Water in keel

Hello, was grinding out a blister today when I thought there was more water so I kept grinding when low and behold I grinded through the glass and it was like niagra falls, I previously thought I did not have this problem as standing water ijn the bilge never drained, but obviously that is because it was already filled with water.

My plan is to fill the hole and not really worry about it, is there any ability for the keel to slide out or back and should I just try and coat the bilge with epoxy to prevent this? Would love to here from some people who have been through this before

Thanks

Canteen in keel

tchiffriller said:

Hello, was grinding out a blister today when I thought there was more water so I kept grinding when low and behold I grinded through the glass and it was like niagra falls, I previously thought I did not have this problem as standing water ijn the bilge never drained, but obviously that is because it was already filled with water.

My plan is to fill the hole and not really worry about it, is there any ability for the keel to slide out or back and should I just try and coat the bilge with epoxy to prevent this? Would love to here from some people who have been through this before

Thanks

Click to expand...

I had the identical experience last month in my E28. A quart of water from a blister about one third down the keel. Amazing. It can't be external. I think the floor drain from the head did it, check where your drain goes.

keel water

It sounds like the keel bolts could use a re-bedding. Check the joint too, where they put 3M5200 in there.

EGregerson said:

It sounds like the keel bolts could use a re-bedding. Check the joint too, where they put 3M5200 in there.

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Nope. My E 28 is a fixed keel poured with lightweight concrete. No bolts. But the phenomenon exists. No cracks visible. It has to be the bilge.

Clarification

Are both of your keels encapsulated? The keel on my 81' 28+ was. There were no keel bolts. The lead keel core was encased in foam and fiberglass. Nothing drained into the keel. If you have water in there I suspect it's penetration from the outside not inside.

Moderators can you move Wetjim's inquiry to a new thread. I don't think it was intended to be in this thread.

rpm said:

Nope. My E 28 is a fixed keel poured with lightweight concrete. No bolts. But the phenomenon exists. No cracks visible. It has to be the bilge.

Click to expand...

Concrete? Surely you must mean lead....

Alan Gomes said:

Concrete? Surely you must mean lead....

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There is likely some frp filler material on top of the keel cavity to provide a "floor" for the bilge. No concrete...!

LB

water in the keel continued E28

Loren Beach said:

There is likely some frp filler material on top of the keel cavity to provide a "floor" for the bilge. No concrete...!

LB

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My encapsulated keel is definitely concrete, I saw it when I drilled out the water blister located in the top third of the keel about one foot from the aft edge. There are no bolts so I assume this model has no lead at all. This seems confirmed if you consider the arithmetic, 150lb concrete would calculate into a close approximation of my keel area using the 3000lb ballast that is specified.
I would say she might rock more that others when you step-on (especially with a ten foot beam) but settles down very quickly underway.
Maybe someone out there can tell me more about the manufacture, I seem to be the only one.

The stories about a cavity in the rear of the keel are interesting, guess I need to take a look there but the sump looks totally enclosed to me after just owning the E28 for a few weeks (mostly in the yard so far).

rpm said:

My encapsulated keel is definitely concrete, I saw it when I drilled out the water blister located in the top third of the keel about one foot from the aft edge. There are no bolts so I assume this model has no lead at all. This seems confirmed if you consider the arithmetic, 150lb concrete would calculate into a close approximation of my keel area using the 3000lb ballast that is specified.
I would say she might rock more that others when you step-on (especially with a ten foot beam) but settles down very quickly underway.
Maybe someone out there can tell me more about the manufacture, I seem to be the only one.

The stories about a cavity in the rear of the keel are interesting, guess I need to take a look there but the sump looks totally enclosed to me after just owning the E28 for a few weeks (mostly in the yard so far).

Click to expand...

I'm certain if you drilled lower you would find lead. The "concrete" is, as Loren noted, some kind of filler. Ericson used lead for ballast, though parts of that cavity will have other fillers mixed in.

http://sailboatdata.com/viewrecord.asp?class_id=908 (Note what is specified under "Bal. type.")