Yes, by "bilge" I mean the hollow area in the keel below the cockpit and behind the walled-off centerboard trunk. Thanks for your suggestions, Howard. Part of the keel work I had done last winter was to epoxy-seal the gap between the keel/hull and the inner centerboard trunk. I'll inspect the repair and make sure it's in good shape.
Gordon On Oct 19, 2008, at 12:01 PM, Howard Audsley wrote: > I keep reading about a "bilge" on the 17's, but Audasea doesn't have > one. Just a flat extension of the cabin sole back under the cockpit. > Would be interesting to see one with a bilge and to hear from Jerry if > they built them different back when. > > One way to find out where the water gets in is to see where it seeps > out. Pull her out and pump the bilge full of water and wait to see > where it drips out. > > My guess is is will be inside the bottom of the CB trunk, where the > walls of the trunk meet the edge of the CB slot. > > I've never heard anyone say, but I think the way it's built is the > entire stub keel is layed up in the mold, and after the hull was > popped from the mold and the hull turned, the slot was cut, CB trunk > installed, ballast installed on both sides of the trunk and then > sealed > up....either on top of the ballast, leaving a bilge, or well above the > ballast, level with the cabin sole, leaving a "dead space" between the > top of the ballast and bottom of the now sealed off sole. > > Over time, the material and joint used to seal up the CB trunk walls > and keel stub goes south and the joint gives out, allowing water to > seep into the ballast cavity. With the steel or iron ballast, you can > get rusting and swelling. With lead, not much happens, except water > collects. The fix would be to clean out the crack, dry her out, fill > the crack with thickened epoxy and they put a layer of glass tape over > it. Sand all that smooth then put some bottom paint over it. > > Howard > M17 #278 > Audasea > > > On Oct 19, 2008, at 11:46 AM, Gordon Gilbert wrote: > >> I was just cleaning out my M-17 for the winter and I was surprised >> that the bilge was about three-quarters full of water. A small amount >> of water may have run in after spurting through the centerboard >> pennant hole (I generally keep it plugged, though), but I doubt that >> would have been enough to nearly fill the bilge. Also, the portable >> hand pump I had sitting partly in the bilge had a bit of rust-colored >> slime on it, suggesting that maybe the water came through the keel. >> >> I had the boat's keel trunk and centerboard worked on last winter to >> relieve a sticking board. When the shop first cut a hole in the keel >> to check for rusting ballast, they mistakenly cut partly through to >> the bilge on the first try (about a 2.5" diameter hole). Of course >> they reglassed everything, but I can still feel the cut round hole at >> the very bottom inside of the bilge right where the keel trunk is >> walled off. >> >> My questions are: >> >> 1. Does anyone else get much water in their bilge? I assume a >> completely dry bilge is the norm. I kept my boat on its trailer >> during the season, with the exception of a couple four- to five-day >> cruises. >> >> 2. Does anyone have suggestions on how to ensure a dry bilge in this >> situation? I suppose I could cover that hole area with a layer of >> thickened epoxy, but it's a tough area to access and clean and see >> what you're doing. Again, I'm not certain that the water came through >> this previously cut area. >> >> Thanks in advance for any suggestions! >> >> Gordon >> M-17 #377 "Sapphire" >> Milwaukee >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats >> > > > _______________________________________________ > http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats
