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Author Topic: Leak maybe along the keel?  (Read 188 times)

June 24, 2022, 03:26:09 PM
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Hockeyman70s

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Leak maybe along the keel?
« on: June 24, 2022, 03:26:09 PM »
Hi all. I have a 1973 196 and it’s always trailered. Have noticed a gallon or two of water getting into the bilge after being out for 3-4 hrs. Don’t have anything trough hell other than the bilge plug. I did notice today while crawling underneath a bit of a scrape running down the keel for  a couple feet. Doesn’t seem too deep but does look like it was weeping water. How should I go about this?

June 24, 2022, 05:33:29 PM
Reply #1

RickK

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Re: Leak maybe along the keel?
« Reply #1 on: June 24, 2022, 05:33:29 PM »
Sorry to hear that. I had the same thing, that the P/O covered with paint. Took a few years to wear the bottom paint thin enough to see the problem. I almost sank at a gathering about 40 miles from home but only about a mile from the ramp. We all had our boats beached and I saw the transom getting lower in the water. The boat ('71) didn't have a bilge pump and I barely got the boat back to the ramp, boat had what seemed to be a couple hundred gals in the bilge, boat was sitting real low in the water on the way back in. Barely got it on the trailer at the ramp and drained water out for quite a while. This is how I tackled the inspection:
Get under the keel and make sure that section is not on a roller. Using an awl, I'd probe inside the crack/scrape/gouge and see if you feel "soft" (like foam) or feel the awl going through the gelcoat and fiberglass hull. Mine was like that.
Let me know what you find. If it is bad I can walk you through repairing it.

Here is what mine looked like from below the boat.


After a little sanding you can see that the crack was full of paint only.
Rick
1971 "170" with 115 Johnson (It's usable but not 100% finished)

1992 230 Explorer with 250 Yamaha

June 24, 2022, 07:58:21 PM
Reply #2

Hockeyman70s

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Re: Leak maybe along the keel?
« Reply #2 on: June 24, 2022, 07:58:21 PM »
Wow, thanks for the info and pics. I’m hoping it’s not that bad, it doesn’t seem to take on that much water, couple gallons a day and was hoping it wasn’t coming from there… I did put a skim coat of silicone over it as I’ll be going out tomorrow, was considering 5200 as I’m not super psyched to get into fiberglass work but…

 

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