leak at seam on keel- new-b

[ralphi]

hi all,

I am new to this forum,which seems to have many dedicated boat lovers, which I am happy to include myself being one of them. I have a 1954 whirlwind mahogany plywood 13 footer which has developed a leaky seam directly adjacent to its keel. It seems that the plywood sandwiched between the bottom and top keel boards is flexing up and down and water enters from this area. Someone gave me advise to use Git-rot in this seam to stop leak and I have also tried a flexible epoxy made by Marine -Tex , it worked for one day and then apeared to peel back from water pressure from running under power. What would make a good repair for this situation? Thank you in advance.

[marshmat]

Hi ralphi,
Is the wood in this area rotted? If so, how bad is it? A little rot can sometimes be repaired but if the wood's really deteriorating or feels spongy, you'll probably have to replace a few boards. It's hard to get glue of any sort to bond well with old wood like this; sticking with old-fashioned wood is often best.

[ralphi]

marshmat,

I dont think the wood is very rotted or spongy, there just seems to be excessive play in one area of the pywood that is sandwiched between the outer keel and inner board, can this be sealed somehow?

[Hunter25]

For one reason or another, the fasteners have released their grip. The planks are probably screwed to the inner keel with a false keel attached outside to take the abuse on trailers and grounding. Remove this out keel strip. This should expose the seam and all the attempts to seal it. Now the fasteners can be inspected as should the seam, surrounding wood, etc. If the fasteners were moving for a few years before you got around to repairs, then the inner keel will probable have fastener hole problems too. Repair the holes and refasten the planking, bedding a new keel shoe over the centerline again. This is a lot easier if the boat is upside down.