[Rhodes22-list] Center Board Well Leak

Tue Jul 14 15:04:17 EDT 2009

David, Thank you for your input.  Last fall I had our R-22 up in a 
lift.  The CB lifting line broke and allowed the CB to drop down under 
the boat.  The boat was elevated on the lift out of the water but not 
high enough. When large waves rolled into the shore the boat was lifted 
up and off the lift crade.  This alloewd the CB to drop all of the way 
down into a vertical position.  When the wave rolled past the lift the 
boat floated back down and the CB in a vertical position was pushed up 
through the CB trunk cap.  I had leaks in the CB cap years ago and 
replaced all of the screws (52) with #10-32x1-1/2" stainless steel 
bolts and nuts. I added a neoprene gasket and washers on both the top 
and bottom of the CB trunk flang. I also removed the 4:1 pulleys in the 
trunk and on the CB.  I still have some water in the CB well area.  I'm 
not sure if it is draining down into this area from other areas of the 
boat i.e. under cock-pit floor, thru-hull fittings etc. I could feel 
better about my CB staying up with better a cleating system for the 
lifting line. Replacing the lifting line is much easier without the 4:1 
pulley system. I am open for ideas for the CB lifting line cleat. Jim J

Quoting David Walker <david.walker5 at comcast.net>:
> Rummy,
>
> Glad to  be back.  BTW how's your gas tank?  Any Kabooms yet?
>
> As for the UHMWPE, there is a lot of it on my boat clearly from the factory. 
> The pop top slider, boom slider and most of the outboard mount.  Any way
> thats not the point.   I just wanted to let people know what they might
> find. 
>
> The kneeling to get the cap off was fun.  I used tile layers neepads and
> that helped a lot.  The tough part was getting the backing wrench on the
> bolt heads under the flange. 
>
>
> David Walker
>
> www.davidwalkerphotography.com
>
> Event Specialists
>
> 781-639-2707 Office
> 781-718-8690 Cell
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: <R22RumRunner at aol.com>
> To: <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
> Sent: Monday, July 13, 2009 4:23 PM
> Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Center Board Well Leak
>
>
> > Dave,
> > Welcome back to the list. Finding leaks can be a real problem when there
> > are previous owners possibly involved. I have been inside five centerboard
> > trunks over the years and everyone one is different. No two were
> > identical. 
> > Previous owners or who knows who had been changes to the pulley systems
> > and
> > parts that operate the centerboard. I can pretty much assure you that the
> > use of  UHMWPE was not a factory fix. Glad you were able to make the
> > repair
> > once you  knew the problem. Working in that area certainly is not fun. I
> > can't kneel for  extended periods anymore. Old age is beginning to take
> > it's
> > toll on my poor  abused body. 
> >
> > Rummy
> >
> >
> > In a message dated 7/13/2009 3:43:30 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
> > david.walker5 at comcast.net writes:
> >
> > Greetings to the list. 
> >
> > I haven't been active on the list  for a few years but have been actively
> > sailing my boat, Windswept, out of  Salem harbor in MA. I re-signed up to
> > share with you all something I found  this spring that I think should be
> > brought to all owners attention. 
> >
> > For the 11 years I have owned my R22 (bought from Stan in 1998 as
> > recycled) I have been fighting a slow leak. Many helpful suggestions
> > pointed  at
> > rainwater leaks, which I did have and were mostly fixed. However there was
> > a
> > consistent salt water leak that I could not find. I pretty easily ruled
> > out
> > the thru hulls and was left with the centerboard well. Two years ago I
> > removed  the cap and cleaned the mating surfaces, replaced the fender
> > washers and
> > removed a small block that was through bolted to the top of the cap (part
> > of  the 4:1 board raising tackle). This didn't make any change. 
> >
> > Last  summer returning to the boat (at her mooring) after a weeks absence
> > I
> > found  water about a foot above the sole. The battery was under water and
> > completely  shorted out. Its unclear whether the bilge pump failed or the
> > increasing leak  rate caused the pump to discharge the battery. Anyway, I
> > limped to the local  marina where I winter store, pumped out the bilge
> > with a
> > home sump pump, had  an emergency haul and had it blocked for the winter. 
> > (I
> > was pretty discouraged  and was about to leave on a 3 week trip). 
> >
> > This spring I resolved to  find the leak once and for all. When I opened
> > the boat I found a little rain  water in the bilge but nothing was leaking
> > out. I filled the bilge to above  the cap and a steady trickle started to
> > run
> > out of the aft end of the CB slot.  I lowered the water with a pump to
> > just
> > below the cap seal and the trickle  continued. I lowered the water level
> > to
> > about halfway from the cap to the  bilge and the trickle stopped. Very
> > strange. This eliminated the cap seal and  the pennant thru hull as a
> > leak. 
> >
> > I removed the cap (fun job) and  carefully inspected the inside of the
> > well. At the aft end I found a piece of  UHMWP in the shape of an upside
> > down V
> > wedged from side to side at the top of  the well. My guess is its job is
> > as
> > a seat for the top of the CB when it is up  to keep it from moving side to
> > side. The critical thing is that this piece was  screwed in place with
> > long
> > screws from the top of the piece, diagonally down  through the side of the
> > well from inside to outside. The tips of the screws  were actually though
> > the
> > outside of the well about halfway up from the blige  to the cap. After
> > years
> > of the board banging into this, the screws had  loosened in the fiber
> > glass
> > and I could literally just pull them out with my  hand. These screws were
> > loose in their holes had provided literally two holes  in the bottom of
> > the
> > boat. I took them out, dried out the area, ground it down  and patched
> > with
> > epoxy and two layers of glass inside and out. 
> >
> > My  point in this post is that this may or may not have been done at the
> > factory  and I'm not blaming anyone, but it was present in my hull. If
> > anyone
> > has a  slow leak in this area, it would be worthwile to check it out, and
> > if
> > you pull  your cap for any reason definetely check it. Now I just have to
> > finish all  those pesky port light rain leaks!!
> >
> >
> > Dave Walker
> >
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