|
I
installed a garboard plug on my Aloha 34 for under a hundred dollars.
I believe this is pretty cheap insurance considering the cost of
repairs necessary should the hull or rudder split.
The information and photos show how I solved the problem.
Photo
1 - Keel Weeping
The
vessel obviously had water intrusion problems in the keel area.
This fact was noted during a pre purchase survey of the vessel. The photo is of the starboard side of the keel where one can
clearly see several small holes with water stains near the bottom of the
keel. The area had been
painted over, as seen by the different colour of paint.
It might also be noted that the small pin holes were found only on
the starboard side of the keel and none on the port side.
Photo
2 - Keel Drainage Holes
I
drilled a hole in each of the areas where water appeared to be leaking
from the keel. I was
surprised at how much water was in the hull.
I'd guess that there were several quarts of water that gushed from
the 1/4" holes. Once the
holes were drilled and the water allowed to drain I did a little
exploratory work to try and get a handle on the extent of water intrusion.
Photo
3 - Keel Foam Core
I
used a coat hanger and managed to dig a little foam out of the hole.
Closer examination revealed that there was only about 2 inches of foam
between the lead ballast and the bottom of the keel.
The bottom of the keel was almost three inches of solid fiberglass.
This exploratory work also helped me to determine the exact
position of the garboard plug.
I
purchased a Perko garboard plug from the local marine chandlery.
The plug is basically a cast bronze flange with a tapped and
threaded hole in the center that will accept a brass plug.
The flange also has 4 mounting holes to allow the flange to be
attached to the hull with the stainless screws provided.
Photo
4 - Ground out Recess
After
the location of the plug was determined, I drilled an inch and a half hole
to accommodate the spigot of the garboard plug using a hole saw attached
to an electric drill. The
hole was positioned just slightly below the solid glass bottom of the keel
to ensure that all the water would drain from the keel.
I also removed as much of the foam core as possible so that any
water in the hull could drain into this pocket.
Photo
5 - Dry Fit Plug
Once
the hole for the spigot was drilled, I inserted the garboard plug and
scribed its outer circumference on the hull.
This area of the hull was ground out so that the complete plug
would fit flush against the hull. Grinding
was done with a four-inch disk grinder for most of the area, with the
final touches done with a Dremel tool.
While doing the grinding work, I used the plug often to check the
fit. This also ensured that
the plug was fair to the hull.
Photo
6 - Waxed Plug
I
wanted a good seal between the hull and the plug when it was installed to
try and prevent water from entering the hull through the plug
installation. I decided to
use epoxy and mold it to the shape of the plug.
This was done by using the garboard plug as the mold.
I waxed the plug using the handiest item I had available, a liberal
coating of boat wax, to prevent the epoxy from sticking to the plug.
Photo
7 - Epoxy Check
I
used WEST System epoxy mixed to a very stiff consistency as it had to
cling to the vertical surfaces of the keel.
I also added micro balloon fillers so that I would be able to sand
off any excess epoxy. Once
the epoxy was trowelled into place, I inserted the plug into its final
position and held it in place with a brace until the epoxy set.
The plug was then removed and any gaps or voids in the epoxy were
filled. I also removed any
excess epoxy that may have gotten into the hull recess and prevented water
from draining from the hull.
Photo
8 - Plug Installed
I
cleaned the garboard plug with thinners and then applied a liberal coating
of marine sealant to the plug as well as the predrilled screw holes in the
hull. The plug was then
installed using the four stainless screws.
Excess sealer was cleaned and the threaded plug installed.
I used Teflon tape on the threaded plug to make removal of the plug
easier.
Photo
9 - Finished Plug
The
whole project required two days of work.
Installation was not difficult and could be completed by anyone
with some mechanical skills and a few power tools.
The hardest part for me was drilling the inch and a half hole for
the garboard plug spigot. For
some reason, I'm always leery of drilling a big hole in the bottom of a
boat.
When
the boat was hauled out for winter storage in the fall of 2003 the
threaded plug was removed. There
was about a quart of water that came out and the keel continued to seep
water for several weeks. Installation
of the garboard plug will prevent any future damage to the keel |
