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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

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Good Hull Repair Shop near Alexandria, VA?

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NickB
Deckhand

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USA
1 Posts

Initially Posted - 09/18/2008 : 06:42:45

Greetings everyone,

My wife and I bought our first boat last year, and we've come across a possible hull leak problem. This question is specific in location, but any other words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated. I was wondering if anyone knew of a good hull repair shop near Alexandria, VA. I'm currently in a slip with no trailer, so a shop on the water would be a good choice. I'm afraid that if I can't find a repair shop that I will have to buy a trailer, pull it off the slip (we can't afford to buy a trailer and pay for slip fees), repair it over the course of time and turn it into a trail and sail - or find someone to buy a boat with a possible leak and expensive repair bill that would at least cover the remainder of the loan.

The story starts out that in our (mainly mine) excitement of finally getting a sail boat, we came across a 25' 1983 wing keel Catalina. It had a good price (and it came with a toilet and ample room for a family). It didn't cross my mind that there would be any problems. The previous owner performed a lot of work on the boat, so it didn't seem that he would have been neglectful (he was only selling it due to active duty obligations).

Not long after we bought the boat, water appeared in the bilge, but it was not that much. I thought I found the culprit when I looked in the anchor hold and found a hole at the front that the previous owner had cut away to install the new anchor roller back plate. I figured it was rain water that causing the issue because more water appeared after it rained. I eventually bought some foam filler and filled the hole up.

Now, it appears that there were two problems, the one I fixed and another currently unknown culprit. The unknown culprit will now put about ten gallons of water in the bilge a week that I have to get out (the problem has definitely worsened). I know this will become a bigger problem once the cold weather sets in. I don't think it is any of the sea cocks, as I have put a towel around each one and they do not get wet (and they are all kept closed). I also don't see any water streaks (on the inside) below the water line to where the water pools in the bilge. I have seen that the bolts, where I'm assuming the keel attaches to the boat in the center of the bilge, are normally wet.

I'm hoping that the problem I have is very simple and inexpensive to fix, but I'm bracing myself for the worst. Please let me know if I've left out any pertinent information. Thanks in advance for any advice.

'83 Catalina 25 WK/SR

Edited by - on

DaveR
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
2015 Posts

Response Posted - 09/18/2008 : 07:21:18

I'd be hell bent on finding where that water is coming from and then I'd talk to all the local marinas and find out what who charges to repair such a leak. How do the keel bolts look? Most water finds it's lowest point at the keel bolts, unless it's forward, so just because it's there doesn't mean it's the keel, but you have to start somewhere. Hopefully you won't have to pull the boat.
I've heard of people drawing a line of chalk around suspected areas and seeing where the water crosses it on it's way down. Good luck!

Edited by - on

pastmember
Master Marine Consultant

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2402 Posts

Response Posted - 09/18/2008 : 07:37:09

Ask if you can hang from a lift over night. Leave the bilge full of water, make concentric chalk rings around the outside of the hull. The next morning there should be a trail. It sounds like the keel mod could be the issue. Of course no Catalina 25 came with a wing until five years after your boat was built. Your boat had its swing removed and the wing installed. There is a huge amount of fill associated with that upgrade and you could have voids which weakened the new keel hull joint. I would Hope it is the keel, torque the keel bolts to what ever Catalina Yachts, (818-884-7700), says they should have and assuming the water is is coming in the keel bolts I would epoxy them. On a Catalina 25 once the keel bolts are tight they should never need tightening again so I would not be afraid to epoxy over them to create a waterproof seal. There is not core associated with this area. It is also possible the old keel cable hole was not properly sealed by the fill.

Edited by - pastmember on 09/18/2008 07:39:12

Justin
Admiral

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502 Posts

Response Posted - 09/18/2008 : 07:48:46

Hi Nick,

Being a 1983 wing keel, I'm pretty sure it was originally a swing like mine. If I recall, the wings started becoming available from the factory around 1986-87. Catalina then offered a conversion kit to replace the swing and install the wing. My guess is the leak probably has something to do with the keel bolts or maybe even the swing keel cable pipe if none of your thru hulls are leaking. Behind the steps, there should be a brass nipple where the keel cable went through a hose. I don't know the details of the swing conversion but for that amount of water, I would think it is a under the waterline leak. I'm not too familiar with the marinas on the Potomac, but I do think that Washington Sailing Marina there in Alexandria has a lift. LarryR on the forum might have some recommendations since he keeps his boat in DC.

Edited by - on

Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
10005 Posts

Response Posted - 09/18/2008 : 07:49:05

Welcome, Nick! Sorry to hear about your little scare... This 10 gallons per week--is it steady, or just after rainfalls? It's common for sailboats to take water from above, with leaks around windows, chainplates, deck hardware, cockpit scuppers, etc... but 10 gallons is a lot in one week.

I found that a significant amount of rainwater was getting to my bilge from the cockpit drains (scuppers) in the transom. The chalk-line trick helped to identify it--a few parallel lines across suspected paths showed location and direction of the flow. The brass tubes had "decayed". I smeared a little Life Caulk around the flanges and on a crack in the bottom of one, and the water stopped.

If your water is entering steadily even on dry days, then indeed it must be below the waterline. Sounds like your seacock thru-hulls are OK... Some other possible culprits are a knotmeter or depth sounder through-hull, or the seal between the keel and the hull. Yours must be a retro-fitted wing keel--the factory didn't build WK boats in 1983. It could be that the job needs re-sealing and tightening. I can't point you to a marina (except in Mystic, CT), but I'd say that one could do a "short haul" leaving the boat in the slings overnight with a good amount of water in the bilge so you can see if and where water leaks back out. That will show a problem with the keel, but not anything else that's above the level of the bilge water. It might cost you a couple of hundred bucks.

Most marinas have fiberglass repair experts either resident or available. Your keel could require loosening the bolts, inserting some 3M-5200, and re-tightening, but that's for the expert to prescribe. It shouldn't be a "big deal". It the problem is a speed or depth thru-hull, the solution is simpler.

Good luck--it can be mysterious, but it ain't rocket science.

Edited by - on

farrison
Navigator

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USA
166 Posts

Response Posted - 09/18/2008 : 10:16:14

Nick;

I have an '82 boat that was converted at the factory from a fin keel to a wing keel. So the first thing to do is determine what your boat used to be (or if it is newer than '83). If it was a swinger to start with, then what people above have said about cable holes, etc. might be correct. Also the swing guys also complain about the "trunk" getting cracked by the swinging keel and leaking. If yours was a swinger, there might have been some damage to the trunk (search the archives) before the conversion. With my fin conversion, both the tranducers for the depth gage and knot meter had to be relocated, so that added two more holes to my hull to monitor. The next thing to check for is items the PO (Previous Owner) might have added that might cause a leak. The PO of my boat added an electric pump to the fresh water system, and screwed the pump directly to the hull, below the waterline, with two sheet metal screws! The tips of the screws actually came through to the outside, and we found them when we were repainting the bottom.

I had a lot of the problems that Dave talks about above. The brass scupper tubes, windows, etc. Another above-water culprit are the chain plates for the shrouds. If you have a water hose at your slip, you can have someone spray the outside while you search inside for other leaks.

Does your anchor locker have any kind of drain in it now? From your discription, I wasn't sure. It should, or it might leak into the forward storage under the v-berth, and down to the bilge. I have reglassed the locker on a 27 that was leaking into the boat.

Good luck with your search. The archives have tons of stuff on finding leaks.

Paul

Edited by - on

JimB517
Past Commodore

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USA
3285 Posts

Response Posted - 09/18/2008 : 11:55:47

My neighbor boat had a bad leak only while sailing. After much running hoses and looking, we finally found that the lower gudegon (plate that holds the rudder) was so loose it was basically falling off.

A little caulk and a few turns of a wrench and it was dry again.

Dry everything bone dry with a towel. Watch carefully where the boat gets wet first. Do some detective work, you'll find it.

10 gallons per week is a lot, but its not 10 gallons per day or per hour. The boats not going to sink, but you may want to install an electric bilge pump while you search for the leak.

Edited by - on

OLarryR
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3466 Posts

Response Posted - 09/18/2008 : 22:26:53

Nick,

I am in your area. Near Alexandria, there are no marinas that service sailboats except for the Washington Sailing Marina. (Maybe that is where you have your boat docked ?)

While the Washington Sailing Marina (WSM) has a travel lift and provides services, I do not believe they are a full service marina. I do not believe their staff is experienced enough to look into a problem such as what you have described. However, they do rely on some of the visiting boat workers that come on occasion to work on the boats in the marina. If you talk to the marina, they may have some references for you. However, at WSM, they have no area on land available to store your boat (wait listed) unless you leave it in their maintenance yard. If kept in the mtn yard, whether they work on it, you have someone else work on it or you do the work, they charge approximately $200/week for just sitting there.

The only other places I can think of that could provide you service from the water involve sailing to their locations - Fort Washington Marina on the Maryland side or way down the Potomac going to the marinas at Colonial Beach. At Colonial Beach it could be taken out for the winter season and worked then if needed.

One person that may be of help is a sailboat worker that helped me rewire my mast. He also works sometimes at the WSM and I know they call him in sometimes for estimates. I will send you his phone number, etc by EMail. I have not used him for awhile but I have seen him around, so he is probably still working on the boats. He may be able to at least assess your situation.

Larry

Edited by - OLarryR on 09/18/2008 22:32:27

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