Hi all,
Sadly, last Wednesday I had a terrestrial impact with some rocks off Wing Point in the Sound. A friend dove the next day and I definitely have some nice chunks knocked into my keel, down to the lead.
Exacerbating the issue is that I think I've always thought I have potential keel bolt issues, due to a recurring seam appearing at the keel/hull join, water seeping out of it after hauling, even after a yard tried re-glassing it (I think the seeping water caused the re-glassing to fail.)
Also considering my girlfriend and I have a plan to attempt a Hawaii trip in two years, this seems like a potential time to drop the keel and take a look at whatever bad things are hiding beneath (hopefully nothing).
But, this is a very expensive endeavor ahead - I'm guessing at least $10k, if not more, if I have a yard do it. I really don't think the keel is in any imminent danger of falling off of the boat, but the stakes get higher if we take it offshore. And now that I've mentioned it to my gf, she will need some sort of strong assurance that the keel is going to be OK - either via repair or some expert opinion that the bolts are sound.
So there are some options:
1. I haul out at the DIY boatyard and fix/fair the keel damage, assess the state of the keel seam/weeping, likely just put the boat back in and ignore the keel bolts.
2. I haul out at a yard, have them fix the keel damage, and assess the keel bolts for a later time.
3. I haul out at a yard, and have them fix the keel damage and drop the keel to assess the bolts.
Along with this are options to either file an insurance claim or prepare for an out-of-pocket hit. I'm not sure a full keel drop, repair, re-bolting, etc would be covered by my policy without totaling the boat, which I would really like to avoid. Whatever way I go, the keel damage makes this a sooner-rather-than-later project, though not ASAP.
Sadly, last Wednesday I had a terrestrial impact with some rocks off Wing Point in the Sound. A friend dove the next day and I definitely have some nice chunks knocked into my keel, down to the lead.
Exacerbating the issue is that I think I've always thought I have potential keel bolt issues, due to a recurring seam appearing at the keel/hull join, water seeping out of it after hauling, even after a yard tried re-glassing it (I think the seeping water caused the re-glassing to fail.)
Also considering my girlfriend and I have a plan to attempt a Hawaii trip in two years, this seems like a potential time to drop the keel and take a look at whatever bad things are hiding beneath (hopefully nothing).
But, this is a very expensive endeavor ahead - I'm guessing at least $10k, if not more, if I have a yard do it. I really don't think the keel is in any imminent danger of falling off of the boat, but the stakes get higher if we take it offshore. And now that I've mentioned it to my gf, she will need some sort of strong assurance that the keel is going to be OK - either via repair or some expert opinion that the bolts are sound.
So there are some options:
1. I haul out at the DIY boatyard and fix/fair the keel damage, assess the state of the keel seam/weeping, likely just put the boat back in and ignore the keel bolts.
2. I haul out at a yard, have them fix the keel damage, and assess the keel bolts for a later time.
3. I haul out at a yard, and have them fix the keel damage and drop the keel to assess the bolts.
Along with this are options to either file an insurance claim or prepare for an out-of-pocket hit. I'm not sure a full keel drop, repair, re-bolting, etc would be covered by my policy without totaling the boat, which I would really like to avoid. Whatever way I go, the keel damage makes this a sooner-rather-than-later project, though not ASAP.