Concrete in Keel

[USMCR O-5]

I'm doing a complete refit of my 1993 23/3. All interior woodwork is coming out and I suspect the concrete in the keel is waterlogged because the same standing water that rotted the wood got into the concrete. Has anyone ever replaced this concrete?  I imagine it will be a big job and my biggest concern would be the structural integrity and shape of the hull with it removed. Any thoughts?  Will the hull maintain its shape while sitting on the trailer with no concrete?

[JTMeissner]

While I can only relay experience with a CP-16, I would guess the CP-23 has a similar build...  The fiberglass in the vicinity of the keel is quite thick.  Hull deformation mostly occurs around the deck seam, as the simplest way to get in there is to remove the deck, so there is some wrangling to get it lined back up at closure.  (I had a post covering a lot of this effort, but have not recovered the photos from Photobucket.)

I didn't remove all the concrete, but did remove a good chunk of it (minus the chunks that came out on their own previously).  It is not a simple task.  Pictures below will show the amount I took out, then I replaced the foremost area with a mixture of lead and concrete, a layer to even out the keel, and a top coat of high strength grout.  I finished it all with a layer of resin, followed by a coat of truck-bed liner to give a nice gritty grip if wet.

-Justin

[Yamaha33410]

drill a hole in the bottom of the keel and see if water drains out, if a lot does and you're in an area that freezes, I would remove the top and inspect for cracking, I would do exactly like he did above and leave as much as the old as possible, and fill in the rest with new, then seal it back up. Install plug in keel... I don't think because you have some water damage inside that you automatically should jump off the deep end and think of tearing out all the conctete, it can get wet... from what I understand on here, it is when that freezes that you have problems...

[H2operator]

I'm doing a complete refit of my 1993 23/3. All interior woodwork is coming out and I suspect the concrete in the keel is waterlogged because the same standing water that rotted the wood got into the concrete. Has anyone ever replaced this concrete?  I imagine it will be a big job and my biggest concern would be the structural integrity and shape of the hull with it removed. Any thoughts?  Will the hull maintain its shape while sitting on the trailer with no concrete?

USMCR O-5, I've started a discussion regarding the keel in my newly purchased CP-23, Keep an eye on the thread I may come up with some useful info! Lance