Hi

We are the pride owner of seal 22 number 285. We got it last spring and it is our first sailing boat. Because it has a lifting keel it is perfect as it is lying on sallow water. But after a short time in the water it started leaking. Small crack of 10 cm on both sides, about 25 cm from the bottom was discovered in the keel guides in the fore end. We had the boat on shore again and repaired the crashes from the outside with 7-8 layer of glassfiber. We went happy sailing again but got the same problem again one month later in the aft guides, again on both sides. Does anybody else have experience with crash in the keel housing ?. What has happened and are we fixing it the right way. We did not hit ground or had any hard handling of the boat. We need to feel safe out sailing and not worrying if we will start leaking or even sink with children onboard. One last question. We have a 4 HP short leg outboard engine. Is it to small ?. Thanks

Jesper Christiansen

Hello Jesper, I don't have a 22 myself, or any advice to offer, but we have a committee meeting in a week and I will try to locate someone who can give you advice and persuade them to provide an answer here 🙂.
Cheers-Ken
p.s. Webmaster, we should move our website address to .COM as we are international ;-)
Ken Surplice

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I once had a Sinbad which has the same hull as the 22. I never had a problem like yours but I do know how its constructed. Cracks in the guide channels could be caused by a heavy collision with the bottom, maybe by the previous owner. If that is the cause your repair by reinforcing the outside of the channels is probably the best cure.

The other possibility is that the keel has been run up and down in the guides in the presence of sand or grit which has worn the insides of the channels. You could check this by taking the table top off and measuring the internal width of the channels right at the top where they get no wear, and comparing the dimensions lower down at the level where the cracks have appeared. If there is a difference indicating a significant thinning of the structure then I think the channels need to be built up on the inside and this would be a much bigger job.

Geoff
Geoff Harwood

Hi Geoff

Thank you for your kind advises. I have repaired the keel from the outside with 6 layer of glasfiber and also repaired the inside of the housing with 2 layer of glasfiber where the guides on the keel slides up and down. It is difficult to work inside the keel housing but possible. I hope I have seen the last of this problem and wise you happy sailing.
jesper Christiansen