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Reef Crash

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Bortiquai
1st Mate

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88 Posts

Initially Posted - 05/27/2009 : 11:49:43

I was with a few friends anchored off a small island a few miles out the other night. We lifted anchor and were motoring out of the anchorage to head home. Not 2 minutes later after getting the anchor up, I heard a pretty awful noise that sounded like the entire bottom of my boat was being ripped off. There is a small piece of reef just of the island and I mis-judged where we were in relation.

Luckily, it wasn't quite that bad. The motor was in gear, but the throttle all the way down - couldn't have been going more than a knot. The bottom of the keel snagged on a small piece of reef and nicely settled in a hole, so we were kind of stuck.

Finally, after a bit of a struggle to get "un-stuck", we raised the headsail to lean the boat over and lift the keel out of the hole and set us free.

For a couple days, i wathced the bilge closely. We have been getting some rain lately, so it's not completely dry, but it doesn't seem like any water is coming in from the bottom. I continue to watch it closely.

Then I took the boat back out to dive under and take a look. There are a couple nice gouges in the paint on the keel. The "highest" one is about 5-6 inches up from the very bottom of the keel. Also, it doesn't look like there was an impact on the leading edge of the keel, as all the paint scrapes are along the side of the keel.

At the top of the keel, where it curves up and meets the hull, there are a few very fine hairline cracks. I would say the longest one is about 3-4 inches. I am guessing these are new, but the truth is, I would have never noticed them before (very small, very faint). I only found them because I was looking very very closely for any problems. They are only along the sides, not the fore or aft edge.

It's earlier than I wanted to paint the bottom, but I'm considering hauling out now to take a look at this, and I guess I'll paint while I'm at it. What do you think?

Edited by - piseas on 05/30/2009 19:13:00

Prospector
Master Marine Consultant

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Canada
3159 Posts

Response Posted - 05/27/2009 : 12:35:24

Have you looked at the keel bolts on the inside? Any play there? Thats the first spot I would look.

Edited by - on

Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
10005 Posts

Response Posted - 05/27/2009 : 15:51:39

Fin? Vintage? (Good stuff to put in a "signature".)

Edited by - Dave Bristle on 05/27/2009 15:52:37

Bortiquai
1st Mate

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88 Posts

Response Posted - 05/28/2009 : 08:13:09

The Keel bolts don't seem to have changed. I certainly can't move or wiggle them with my hand. They are pretty rusty, but that has always been the story. When I got the boat, I put some rust-arrest on them, then epoxy to keep out any more water.

Also, there is no evidence of the cracks from the inside.

It is a fin keel. Tall Rig. 1980 Catalina 25. Cast Iron Keel.

Edited by - on

Summer Wind
Deckhand

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12 Posts

Response Posted - 05/28/2009 : 14:54:23

If you go ahead and decide to pull it and repaint; I would recommend slapping some interprotect (west marine carries it) on before the paint. It's a 2-part epoxy that provides a nice seal. Some argue that it will keep existing moisture in the hull but if it has a chance to dry it can provide a little piece of mind.

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John Russell
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3444 Posts

Response Posted - 05/28/2009 : 15:17:05

How's the reef? I'd imagine that a lot of the grinding you heard was the destruction of the reef rather than the avulsion of the gelcoat.

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Bortiquai
1st Mate

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88 Posts

Response Posted - 05/30/2009 : 09:46:26

Yeah, i think the actual damage to the keel/hull is very minimal. I'm thinking the small cracks I'm seeing are just from a little "flexing" and are mostly superficial. But my concern is what happens if they are deep enough for moisture to penetrate.

If I haul out for this, I would probably grind the area down a little, just to see exactly how deep they go, then maybe lay up a little glass. Overkill? I'm certainly not worried the keel is going to just fall off, or a big gaping hole is going to form. But i've been warned about water getting in there and the damage over time.

By the way, i'm guessing the reef is ok. At least I hope so. I've been told it is looking more alive in these waters than in years because they took a beating during a hurricane about a decade ago. I'd hate to be the guy going around smashing everyone's reef with his boat.

Thanks for all the input.
Matt

Edited by - Bortiquai on 05/30/2009 09:51:35

piseas
Former Treasurer

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USA
2017 Posts

Response Posted - 05/30/2009 : 19:12:36

Sounds like all ok but certainly a close call. Not sure where you are but are reefs a concern in your area? Just wondering if you use any charts or a chartplotter?
Steve A

Edited by - piseas on 05/30/2009 19:13:48

Steve Milby
Past Commodore

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USA
5908 Posts

Response Posted - 06/01/2009 : 14:42:36

If you were going really slow, it's very unlikely that you hurt the boat seriously. It takes a pretty good whack to shift the keel and create a "Catalina smile." I have hit solid things faster than that without damage. If you hit anything solid, like a reef or a rock, it sounds awful, but an almost 1 ton solid cast iron keel itself is almost impervious to serious damage. Unless you see unusual leaking, I wouldn't haul it out and waste a lot of precious summer sailing time. Boats are designed to withstand occasional groundings. The manufacturers know we all do it from time-to-time. If you were going faster when it happened, I think hauling it would be more in order. Also, if you were planning on sailing offshore it might be more in order, but a C25 really shouldn't be too far out anyway.

Edited by - on

Bortiquai
1st Mate

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88 Posts

Response Posted - 06/01/2009 : 18:26:22

I was going very slow when we hit, but I didn't hit "head on". I definitely don't have the "Catalina Smile". I think most of the stress was on pushing on the side of the keel.

I checked under there again this weekend. On the port side, there is no evidence of anything. On the starboard side, it looks like crazing most of the length of the keel, right as it "curves" up from the keel into the hull.

Besides the keel just falling off, what else could go wrong from this?

We have lots of reef in this area, and I do have GPS and charts. We were on an Island i've been to many times. In this spot, there is one small area of reef that is shallowe enough to run aground and I found it.

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