Cavities inside keel and around bilge areas.

[Ozzie]

If you have an old oil sump pump it would probably do the job of removing the stuff in there JR. I think Aldi were selling one a week or two back, plastic, for draining fish tanks , washing machines type of thing. May be a while back, lockdown has dulled my sense of time I’m sure. Polyfoam glued in with expanding foam and gap filled with expanding foam is a good space filler I’ve used in my kayak . You could then glass over it again and maybe leave a capped permanent tube glassed in to remove any further water. Just a thought.

I also guess you could fill this space with concrete maybe stabilised with bondcrete or some more waterproof stability agent. Would improve your ballast ratio but make the boat heavier. Not sure on that one. Someone else may be able to speak on this.

[sheepstations]

Thanks Ozzie, the idea of filling the space with some stabilized concrete sounds like a plan. My main concern is where the water came from but thinking about it, I hope it's just bilge water that's seeped in through the dodgy layer of fibreglass covering the keel area.
I've manged to get all the water out and now hoping it will dry out before I do any repair.
Thanks for the input, every bit helps!
JR

[Ozzie]

Good luck with it all . These experiences all go to build the knowledge base on the Investigator. 563 owners in 2040 will know more about them than the bleedin’ designer.

As an afterthought, it might help to go for a sail starting with a dry bilge in the upper cavity and keel void and see what develops. If it only comes into the lower area and your pivot bolt is not leaking it may be some cause for concern. I suppose an invisible stress crack of some type that only allows water in under the flex and forces of sailing is a slim possibility but at least that could be ruled out and you could reseal the cavity with confidence.

Again good luck.

[no way]

Sure as god made little apples I wouldn't cover anything - especially with concrete- till I found the source of the water - it'll be worth the investigation. If water gets in when its in the water then it should get out the same hole when its out on the trailer but I think as numerous post topics before there is a plethora of suspect places for leaks that are not in the bottom

[Ozzie]

If water gets in when its in the water then it should get out the same hole when its out on the trailer

Possibly but if the ingress is high in the keel case the water won’t drain. Movement in the water could open up a small stress crack which would not drain if stationary on the trailer. I am forever tracking down such cracks in my 47 year old fg kayak. You could add food dyes to the water if it comes in and that may help indicate a drain point.

I also think it’s important to track it down before any fillers are added.

[Peter T]

My word I am pleased I purchased this boat before it got filled with concrete. Lies are often revealed if one waits long enough. ( Oh no, the boat doesn't not leak a drop, its as dry as a bone!!! ).
The water that was in the under lead compartments of the bilge came from the hole torn in the bottom of the boat when someone ground through it by grounding the boat or running it up on rocks. Lead was removed, fibreglass repairs effected both inside and outside the keel as well as the leading edge of the centreboard case and then the lead was reinstalled and the space around it was filled with expanding foam and then glassed in. The repair has ended up so much stronger than what was original and the fibreglass of the bottom of the boat is now at least twice as thick and so much stronger than it was as it was all done with several layers of double bias sewn woven rovings and epoxy resin which included re doing the entire length of the bottom of the keel for added safety and security

[Clav]

Hello my new friends,
I've been researching and procrastinating about my boats bilge after picking, scraping and pulling off loose paint and silicon around the forward, middle and Keel bilges. The bottom corner of my forward bilge has a PVC or possibly aluminum plate silicone'd in up against the lead ballast. Water is constantly seeping & pooling (at around 5mm in the corner, soo tiny). The keel bilge has 2 sections of packing either side, (1 section is a block of wood with a rusty bolt and the second section is maybe plywood cover . One side is dry and hard, the other ply section is soft (suspect a little rotten inside). To help explain, I'll take some photos and post as soon as I can work out how to shrink my 12MP photos
Q1)Do I have to take the lead out of the middle bilge and dry this whole area?
Q2)Do I have to take out and replace this packing each side of the keel too?

I sooo want to get out on the water prior to starting this work which I think I already know the answer to.

[Ozzie]

Hi Clav. Don’t get too depressed by your leak . It’s fixable and doable but you do need to track the source.

To start with your photo problem.

I use an App called IMAGE SIZE …screen shot.. on my iPad and this is fine . Supported by an ad after each resize , but there is no free lunch . This gives control of pixels and file size, whatever. As it’s ad

supported I have encountered no malware or other glitches. Alternatively you can mail the pic to yourself. On iPad that gives you a resize function. I think most mail apps have this now.

Second. Before you start removing stuff make sure the water is not from ingress above deck . I had water in the bilges for some time till I redid my companionway and viola! Dry for years now and I’m moored. Sit inside and get helper to sprinkle water above simulating rain and check.

Step two put food colour in water and tip into the bilge in the area you finding the water and see if you can see red water leaking out and where. I’ve been using this method on my 1974 model fg kayak …since 1974… and it always shows up leaks in places you think are ok.


There is lots of good advice here on repair but it’s not a disaster. One expects a few faults in 40plus year old machines. Also if it’s minor I would not rule out sailing . It might show up other leaks .

Good luck.

Edit . Places to check.. hatches, electrical through deck , light fittings deck fitting, particularly chain plates.

Water can run uphill on boats ….don’t know how but it foes

[Ozzie]

Ok sorry … missed your edit . You got the photos happening. Where exactly is this pic taken ? Have you removed the whole floor as is doable and are forward of the inspection hatch?

Ok just refreshed screen and saw the other pic. I’m not sure about the ply. The keel and packing are if you peruse earler posts subject to various installations as per our current history thread . Mine are placed forward and aft of the cb compartment and sealed over with fg. The ingots have metal u bolts set in to use for placement. As there are no ubolts either side of the keel this may be smaller manhandled ingots , don’t know but I was told years ago by a local that concrete was poured in around the ingots . In fact he reckons the ballast was all concrete. He’s wrong because you can’t get the ballast weight in that small area with the density of concrete. I calculated that , but concrete was used as weighty filler.

[Clav]

The floor is a complete hack job, but I love the access. This doesn't faze me I plan to neaten support and cover anyway.
Re the photos, if I cropped and added one at a time it worked.