Listees, I want to thank all of you for your thoughts regarding my keel problem. The damage to my boat was certainly caused by the hauler, although he claims that once a boat is lashed down on the flatbed, it cannot move, not even the slightest, so therefore he is not responsible for anything that happened. It doesn't seem like he has a good sense of physics. He blames any problems either on those who put the boat on the trailer or on those who removed it. He wants to claim that he has no responsibility or control over loading or unloading, but this makes no sense whatsoever. Is there anyone out there with a sense of how this works? I was able to take some of the pressure off the aft end of the keel today by lifting it some on the stands. The keel is only blocked on the extreme forward end now. As a result the crack is a bit wider. thanks, all, Jon
-----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of michael mcvey Sent: Thursday, August 02, 2007 2:24 PM To: [email protected] Subject: RE: catalina27-talk: Perplexing keel problem after long distance hauling Sorry I did not read the full post before, I would not attempt anymore repairs until I spoke with my insurance agent and a surveyor or a qualified boat yard with a good rep. from what I have read in the other posts you have received some real good advice and for the hull to crack like that there is most likely something that is hidden. I am very practiced with fiberglass repair and this sound to be a little tough. From all accounts though this does sound as if the hauler is solely responsible for the damage and I would be in touch with whoever takes their claims. Best of luck Mike M _____ From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [email protected] Subject: catalina27-talk: Perplexing keel problem after long distance hauling Date: Wed, 1 Aug 2007 22:56:29 -0400 Listees: I have a serious but perplexing problem resulting from the long-distance haul of my 1975 C-27. I need your advice. The boat was hauled from North Carolina to Boston in mid-July, essentially a return home for the boat and for us. Somewhere along the way the boat was damaged. When the boat arrived it was lifted off the flatbed and put in the water. It immediately began to take on water--lots of it. After taking it out of the water, we discovered a crack at the extreme aft end of the keel at the hull (at the point where the hull begins to curve down to shape the narrow end of the keel--perhaps an inch or two down that curve). The crack was only several inches long around that aft end, perhaps four inches long in all, sort of shaped like a "u". The leak showed at the inside at the extreme aft end of the bilge in the passage (under the interior deck) between it and the engine compartment (boat has an A-4). While the pump kept on top of the leak, it did so only barely. A few words about the delivery: The boat had been located on the extreme aft end of the trailer. A power boat was placed on the front. The inside of the boat was an absolute mess. Things that I had carefully stowed were strewn about the boat. Items stowed deep in the after quarter berth were all over the salon floor in the forward part of the boat. It was an amazing sight that got worse when the water seeped up from the bilge. Clearly the boat had a very rough trip. When the boat was first on stands, I was able to ply out some resin from the hull crack and thought maybe I could make a temporary patch to get it across Dorchester Bay to my yacht club. I used Marine Tex. The fix looked good, but as soon as the hydraulic trailer begin to lift it from the stands and blocks, it cracked with a "snap." It had returned. After a short haul on a hydraulic trailer to the club, I removed the broken Marine Tex, opened the crack up as best I could, and we used West (resin, filler) and some cloth and fashioned a repair. When it was sealed on the outside, using a flashlight, I was able to locate what seemed to be a crack of sorts in the bilge in that passage leading to the engine compartment, where it seemed the water had come in. I poured resin into it, hoping it would seep down. Today, when we lifted the boat off the stands to put it in the water, the same thing happened, a snap, and then a 1/8 in wide, several inch long crack appeared. This work was done by someone with a great deal of experience using West resins. What is going on? The bilge looks fine. Four years ago, I employed the Catalina Direct keel bolt upgrade and installed ss lags. I did this only as a precaution because the original bolts looked, well, rusted, but no worse than other Catalinas. My bilge has always been clean and dry. I see nothing amiss there now. There is no Catalina smile on this boat an no other external indications of a problem anywhere along the keel. Jon C-27 1858 _____ PC Magazine's 2007 editors' choice for best web mail-award-winning Windows Live Hotmail. Check it out! <http://imagine-windowslive.com/hotmail/?locale=en-us&ocid=TXT_TAGHM_migrati on_HMWL_mini_pcmag_0707>
