Whitby 42 Brewer Sail Boats

Hello all,

I am having the hull paint ground off Akupara which has exposed the seam at the bottom of the hull. There is some water seeping through this seem at the bottom from the bilge. I am wondering what the reccomended repair should be for this?

The yard is thinking the seem may need structural repair, which I do not htink is needed, but I am not sure. Would filling with expoxy be ok or should there be a layer of glass put over this also?

I will do some more research through the history, but I wanted to get a question out there since the boat is in the yard getting worked on right now.

Thanks for all the help,

Dan

Hi Dan

Douglas Stephenson has posted on the Yahoo site;

"Jan, yes the hull is built in two clam like pieces and the molds were bolted together. The layers of glass were bonded inside the hull, I would have to refer to the layup schedule to be sure but suffice to say several layers of mat & Roving. So then the actual molds would be released and the joint running from the uppermost transom to the uppermost bow is filled with a putty made of gel and a thickener and polished from the water line on each end."

"The 7 layers of mat/roving should read to be exact for a novice fiberglass person 7 layers each of glass and 7 layers of roving."

If anyone needs further clarification I'm sure Douglas will post it here. I agree with you that it is unlikely to need structural repair. Are you sure the water is seeping from the bilge or just from a void in the seam? It appears that it was very well done on the Whitby. The Peterson 44 was built in a similar fashion and appears to have some problems.

This is how one Peterson owner dealth with it;

www.kp44.org/rudders/hull_seam_voids.php

Regards

Gerry

That fits with what I had thought, but my main concern is that the water leak is going all the way through. Probably not a problem, but I want to make sure that the joint on the inside is not compromised by the water.

As for the repair, sounds like a small grind at the joint and fill with epoxy and then a layer or two of glass. The yard here in San Carlos is pretty good and I have so many other projects going on that I am having them do this one for me so I can still get it launched this spring.

Thanks for the input,

Dan

Dan

Keep in mind that if the void is on the bottom of the keel it is under the foamed in center tank. I doubt it is leaking from the bilge out through the hull. Personally I would have them grind out the void, let it drain for a few days, then fill the bilge with a little fresh water and see if the leak starts up again. Having spent several days in the bottom of my bilge I would be surprised if this happened. In any event leaving the void drain for as long as possible (even by tenting it off and installing a small heater under the tent) might be worth considering.

Regards

Gerry

Dan,

When we first bought Free N Clear, hull #70, she had some old damage on the bottom of the keel. After we had ground the previous poorly executed repair out we had a persistent drip/drip/drip leak, especially after a rain fall. We believe that the rain was coming down the mast and settling into the void that held the center fuel tank, and eventually worked its way to the bottom of the keel. We would apply mat and resin in that area, and the leak would manifest itself in another spot.

After asking a local fiberglass repair chap "what to do", he said "Let it leak." Imagine my jaw dropping! Then he further explained to take a right angle drill, drill a hole, and do our fiberglass repair around that hole, allowing the water to drip out. When we were finished with our repair, take a wooden dowel (consider the relationship of the hole drilled and your choice of dowel size), drive it up into the hole (tight fit). The wood will absorb any water, swell, and then finish off the area with mat and resin.

It worked. Problem solved.

Deborah

Hi All,
We are in the second round of a similar problem on Shamal. Before going to the Bahamas, we noticed water leaking out of the bottom of the keel forward half. It appeared as if a repair had been done, but we assumed that some water was coming in from the bilges. Over the winter, we had a glass expert grind off the bottom and up the sides 6 inches. There had clearly been filler added between the clams of the keel, and no glass layers added over the ? repair. We drilled holes into the keel, cleaned out the foam around the lead, and forced dry heated air through the system several times over the winter to ensure it was dry. Finally the glass person filled one of the holes, I put garboard plugs on the two others, and wrapped three layers of glass (two mat and 1 roving I think) to hold it all together.

After I got back(two years), I opened the garboard plugs and found no water (just a little condensation on the lead). I will post some of the pictures (I can't seem to include them in a discussion message). In any event, we are confident that the water was coming in from the bottom, not down from the bilge.

We are now is second round. Water seeping out in the stern half in the spring of last year as we finished antifouling. I left it alone until the Fall, sanded it off. Same story, prior patch which failed, let water into the glass, delaminated it on the bottom, but water in the glass up six inches. We aren't going to bother with drilling holes (getting near the fuel tanks), but ground out the center bottom on the middle/aft piece, and letting it dry out. We will have it filled and glassed in again, as per the forward section.

I have no concerns about structural integrity, especially with the new wraps. Much better than the old structure/repairs.

Regards

David and Hallie

W42 #321 "Shamal"