Should you drain a keel that has collected water?

[rustyw007]

Hi all,

took my 16 out for the first time since buying it. we were out for about an hour when I noted trace amounts of water in the area over the keel (between the "bunks"). The water was not present when we left and we've had a solid week of dry weather.

When I pulled the boat, sure enough water dripped from the keel (at first it actually ran out) from a crack I had not noticed before.

Certainly that need to get repaired, but the question is this...

The crack is on the side of the keel and a few inched from the bottom - so there is most certainly water now in the bottom of the keel.

Should I drill holes (thinking straight in from the bottom) to drain the water since I'll be doing a fiberglass repairs anyway?

Thoughts / comments / opinions?

Thanks!

[Mas]

So sorry to hear bout the water issue. I am sure there are others have dealt with similar issues on the forum but one concern that would be related to where you live is the water freezing in the keel during the winter months. If not where it will get below freezing that concern goes away. The other concern, from those who have had similar issues, seems to her related to the concrete itself being deteriorated. I remember someone actually digging out the concrete, repairing any crack/holes and refilling the keel with new ballast. Have little info on how to go about such but bet someone here does. It might also prove to be useful to reach out to the Hutchins folks.

[Jim in TC]

I agree about reaching out to Hutchins - they are of course knowledgeable, and very quick to respond to email inquiries from the website.

[NateD]

Assuming you're going to be repairing all the cracks/holes in the keel, I would drill a few holes in the lowest places and make sure you get as much water out as possible before starting the repair. It's only going to cost you a little extra sanding/epoxy and hopefully it saves some damage to the ballast from freezing/salt water sitting in there. Leaving the boat open with a fan in the companion way or close with a dehumidifier running for a week wouldn't be a bad idea either.

The other potential leaky place to check is the bow eye. But since you mention only water between the bunks, I'm guessing it is just keel leak.

[rogerschwake]

  My Idea on your problem is to raise the bow a little so any water would run to the rear of the keel. Then drill a hole at the rear of the keel and connect a shop vac and let it run till you stop getting water out of the keel. Now seal the hole in the bottom of the keel and also seal the top of the concrete in side of the hull so you don't have this problem again. If you live where it freezes this is real important to get the water out and make sure none gets down there again.

ROGER

[rustyw007]

Thanks everyone. I live where it freezes in winter so that (and sinking) was my big concern.

I've got a dry place to store it, so I'm gonna make some holes (man that makes me shiver), drain it, dry it and fix it all back up. Guess sailing will have to wait but its better than the alternative of sinking.

Appreciate all the feedback.

[Jasmid53]

I had to drain water from my boat. I did what Roger suggested, raised one end of the boat and I only drilled one hole. I just let it sit till the water stopped dripping. Didn't use the vacuum. Took a couple of days. Most of my water came in from where the stays enter the boat. I removed all the old caulk and replace with new caulk. I also removed all the windows and reset them as well. I may in the future drill another hole to see if any more water has made it to the bottom. One hole is easy to fix. I live in Rhode Island and the boat has not suffered from freezing. I have though.

[ChipTYipper]

How big a hole did you drill in the keel?  I have this same issue (and also live in Rhode Island).  I need to drain water from the keel.