[Rhodes22-list] Lost ballast

[Lou Rosenberg]

  Graham,
   I am currently in the process of rebuilding the inside of my CB 
trunk.  I have a '81 R22 and have opened up the inside walls of my 
trunk to view where the cement ends and the lead ballast begins. 
There is more lead in there than a few flakes I am sure of that.
   In response to drilling holes inside of the trunk:  I would first 
scape away any loose material with a wire brush, if the bottom edge 
of your keel is not smooth I would defer to the WEST SYSTEM books on 
using their epoxies to mend the bottom of the keel and any damage 
inside your  CB trunk.
  I' m working with my boat still on the trailer and have to wedge 
myself underneath the keel to manipulate a dremel tool with a flex 
drive attachment using a diamond circular blade to remove the 
laminate.  Use a mask and goggles always!!
  Qs: which way was the crack running ?  How deep was the crack?  Was 
the crack INSIDE of CB trunk ?
  feel free to email me off the list if you want.  I am located in 
Brooklyn , NYC.
  good luck
  Lou

  for others: I hope to post my latest pics of the inside of the trunk 
showing the cement. later today or tomorrow.
  unfortunately, I don't own a lipstick camera that can snake down the 
slot and give me wide angle views of the ballast.




>I had a problem losing ballast through the bottom of the keel of my 1975
>Rhodes 22 and wonder if others have had the same problem.
>
>A few years back I got right down under the keel and noticed that a crack
>had formed on both sides of the keel centerboard housing. On closer
>inspection I noticed that flakes of metal were lodged in the crack and later
>concluded that the flakes were actually lead. I appears that the ballast was
>made, at least in part, from small lead flakes.
>
>I seemed to fix the cracks by removing the centre board and then drilling a
>series of holes into the the keel on the inside of the centerboard housing.
>I then injected a runny epoxy paste into the poles. The epoxy then drained
>down inside the housing and out the crack in the bottom. I then just kept
>scraping the epoxy and pushing it back up into the crack until it thickened
>enough to stay there. It was a terribly messy job as I had to lie directly
>under the crack and ended up with epoxy everywhere on my body and in my
>hair. It seemed to work though as the crack has not reappeared. Still I
>worry that this might be an inadequate repair. My other concern is that I
>have no idea how much ballast I lost.
>
>I am wondering if anyone else has had this problem and, if so, how was it
>repaired?
>
>I wonder what I would find if I were to try to get inside the housing by
>cutting holes in the hull from inside the cabin into the housing. Would I
>find loose ballast that might be removed to repair the bottom of the housing
>with fibreglass tape? Would I be able to add ballast or would I just cut
>into a solid mass of ballast and cured resin?
>
>Thanks in advance for any advice.
>
>Graham
>________________________________________________________
>Graham Stewart
>mailto:gstewart8 at cogeco.ca
>
>
>__________________________________________________
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