center board trunk

[monkeymikey2000]

Hey, My boat has a full ballast keel and centerboard. I need some advice about a very small pinhole seawater leak coming from the top of the center board trunk under the floor boards, so when I had the boat hauled out I ground down the fiberglass and glassed over it. Back in the water and problem solved, but what else is going on up in that trunk that I can't see? Water has been seeping into the fiberglass trunk for god knows how long of the boats near 50 year life. One can't even put bottom paint up in there. Is there some way I could put an epoxy barrier coat up in there? I'm worried about water getting into the encapsulated cement/iron ballast if it hasn't already. I was also thinking maybe to take the center board out alltogether and fill in the trunk with resin, the boat has enough fixed keel to probably still sail upwind O.K. (haven't tried sailing upwind with board up yet) I really like the boat and would like too keep it. any help or advice would be much appreciated. Mike

[Tim]

Water has been seeping into the fiberglass trunk for god knows how long of the boats near 50 year life.

Probably 50 years, I would guess!

You probably had the pinhole leak because, over time, one of the wide spaces in the rough woven roving used in the boat's construction moved or shifted or somehow opened up enough to allow that small amount of water in. It's not likely to be a harbinger of impending doom.

One can't even put bottom paint up in there. Is there some way I could put an epoxy barrier coat up in there?

If you can get the boat raised high enough to drop the board, you can usually get in the trunk with a brush, rag, or roller on a stick and glop in bottom paint, or whatever you choose. I question whether it's even worth trying the epoxy, as you're almost guaranteed to miss spots that would render it useless, not that it would end up being that effective even if a perfect coating were applied. I'd just try to get bottom paint in there as much as you can, and not worry about it beyond that. Remember that the same openings that allow moisture in (if indeed they exist) also allow it to move back out. Plugging these openings, as it were, often creates more problems than it solves. This is why I oppose barrier coats on fiberglass boats that have shown no real propensity to form blisters, and the same concept applies to your centerboard trunk, in my opinion.

I'm worried about water getting into the encapsulated cement/iron ballast if it hasn't already.

If it has, it has, and there's little that could have been done to stop it--enr perhaps even less that you can truly do about it now. Lacking any real indications of serious ramifications, I would not worry about the prospect. There is enough to worry about on board without losing sleep over the "maybes". Most boats with internal ballast, whether it be lead, iron, or concrete, show some signs of water infiltration into the cavity. In rare cases this causes a problem; usually, it's little to worry about from a practical standpoint.

Of course, one should do whatever is possible to prevent what issues they can, but concerns about the unknown--and unevidenced--can really ruin one's enjoyment of their boat. Address the symptoms, take preventative steps as you see fit, and embrace the imperfect nature of our old boats' construction.

[monkeymikey2000]

Thanks Tim for the advice. No, there isn't any evidence of water in the ballast, no bulging on the outside of the keel or anywhere and the pin seems to be tightly in place. I do tend to worry a little to much! I'll just try to get as much bottom paint in there as I can next haul out. When I last had it hauled out the boat yard grumbled and groaned when I asked if they could block it up high enough so I could get the board down to paint up in the trunk and the board. They then said you can do that when we put it back on the Travelift. I just painted the board quickly, as I felt a little uneasy under the boat while swaying in the breeze and the Travelift straps creaking! Anyway thanks again. Mike