Removing all the lead from the Keel

[Geoff]

Thanks fellas, that will this arvo's job. Will let you know.

[Topaz Bill]

Secret Chord has the same issue, drips water for days after being put back in shed. It seems to me to be more of an annoyance than a major concern, the fibre glass all seems to be perfect and I am still able to do any trips without concern.

The more concerning design fault is the hollow transom. The gap between transom and cockpit moulding makes rudder pintles inaccessible. I would like to be able to access pintles especially for emergency repair, and can envision the bottom pintle being quite easily damaged with a heavy rudder impact. Mine is actually loose and I can't get in to cavity to tighten it.

This doesn't detract from my appreciation of what a great little yacht it is, I may have mentioned In a previous post that if we operate things beyond their design brief (as I do) we shouldn't be surprised to encounter a few problems.

[Ozzie]

Agree totally Bill. I doubt Kevin Shephard ever considered these boats doing what they are still doing 40 years on and beyond. I have bought a recessed SS LED light for the cockpit Bill. My plan is so cut a round hole directly inboard of the top pintle to access it and hopefully get some extended tool down to the lower one . The light will then fill the hole , provide my cockpit with light and provide future access. That’s the plan , did not get around to it during haulout.

Alternatively you could put a large screw type access hatch between the two pintle points and maybe even get your hand in there. Or co-opt a small person to do the job . When fitting and anchor point up under the front deck of on of my poly fishing boats I threaded my skinny nine year old nephew up under there with a backing plate and ring spanner suggested to my sister he hires himself out to boaties trying to get into impossible places in boats to install stuff.

B1741CA1-9C6B-4900-B9C2-2A91B8CD3B8D.jpeg (26.97 KiB) Viewed 3155 times

[Geoff]

Hi Bill,

A previous owner of my boat changed the rudder pintles, replacing them with a different style. They got around that by cutting a hole on the inner transom just below the height of the top pintle and fitting an inspection plate. Makes it a breeze to tighten them up.

https://www.roadtechmarine.com.au/deck- ... e/p/MHG210

[Topaz Bill]

Great suggestion Ozzie about the access. I'll definitely do as you suggest. The light sounds a perfect solution, I'm always amazed by the clever suggestions on this forum that I have never considered. I can't help it if I was born with a really low IQ.

Regards, Bill

[Topaz Bill]

Peter Geoff and David, your advice is really appreciated too. I want to preserve my Investigator and intend to keep it until I am totally decrepid. I'm fortunate in a way that Topaz has months of relentless rain, perfect opportunity to do the task list that seems to be growing.

Regards, Bill

[Peter T]

Hi Bill, one of the things I am going to change on my boat is to add rudder Pinole access through the rear wall of the cockpit or another idea that I have. There are several ways of doing this. Another thing I want to change is the tiny little drains from the cockpit. I am considering cutting out the cockpit floor to give great access to modify the drains. I reckon they should be no less that 1 1/2 to 2 inch dia. If you were at sea and got a large wave dumped into the cockpit, then a lot of it would enter the cabin even with the wash boards in place and it would take forever to drain out of those little drains that are there. With the floor removed, I reckon I could fix it as well as set up the pintle mounts so that there were captive nuts welded on to a plate and then that fibreglassed into the transom. If this was done, no access from inside would be needed to be able to change the pointless from the outside as the bolts would just then screw in from the outside as well. It’s a big job to remove the cockpit floor, fix the drains as well as the pintles and then glass the floor back in and I haven’t decided if this is the way I will go or not yet. I have had a lot of experience with fibreglass as I built my previous boat in glass. If I did go that way, it would really make a massive difference to the whole thing.
Anyway, food for thought.
Let me know if I can help you in any way. All the best.
Cheers
Peter T

[Topaz Bill]

I was concerned about the cockpit drainage Peter. For river or bay cruising, I wouldn't be too concerned, but for offshore stuff it's not good enough.

Your suggestion about the pintle bolt access is good, I "inadvertently" bumped bottom a few times and want to have this section really secure. It's part of the reason I dispensed with the one piece rudder.

Regards, Bill

[Peter T]

Hi Bill, I couldn't agree with you more. If you have grounded the bottom of the keel heavily and have damage there mate and your boat drips water from under the keel for days after using the boat, then I am sorry to say, that I reckon you have the same issue as me with water leaking into the " under the lead " section and would therefore need to go through the same process as me to repair it. water can not drip out of it unless it is in there and it's obvious that if it leaks out, then it also leaks in at the same point. Firstly though the keel needs to have no water in it and be as dry as a bone before you fibreglass repair the damage otherwise you will trap the water in there and not be able to get it out. To do this, the lead can be removed from each side of the centreboard case by lifting the cabin sole, removing the thin fibreglass above the lead and then follow the process I have described previously
All the best with it Bill, it's a reasonably big job, but step at a time, it can be done ok. This is why I built my lifting frame.
I also intend to modify the rudder, so will chat about that when I get round to doing that job.
Regards Peter T

[Ozzie]

If you google Adjustable Thru-Hull Scupper Bill there are many types available which installed in addition to the existing holes would probably assist. You could put these slightly higher for the deep stuff and allow the existing holes to just handle the nuisance water. Could just be installed with a hole saw. You would need to seal the cut edges of course