Tracy, After looking at the pictures my best guess is the boat grounded hard in the past and was repaired.
If it was my boat I would choose option #2. In fact back in 1999 we did a hull/internal repair of some stress cracking at the forward end of Calypso’s keel. We went a bit overboard with the new laminations and upgraded the “bog” filler with epoxy based high density material. If you’re new to fiberglass repair projects, seeking some professional advice would be helpful. If you think you will ever sell your boat, having documentation of the process might be helpful if a potential buyer’s surveyor documents the repairs. Martin DeYoung Calypso 1971 C&C 43 Port Ludlow/Seattle > On Apr 14, 2022, at 12:24 PM, Tracy Tims via CnC-List <[email protected]> > wrote: > > My boat developed a touch of smile on the port side of the keel, along with > a bit of a crack near its aft edge. The crack very slowly leaked antifreeze > from the bilge when on the hard. > > So I opened it up and I found what might be a manufacturing defect. The crack > was into a porous resin-starved part of the skin, admitting water into the > aft portion of the keel stub, which seems to be an enclosed box filled with > blue stuff. The blue stuff was cracked and soggy. (I’m presuming the blue > stuff is polyester resin with filler.) > > See pics for the exciting details: > https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.icloud.com%2Fsharedalbum%2F%23B0h532ODWJEHCio&data=04%7C01%7C%7C5a8f199e7c8148b63ba908da1e4c6fe1%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637855610896946762%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=cm3YMByn7Qu%2FG5mwuULqEJF8yBQvzwp3K9viDkQRex4%3D&reserved=0 > > I’m trying to figure out the best repair plan. Do I: > 1. Just build up patches over what is currently there without worrying about > the internal structure too much? > 2. Remove all the filler, find water route between box and sump and seal it, > tab in and build up structural reinforcement, and then patch over all that? > 3. Something in between those options? > > Even more confusing is that my boat is not constructed as drawn in the > manual. It looks like someone (factory? an engineering revision?) expanded > the box forward, engulfing what looks like part of the aft sump divider. The > good news is that the keel bolts all look great, there’s no leaks I can > detect along the joint except at the aft end, via that box of cracked blue > whatever it is. > > - Tracy > (I hope this doesn’t come through twice… I accidentally submitted it from the > wrong email address the first time.)
