keel crack

[Glenn42N]

Hello. My wife and I own a 1975 Ericson 27, and this will be our third season with it. I am puzzled by a crack that occurred recently in the keel structure of the boat, which is sitting on a cradle in outdoor winter storage here in Chicago. I saw the crack on a visit to the boatyard after the latest spell of single-digit temps.

The keel sump had frozen solid, despite my emptying and filling it about halfway with RV/marine antifreeze before winter (Splash -50 degree burst protection). I assume some water got in and diluted the antifreeze enough for it to freeze like an ice cube. I’m not sure, though, if the frozen sump compartment is the culprit for the crack.

After thawing the ice with my heat gun and emptying the sump, I could not find a crack on the inside of the sump wall. We found by tapping the inside of the sump compartment that its location is not behind the crack. The bottom of the sump is 5 inches higher and 4 inches in front of, or to the fore of, the crack (see photo). I don’t know if the possible expansion of the sump compartment from ice formation would cause a crack below and to the rear of the sump. I suppose the pressure could cause cracking in a thinner portion of the keel downstream.

I am also wondering if there is a compartment or empty space to the rear of the sump that could collect water? I don’t see it in the diagram below. I also haven’t found yet how to reach the crack from the inside to repair the inside surface.

Finally, another question I have is if the resting of the rear section of the keel directly on a steel center support of the cradle could cause a crack? The forward part of the keel is resting on a small piece of plywood on the center support, but the rear of the keel is resting directly on the steel support. I wonder if the crack was caused by the lack of a wooden cushion between the rear part of the keel and the cradle? Your comments on this problem will be appreciated.

 

[Pete the Cat]

Personally, I would not worry much about the crack in the keel. I would patch it, do the other meaningful preventive maintenance (change filters, zincs, etc) and splash it. I would want to figure out how the water that diluted your antifreeze got in there. Was it covered? With what?

 

[Mark F]

Did water come out of the crack when you thawed the ice?

 

[Glenn42N]

Thank you both for your comments. I covered the boat with tarps this winter instead of having it shrink wrapped. The wind blew open a couple seams. I think snow melt got down to the bilge and diluted the antifreeze in the keel sump.

When I melted the ice in the sump compartment, I did not see that any water came out of the crack in the keel. There was a small pool of water at the bottom of the crack when I first saw the crack. I wiped it up and did not see any more water there after I melted the sump ice. I've been wondering if there is a small space to the rear of the sump compartment that could collect water. I will have to check for a hole that would let water in that area.

 

[Eric Gordon]

Hello Glen, Since the day I took ownership of my 1975 Ericson 27, I have dealt with some water in the sump area of the keel (see photo). it usually happens when I go on a sail in fairly surly seas and sometimes during stormy weather. I wonder if the keel cracked from hitting something or if it was just old age. These keels are encapsulated, so I’m with Ray on patching it, though I am the farthest thing from an expert. Keep us up-to-date on the journey.

 

[bigd14]

I would be concerned about that crack. The sump is a known weak spot in this model and can be potentially be damaged by reversing into something or blocking it wrong. Any water ingress could quickly fill the sump and sink the boat. When I had my 27 I made sure the yard knew about the sump area and there was to be no contact with the ground or blocking etc in that area. I would want to make sure that crack was patched before launch. I heard of people filling the sump with foam or other filler and sealing it closed from the top so no water could get into the boat. No fun either way. Good luck and let us know what transpires.

 

[Mark F]

I would take some time to determine what is going on there (as you are ;-). That area of the keel is most likely hollow. I didn't like how deep the keel sump was so I partially filled it with hydraulic cement and capped it with fiberglass. It was a while ago and I don't remember how much cement I put in there. It's nice being able to reach down a grab a tool/fastener I've dropped.
edit; Ha! what Doug said ;-)

 

[Captain Pete]

I used to have a Morgan 382 which had encapsulated lead for the front 2/3rds of the keel, and hollow in the aft 1/3rd. The lower part of the hollow is where they located the holding tank. It was a big no no to put any blocking under that aft part of the keel as it would at a minimum damage the holding tank (don't ask me how I know...). Tapping the keel generally indicates the lead filled portion and the hollow section for proper blocking.

It looks to me like you have the double whammy of improper blocking and freezing to cause a crack to that hollow part of the keel. If it were me I would repair that crack before launching, which may only involve some simple grinding of the crack, epoxying in some layers of fiberglass (I like 1706), and then fairing. The challenge may be sealing the bottom part of the keel resting on the cradle if it is cracked there as well - it may require some creative muscling in the cradle to get that up a bit for repair access.

 

[Pete the Cat]

I agree that the boatyard blocked this incorrectly

 

[Eric Gordon]

I would take some time to determine what is going on there (as you are ;-). That area of the keel is most likely hollow. I didn't like how deep the keel sump was so I partially filled it with hydraulic cement and capped it with fiberglass. It was a while ago and I don't remember how much cement I put in there. It's nice being able to reach down a grab a tool/fastener I've dropped.
edit; Ha! what Doug said ;-)

I’m curious about what you did. Was the sump area totaly dry when you put the cement down there? And was the cement dry when you did the fiberglas?

 

[frick]

looks to me like the yard blocked up the keel on the aft glass and not the lead. The full weight of the boat might have caused the crack in the glass.

 

[G Kiba]

In my opinion, (and everyone has one) that crack is too low and away from the weakness of the sump. You might test it by filling the sump with water (maybe with added food coloring) and see if it leaks out at the crack. I don't think it was cased by blocking the keel wrong either. I would grind and bevel in the crack, patch and fair. Just an FYI, I packed my sump with 100lbs of birdshot and glassed it in. boat was noticeably stiffer even at the dock.

 

[gabriel]

The sketch shows a line at the rear of the keel which seems to coincide with the location of the crack. Could this section have been molded separately and then bonded to the hull after removing from the mold? If so, blocking the keel in that area might have caused it to separate? That would mean your hull is sound and the crack is mainly cosmetic.

 

[Mark F]

I’m curious about what you did. Was the sump area totaly dry when you put the cement down there? And was the cement dry when you did the fiberglas?

Hi Eric,
The bilge was dry but it wouldn't need to be because the cement would set in water if needed. After the hydraulic cement set I kind of remember using a heat gun to get the top really dry before adding the fiberglass (1708 left over from rudder rebuild).

 

[Mark F]

The sketch shows a line at the rear of the keel which seems to coincide with the location of the crack. Could this section have been molded separately and then bonded to the hull after removing from the mold? If so, blocking the keel in that area might have caused it to separate? That would mean your hull is sound and the crack is mainly cosmetic.

View attachment 52242

My Take on the two lines in the drawing is that many layers of fiberglass buildup in the thin profile of the trailing edge and form a solid fiberglass area. Maybe ;-)

 

[gabriel]

boat was noticeably stiffer even at the dock

Is that a good thing?

 

[G Kiba]

Is that a good thing?

I like to think it was! Just like getting new expensive sails, you are compelled to believe the boat sails better because of the cost, appearance, and what you are told - and it almost always does!
I do think the additional weight helped in that location. The depth of the sump was/is about 3" deeper than the full length of my arm when laying on the cabin sole. The SF Bay and delta typically has winds 15-25 and 30 mph in the summer. So an 80% jib and sometimes two reefs become normal. The extra weigh seemed to not hurt performance.

 

[Gaviate]

Hey Glenn, I realize I'm a little late on this but: That crack is/was caused by poor placement of support block beneath aft portion of keel. This exact thing happened to my 27 up in Sturgeon Bay, WI 2 seasons past. The Marina staff set 3 blocks under the keel, 2 of which were under the lead portion, the 3rd under the hollow bilge sump. CRACK!! Yeah, unfortunate. The Service Manager had no problem with taking responsibility and having it fixed. YES IT MUST BE FIXED. This is a hole in your boat.
Also, freezing water does expand and break things but with no top on your bilge, the expansion of the ice will be upwards, not sideways and not to the point of breaking fiberglass.