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Bilge board casing repairs

Started by Old Forum, April 08, 2014, 09:33:42 AM

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Old Forum

Brian Kirkland
Username: Brian_kirkland

Registered: 08-2011
   
Posted on Thursday, August 25, 2011 - 11:58 pm:      
My WB 30 "Stella" has always been a 'wet' boat from when I purchased her "used" in 2002. With a number as low as 30, she doesn't have removable bilgeboards. Initially I thought that wear damage from a badly fitting engine leg had separated hull and inner moulding in the outboard trunk - I hoped a generous application of epoxy had solved the problem. But Stella still leaks - and I have begun to suspect the bilgeboard casings are the cause. I had put off repairs, until I discovered this forum for the first time yesterday. I read here that other owners have made repairs - would anyone like to talk me through how they achieved their repairs? What cracks / damage is likely? How much of the inner moulding needs to be removed for access? How did you remove it? How did you repair the damage? What materials did you use? All advice & experience welcome. It'll be fun to have a dry little ship next year!

Old Forum


Martin_cartwright
Username: Martin_cartwright

Registered: 04-2008
   
Posted on Friday, August 26, 2011 - 07:01 am:      
Dave Cawston is the authority on this. He is also a fibreglass expert (but will be too modest to say so).
I strongly recommend you listen to what he has to say. Over to you Dave.

Old Forum


David Cawston
Username: David_cawston

Registered: 03-2007
   
Posted on Friday, August 26, 2011 - 02:12 pm:      
This is going to be a long post, so apologies. A little history first of all, the hulls up to somewhere in the high 30's had the bilge plate housings added after the hull was laid up and slots cut for the plates to drop through and the housings joined to the hull with a weak joint of GRP resin and chopped strand mat. In use, with the plates down, the plates act as leavers on the housings and break the joint. The only remedy is to repair from the inside. here endeth part one.

Old Forum



David Cawston
Username: David_cawston

Registered: 03-2007
   
Posted on Friday, August 26, 2011 - 02:37 pm:      
Part two, the repair. From what I can remember, as it is over 15 years ago since I did it, start by emptying everything and removing the bottom two strips of pine from the hull sides and the strip of wood in front of the cooker recess. Where fitted remove the single layer of grp tape joining the inner fibreglass moulding and the plywood V berth to the hull. Remove the screws joining the inner moulding to the plywood V berth and quarter berths. Prise up the V berth plywood and jig-saw it along it's centre line so that you can get the two bits of plywood out of the cabin. When you come to replacing the plywood, just use a piece of plywood first screwed to the underside of one side of the cut and when in position screw through the second piece into the joining piece. Next, again using the jig-saw, cut the inner fibreglass moulding along a straight line that runs through the middle of where the wooden strip in front of the cooker recess was fixed, so that after repairs have been completed, most of the joint will be hidden by the wooden strip in front of the cooker and by the cushions over the washing up bowls. Make sure a lip is left either side of the cut so you can glue/laminate some plywood to one side of the joint and screw through the other side using recessed stainless screws. Repeat the cut in the same position on the starboard side. So now the inner moulding is in 3 bits which you can remove from the cabin exposing the bilge plate housings. Here endeth part two

Old Forum

David Cawston
Username: David_cawston

Registered: 03-2007
   
Posted on Friday, August 26, 2011 - 02:57 pm:      
Part three. Remove the foam around the plate housings and rip off the old joining tape. Then it is simply a matter of letting it all dry out, abrade the hull and housings and make a new joint. I used three layers of epoxy resin with 8 inch wide (4 inches on the hull and 4 inches on the housings) woven rovings. You may wish to do this job in two goes, leaving some of the old joining grp in place to hold the housings in place. Since the repair, I have not had a single drop of water in the hull. I will post a page from an old newsletter I sent out many years ago to show where to cut the inner moulding. Good Luck

Old Forum


David Cawston
Username: David_cawston

Registered: 03-2007
   
Posted on Friday, August 26, 2011 - 03:04 pm:      
I hope this works

Old Forum

I've had to shrink the diagram above to get it into the database, but if you need the larger version, let me know via the "Contact Us" page.

Old Forum

Brian Kirkland
Username: Brian_kirkland

Registered: 08-2011
   
Posted on Friday, August 26, 2011 - 07:32 pm:      
Dave - this is fantastic help! Exactly what I need to know.
You've been really very generous - and very very quick to respond
- says a lot about Winkle Brig owners!
I reckon all I need now is to get up my nerve to start the jigsaw!!
I'm assuming "epoxy resin" and "woven rovings" are available easily enough
either through internet shopping or perhaps my local speedboat 'marine services'
will know a source - time for some local detective work for me, I think.
Thanks again Dave, you've reassured me that a permanent cure is possible!
I've copied all your advice and stored it as a file
on my PC for reference through the job.
So much to do in my soon retirement!! :-)

Old Forum

Julian Swindell
Username: Julian_swindell

Registered: 03-2007
   
Posted on Friday, August 26, 2011 - 10:36 pm:      
I have had a go at reducing the size of Dave's picture a bit as it was sending things way off the screen. If you right click on it in Firefox and selcet View image, you should see it bigger. Hope it hasn't made it too difficult to read.

Old Forum

David Cawston
Username: David_cawston

Registered: 03-2007
   
Posted on Saturday, August 27, 2011 - 05:12 pm:      
Thank you Julian for sorting out the post.
Brian, I know of at least one boat that was returned to Eric for repairs. Rather than cut up the interior moulding etc, Eric took the whole top off the boat so he could remove the V berth and interior moulding in one piece, just a quick Sunday afternoon job I don't think!

Old Forum

David Cawston
Username: David_cawston

Registered: 03-2007
   
Posted on Saturday, August 27, 2011 - 05:22 pm:      
I forgot to mention. I found out that the leaks were around the joint by filling up the inside of the boat (when on the trailer!!) with water, using a hose in through a rear locker. It does not take too much water to rise up enough to get to the level of the joint (check by looking underneath where the two washing up bowls sit) but when you have found the leaks it is a good test of the bilge pump. If I remember I think I tipped up the front of the trailer so all the water ran to the stern and I was able to bail quite a bit out of the stern locker before having to resort to pumping.

Old Forum


Brian Kirkland
Username: Brian_kirkland

Registered: 08-2011
   
Posted on Saturday, August 27, 2011 - 08:45 pm:      
Brilliant idea! I hadn't thought of testing inside-out so to speak.
That'll be the definitive indication and is a really good, practical starting point.
Gosh I shudder at the thought of taking the top off!
Brave man Eric - and not scared of work!!
I have enough trepidation at slicing the inner moulding!
But your success is encouraging: your inside out leak test will help me get started.
(I feel the test will show some leaks)
I've just now decided that if even one side only shows a leak then I will do both anyway just to be sure.

Old Forum


Brian Kirkland
Username: Brian_kirkland

Registered: 08-2011
   
Posted on Sunday, October 16, 2011 - 09:41 pm:      
Well, Stella was filled with water during last week. I put in the hosepipe until the water was three inches above the inside mouldings - covered the casings and the bottoms of the pipes carrying the keel lifting ropes. Result: one constant drip about 6" from the aft end of the port casing; only happened when the casing tops were covered so it's leaking at the top of the casing; drip rate of 200ml/hour doesn't seem enough to warrant the pumping I have experienced. I also have evidence of moisture (but not a drip even!) at the cockpit end of the engine well. I know Stella's outboard is not correct (short shaft hence its anti-cavitation plate digs into that grp) - has anyone else experienced problems in the engine well- and found a cure? But I am now determinedly saving for a new motor.

Old Forum

David Cawston
Username: David_cawston

Registered: 03-2007
   
Posted on Monday, October 17, 2011 - 10:17 am:      
I use a short shaft 4HP Mercury 2 stroke and to get it to fit I had to space the mounting bracket forward about 10mm and incline the motor back on to it's first adjustment position. So the prop has moved back and the motor head has moved forward. I also found the locker was flexing at the point where the mounting bracket was attached, so I have put in some big chunks of aluminium flat bar to spread the load. I have the marks on the engine well joint where the motor has been touching/eating into the forward lip but hopefully no more now. The cavitation plate on Markie sits below the well lip by 25mm or so, the prop is just higher than the bottom of the keel.

Old Forum

Brian Kirkland
Username: Brian_kirkland

Registered: 08-2011
   
Posted on Monday, October 17, 2011 - 07:33 pm:      
Hi David - that's an interesting solution (and interesting to find someone else with short shaft) - did you just use washers as spacers to put the mounting bracket forward? I haven't observed any flex in the locker faces so far - I wonder if putting the bracket forward increases the twisting effect, but the load-spreaders is excellent idea anyway. Moving the motor forward would solve another of my challenges - the Mariner 4 that came with Stella rubs annoyingly and noisily on the rear wall of the engine well. 10mm forward would be a good cure. The engine well really is very tight! I've tried a number of different rakes on the motor transom adjustment, the one that fitted best was at such an angle that the stern was noticeably driven downwards, propwash was climbing the back wall and the motor was a lot less effective. My engine well lip is sufficiently sliced for there to be obvious wetness so its repair is high on my to-do list.