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Crimony. The Adventure Continues :-(

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Ben
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1234 Posts

Initially Posted - 06/13/2004 : 16:41:54

Okay, so today was supposed to be "Dock Day" for my sailing club. The new sailboat only docks that the club had been planning for for 20 years and working for with the State of Ohio finally came to fruition. We got our occupancy permit Friday and I was finally going to have a slip and no longer have to dry slip.

If you remember, I have a new SK2WK conversion. (This is where you should say, Uh, oh!) Yep. I launch the boat motored it over to the docks and tied up. Went and visited with the other happy new dock owners for an hour or so while I waited for my wife to drive up from home. My wife arrived, we are overjoyed, and go into the cabin and there is two inches of water over the floor.

Fortunately our bilge pump worked. I found where a lot of the water was entering (slowly, thank God, or I'd be making a call to my insurance co.). It was where the former swing keel cable wend down thru the hull under the steps. Also fortunate was that I had some of that water-capable epoxy in a stick mentioned recently on this board. Not knowing how else to slow the water while my wife pumped, I mixed the epoxy and stuck it in the pipe, stopping at least that source of water infiltration. Anyway, we got the water pumped out, motored back to the ramp heartbroken, and put her back on her trailer and then in her dry slip.

Why did this happen, you ask? I had taken the boat out twice before, with no leaks. The only thing I can think of was the last time we retrieved her from the ramp, we had a hard time getting the boat/keel centered on the keel support on the trailer. My support is rather narrow, maybe three inches wide. When we finally got the keel centered "enough", we motored the boat to her dry slip. Evidently it was not centered enough. The keel was just barely off center, but in retrospect, I understand now that a lot of weight must have been on the starboard fluke of the wing keel. My guess is that weight caused a seem to split where the keel meets the hull.

Crappy dock day.

I understand I did this myself, and can only blame myself. I've got a call into a club member who works on sailboats to get the next stage of the problem under way.

Any thoughts?

Ben
Beneteau 361
Viking Kitty
Columbus, Ohio

Edited by - on

rford
1st Mate

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USA
73 Posts

Response Posted - 06/13/2004 : 18:36:19

Ben

I don't know much about the SK2WK conversion but I do have a WK myself. I can measure the wing keel bunk for you and maybe you can replace your current bunk with a larger size. My trailer is in storage, I'll check the bunk for you this week.

Unfortunately, it sounds like you may have to put your boat in a sling, and reseal the seam. Hopefully others that have been through the conversion can help you on this forum.

Rod

Edited by - on

Ben
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1234 Posts

Response Posted - 06/13/2004 : 19:21:55

Rod,

Thanks for the help and the insight. Your solution doesn't sound too tough, hopefully that is all it will take to fix things. :-)

Edited by - on

Dave Laux
Captain

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318 Posts

Response Posted - 06/14/2004 : 07:54:15

Ben, are you saying that you think that the keel moved and opened up the join between it and the hull. If you are I would want to reexamine that installation carfully cause that does not sound good. Dave

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Kip C
Navigator

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USA
243 Posts

Response Posted - 06/14/2004 : 08:37:04

Ben,

Sorry to hear about your boat, hopfully it won't eat up too much of your sailing season. Fortunately, our trailer is in the driveway so I can replace the supports in question. It is a trailmaster and has a 22" piece of angle iron welded both fore and aft of the keel with (2 carpeted) 2 x 12 x 48 in. boards bolted to them.

Good Luck!

Edited by - on

tinob
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1883 Posts

Response Posted - 06/14/2004 : 08:53:54

Ben,
Can't believe my eyes...Water entering a wing conversion? The wing has as part of its mount a portion that fits into the place where the swing cable passes through the hull and though that joint is not watertight the epoxy paste should seal it off. Have you checked the tension of the bolts? Is any water coming up from there?

The wing was supposed to be slattered with epoxy paste and then stuck on the hull and bolted in place. Perhaps you should question the people who did the conversion as to how this is possible. I'd love to hear their comments and what they planed to do about it. Having said that and supposing they are going to place the blame on your misshandeling of the boat and your subsequent seeking legal redress, you might solve the problem by pouring a quantity of fluid epoxy down the swing cable tube looking to see where it exits the hull. Block off any dripping and continue to add epoxy till it wont take any more.
Be cautious that it isn't coming inside the boat through the bolt holes.
I'm thinking the keel was afixed to your hull without sufficient epoxy or any at all. When my wing was sent it came with three gallons of epoxy paste and more than complete instructions on how the proceedure was to be carried out.

Keep us posted as your ordeal playes out. And sorry as heck that it happened at all.
Val on Calista # 3936 sWING since '94

Edited by - on

cat30
1st Mate

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73 Posts

Response Posted - 06/14/2004 : 09:34:08

on our swing - wing conversion, the wing keel was gooped up and the keel bolts tightened, there is no way you should be getting water in except by a poor installation? if you could mess up the joint by not having it sit right on the trailer, i'd imagine it would be too secure while sailing either. my $.02.

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atgep
Master Marine Consultant

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1009 Posts

Response Posted - 06/14/2004 : 11:18:52

Sorry to hear the news. That would have been an insurance claim for me as I do not have an automatic bilge pump. Here is how my trailer is setup. I have only done the launch/recovery a couple of times but it works. http://216.77.188.54/coDataImages/p/Groups/152/152671/pages/372213/DCP1420.jpg

Good luck getting to the bottom of it.

Tom.

Edited by - on

Ben
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1234 Posts

Response Posted - 06/14/2004 : 14:47:04

Thanks ya'll. I'm pretty sure the installer used epoxy, because there is epoxy that squeezed out around the threads. It is entirely possible that he didn't use the amount of epoxy that he was supposed to though. I have a person scheduled to look at it and give me a price to fix it. I'll let you know how it goes.

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falco_esq
1st Mate

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USA
60 Posts

Response Posted - 06/15/2004 : 17:50:53

Ben,

Did you see the leak was coming out of the standpipe that the SK chain used to go down through?

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Ben
 Thanks ya'll. I'm pretty sure the installer used epoxy, because there is epoxy that squeezed out around the threads. It is entirely possible that he didn't use the amount of epoxy that he was supposed to though. I have a person scheduled to look at it and give me a price to fix it. I'll let you know how it goes.

<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

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Ben
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1234 Posts

Response Posted - 06/16/2004 : 07:37:17

Yes Jason, that is where the water was coming from, at least a good deal of it. I was able to stop it up with some epoxy puddy I had. I'm pretty sure there were additional leaks though, because I had to pump out a little bit more after the motor from the docks to the ramp (about a 20 minute trip).

Edited by - on

falco_esq
1st Mate

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USA
60 Posts

Response Posted - 06/16/2004 : 23:33:32

Is the stand pipe still there or is it removed? I had the same problem last year, when the stand pip crack at the bottom. (Where the pipe meets the bottom of the hull.) It was an old repair that went bad. I am pretty sure that it is air pressure that keeps water from coming up through that pipe when you are in the water. We took it to the shop, and they redid everyhting and it is fine. You should just be able to fiberglass that hole in though and be good. (If what I am thinking is correct.) Good luck, let us know what happens.

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Ben
 Yes Jason, that is where the water was coming from, at least a good deal of it. I was able to stop it up with some epoxy puddy I had. I'm pretty sure there were additional leaks though, because I had to pump out a little bit more after the motor from the docks to the ramp (about a 20 minute trip).

<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

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Ben
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1234 Posts

Response Posted - 06/17/2004 : 07:35:03

Jason,

Yes, the standpipe is still there. I cut it down so it didn't come above the access board when I put the new wing keel on, but with it being part of the boat, I don't think there's a way of removing it. I like the idea someone put forward earlier about pouring epoxy into the hole to seal whatever openings there are that are causing leaks. We'll see, I'm taking it to the "garage" this afternoon.

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pwhallon
Admiral

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USA
694 Posts

Response Posted - 06/17/2004 : 09:07:36

Hi Ben,

Sorry to hear of your keel problem.

Have you asked Freeman Eckley for their opinion?

Go Bucks,

PW

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Frank Hopper
Past Commodore

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Pitcairn Island
6776 Posts

Response Posted - 06/17/2004 : 11:09:10

Please remind use of the install. How experienced and qualified were the people who did it. How much of it did you do? Did they warranty their work? Did you use pictures to document the steps of the installation? Was this a Catalina dealer? Any parts left over? Any moments of the install that made you nervous?

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