Greetings from Turkey

Does anyone have a solution to a 325/335 keel that doesn't drain?

On Mayflower's previous lift-outs, water has drained slowly from the bottom of the stainless steel keel section above the wing, but this seepage has now dried up. The keel was still largely flooded after 2 days ashore. The gush of water when I chiseled out the filler covering the keel-ram bolt was quite a surprise, as was the excessive corrosion on the lower third of the body of the hydraulic ram.

I've now cleared the old antifoul deposits from the small gap between the stainless steel keel section and the lead of the wing, but on refilling the keel with water, still have no outflow. I now intend to drill a couple of small holes in the new filler that will cover the keel-ram bolt, and hope that these will allow keel flooding and draining.

I thought that I'd read somewhere about actual keel flood/drain holes but now can't find that reference.

Any insight into how others have addressed this problem would be most appreciated.

Cheers,

Graeme Lindsay
P325/38 Mayflower

Hi Graeme,

Trust you are enjoying Turkey.

Pegasus drains from the aft end of the keel close to the lead wing.

Food for thought though, has anyone ever put a long scope inside their keel for a structural inspection? Wondering after 16 years whether this might be a wise precaution? Not that I have externally noticed anything untoward.

Best Regards,

Stuart

Pegasus 325/37

Thanks Stuart.

Yes, we are enjoying Turkey sailing. This summer we did a circuit of some the Greek Dodecanese and mid Cylcades Islands, as well as our usual Turkish coastal cruising. Our 325 was one of the smaller boats out there. Next summer will be our final season here. We ship Mayflower to NZ in 12 months time.

No, I haven't thought of doing a scope inspection but it could prove worthwhile if you can get the scope around the keel's internal frames.

I've now drilled 8mm holes in the filler over the keel/ram bolt's head and nut, 2 on each side of the keel, and have angled these upwards and outwards from just inside them ram bolt hole in the stainless steel. I have relaunched and seem to have a draining keel again.

I suspect that my problem has resulted from not doing the ram inspection annually and thus allowing the anode to severely erode, the resulting 'mush' blocking the path of water between the lead and stainless steel. Next haul-out, after removing the ram, I will try to high-pressure wash the keel interior from the top to clean out the drain paths. A last resort would be to remove the lead wing from the keel, but I suspect that this, particularly lining it up and putting it back, could be a very interesting exercise.

Cheers,

Graeme
Mayflower 325/38

Hi Graeme,
Hope you and Di are OK except for the problem with Mayflower's keel. You may have sorted it now but I thought I would let you know how the water gets out of Shemar's keel. At the forward end where the wing joins the keel I removed a small amount of the filling which bonds the two together. I could then poke a length of wire into the gap and up into the space in the keel. It is only a small hole but it is enough to let the sea water into or out of the keel on Shemar. Hope this works with Mayflower.
Best wishes Martin

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Hello Martin

Thanks for your solution. I'll do the same to Mayflower on her next lift-out. The holes I drilled in the keel-bolt cavity filler were working, but how long before they block-up remains to be seen.

Best wishes to you and Sheila for the festive season.

Graeme

Hi

I lifted out a couple of days ago and specifically looked for drainage. The water poured out all around the wing / keel joint, this had sealastic filler but mainly loose. I will not replace as I can't see the point, however I will epoxy paint as there is a little corrosion. I also pulled out the sealastic plugs by the ram bolts, my keel has foam sandwich filler, at least around this area. I've no idea if this was standard or added afterwards for some reason.

Doug