Peter, Tim is trying to differentiate between the fiberglass and the lead. Most of our boats have a sked or partial style keel as opposed to a full keel. The top of the keel (stub) is formed as part of the fiberglass layup and extends below the belly of the boat about 12 inches. The lower part of the keel is usually made of lead and has bolts that extent up through this 12 inches of fiberglass stub to the interior of the boat where the nuts can be seen and torqued. The relative narrowness of our boat's keel and stub provide insufficient lateral support to the keel. Flexing can occur which often causes a crack at the joint to form. The keel is usually bedded with something like 3M 5200. This adds to the problem because the bedding compound flexes more than the faring compount or the various layers of paint.
It sounds like Tim was concerned (rightly so) that you may have been describing a crack where the fiberglass stub merges with the belly of the fiberglass boat. If this is the case then you ABSOLUTELY need to root out the problem. If on the other hand it is at the fiberglass to lead joint then a little investigation may be in order. Often it is just a crack in the bottom paint. Many of the listers refer to this as the C&C smile and have been living with it for years. The boat smiles at them an they smile back. ;-) Other's have performed extensive and repeated attempts to repair or prevent the crack. If no water is coming up through the bolts and the crack is very shallow then I would consider just a bottom painting. If there is any indication that water is making it deeper, possibly to the bolts, then some sort of repair is probably in order simply to prevent degradation of the lead and stainless steel bolts. As previously suggested, it never hurts to check the keel bolt torque. I believe the expected way to do this is while the boat is on the hard so that the keel is being pushed on by the weight of the boat. Let us know how things turn out. Josh Muckley S/V Sea Hawk 1989 C&C 37+ Solomons, MD On Dec 17, 2013 12:23 PM, "Peter" <pe...@cruisingnet.com> wrote: > Wish I had a picture.. but it is the complete circumference of where the > led keel buts up against the fibreglass hull – there is a clear crack all > around, but as I said, it does not go very deep. It is the only boat in the > yard exhibiting this (but then most of the boats in the yard are > traditional cruising boats). > > > > Not sure where you mean by ‘where the hull turns into the stub’… > > > > Thanks, > > Peter > > > > *From:* CnC-List [mailto:cnc-list-boun...@cnc-list.com] *On Behalf Of *Tim > Goodyear > *Sent:* December-17-13 11:40 AM > *To:* cnc-list@cnc-list.com > *Subject:* Re: Stus-List Crack where keel meets hull > > > > Peter, are you talking keel joint (fiberglass keel stub joint to lead > keel) or where the hull turns into the stub? I have been fighting the > latter for a couple of years and it is a much bigger deal than the former. > It looks like we'll need more surgery this winter. > > > > Tim > > Mojito > > C&C 35-3 > > Branford, CT > > On Tue, Dec 17, 2013 at 10:41 AM, Peter <pe...@cruisingnet.com> wrote: > > I have a 1974 C&C 39. I leave it in Mexico on the hard for the summers and > try to spend a few months sailing during the winter. > > There is a clear demarcation where the keel meets the hull. it does not go > deep, and there certainly is no leaking of water into the boat. Some of the > folks in the yard seem to think that there is a problem. However, I have > had others suggest that I simply put some Sikaflex or 5200 on it and paint > over it. > > Any thoughts would be appreciated. > > > Kind Regards, > Peter White > SV Outrider > > > _______________________________________________ > This List is provided by the C&C Photo Album > http://www.cncphotoalbum.com > CnC-List@cnc-list.com > > > > _______________________________________________ > This List is provided by the C&C Photo Album > http://www.cncphotoalbum.com > CnC-List@cnc-list.com > >
_______________________________________________ This List is provided by the C&C Photo Album http://www.cncphotoalbum.com CnC-List@cnc-list.com
