little too hard on the keel winch and the cable snapped, slamming the keel down. We repaired the cable while in the water, and eventually got the keel unstuck and running up and down freely. Which was a very happy thing, as I then got to the serious business of learning how to sail.
The information on this forum was immensely helpful, thank you everyone who contributed to earlier questions regarding swing keel repairs.
My question is: Since the swing keel slammed down, I have noticed water seepage on the lower deck, around the aft base of the swing keel tunnel. I have not disassembled the keel winch/dining table assembly yet, but want to do this before pulling the boat from the water, so I can see exactly where it is leaking. It does not leak into the bilge, and only seeps slowly. It seeps more rapidly when the river is choppy with lots of boat wakes, or when sailing. When I was getting the boat ready for the water this last spring, there was rust and loose caulking around the leading edge of the keel, where the swing keel attaches to the fiberglass hull. I don't know if this is possibly the area where it is leaking, or whether the fiberglass hull or tunnel cracked from the keel slamming down. (I thought the whole bottom of the boat had fallen out! )
I would greatly appreciate the advice of anyone who has experienced this problem, and where to look for the source of the leak. Any and all advice is welcome, as I am completely new to sailing, sailboats and any type of fiberglass repair.
Thanks in advance for any and all information that you might be able to provide.
Lesley