Grandsailsdan
Junior Member
Hello everyone, I don’t post much but really appreciate all the knowledge that can be found on this forum.
I have an ‘88 26-2 that I sail on Lake Dillon in Colorado. Wing keel. I’ve owned it for 2 1/2 years and love it! This spring, I noticed (especially on the starboard side of the keel), the definitive joint between boat and keel. A slightly raised visualization of the seam running horizontally. My instant response was to check keel bolts. I did, and got slightly less than a turn onto each. Visually they look great, dry and shiny. Is the smile I am seeing on the keel as common as it is on Catalina’s for example? Was it just loose bolts? What materials are used at the factory on that joint? Is there wood present in that area? The boat supposedly has an epoxy coat under the bottom paint, VC-17, which is in pretty good shape... I already have a less than perfect rudder post seal that is causing some delam in the lower rudder that needs to be fixed (the rudder has a thread drain plug on it that I remove in the fall and insert before launching).
Any help is greatly appreciated! I just lunched the boat and I am concerned. I’m going to check the keel bolts again (it has always been a dry boat and still is) and the marina service expert looked at it and deemed it mostly a cosmetic issue. Is it just me with this/these issues, or an Ericson thing? Lots of pictures here, but I am negligent for not snapping one of the keel smile in my haste to get the summer started and launch the boat. Thanks!
Dan Hamme
Tara
1988 Ericson 26
I have an ‘88 26-2 that I sail on Lake Dillon in Colorado. Wing keel. I’ve owned it for 2 1/2 years and love it! This spring, I noticed (especially on the starboard side of the keel), the definitive joint between boat and keel. A slightly raised visualization of the seam running horizontally. My instant response was to check keel bolts. I did, and got slightly less than a turn onto each. Visually they look great, dry and shiny. Is the smile I am seeing on the keel as common as it is on Catalina’s for example? Was it just loose bolts? What materials are used at the factory on that joint? Is there wood present in that area? The boat supposedly has an epoxy coat under the bottom paint, VC-17, which is in pretty good shape... I already have a less than perfect rudder post seal that is causing some delam in the lower rudder that needs to be fixed (the rudder has a thread drain plug on it that I remove in the fall and insert before launching).
Any help is greatly appreciated! I just lunched the boat and I am concerned. I’m going to check the keel bolts again (it has always been a dry boat and still is) and the marina service expert looked at it and deemed it mostly a cosmetic issue. Is it just me with this/these issues, or an Ericson thing? Lots of pictures here, but I am negligent for not snapping one of the keel smile in my haste to get the summer started and launch the boat. Thanks!
Dan Hamme
Tara
1988 Ericson 26