God, What a Mess!

[Fishman_Tx]

Ok folks, here it is. After grinding blisters and sanding all weekend, we succeeded in finding more blisters and some possible serious delam in the keel. Also, the skeg, which appears to be solid glass (with fabric?) has water in it. One blister that was on the skeg was drilled and leaked out like a sieve. After drilling a 3/4 inch hole half way thru the skeg in a different location to see what the core was (all we found was glass) some more water leaked out. It seems that after cleaning out the hole, there is a thin layer(s) of gray/black "something" lacing thru the material. I fear this is rotting glass cloth and was wicking water. The strange thing is that the water was clear, not the red/brown mess normally associated with blisters.

Now for the big question:
Am I possibly looking at having to cut off and replace the skeg?

[MarkJ]

Not much I can say except I feel for you and hope it goes fixes OK.

[Charlie]

I had the same problem with mine on a Sceptre 41 and the fix was to drill a hole thru the hull into the skeg and fill it with epoxy and filler. scary to drill the hole though. Oh yeah you were supposed to dry it out first.

[Stevens 47]

Sounds like the Grey/Black layer is a tooling resin that will be associated with the original construction of the skeg. Could be that the skeg was built in a clam shell mold. I have never heard of glass rotting. My guess is water is leaking into voids in the skeg from around the cutlass or the rudder bearings. I do not think you will need to replace the skeg. Dry it out, if possible identify if there are voids if so inject resin. Find where water is leaking in...enough said. Do not worry its all fixable.

[Fishman_Tx]

MarkJ - Thx! Me too!

Charlie - I wish it was hollow I would split it, gut it, and fill it with Seacast.

Stevens 47 - ok maybe wrong term (rotting) but used in the general sense for "degrading". I think your probably right as the cutlass is completely shot and the shaft is slightly out of alignment. The glass and gel around the cutlass is also beginning to degrade and chip off.
Hard to really tell in the pix....

[Fishman_Tx]

How does one "dry out" a solid glass skeg? To drill a bunch of holes would weaken the entire structure unless I reglassed the whole thing over after filling in the holes...

[S&S]

Originally Posted by Fishman_Tx

How does one "dry out" a solid glass skeg? To drill a bunch of holes would weaken the entire structure unless I reglassed the whole thing over after filling in the holes...

Try some test holes in the bottom edge- see what leaks out. Let gravity help drain it.

Fiberglass doesn't "rot", but that doesn't mean that stuff can't be growing in the matting.

[Fishman_Tx]

That we did and got water. But like I said before, it's clear not red/brown and come to think about it, smells like the bilge.....hmmm

[S&S]

Originally Posted by Fishman_Tx

That we did and got water. But like I said before, it's clear not red/brown and come to think about it, smells like the bilge.....hmmm

Got seepage? If the matting is starved of resin, water could seep all the way into/out of the bilge.- OTOH, might be just goo (mold) growing in the matting.

How much leaked out the test holes?

[zeehag]

if there is plywood in there it will turn black glass doesnt do that but ply wood rots black./ good luck.

[S&S]

Originally Posted by zeehag

if there is plywood in there it will turn black glass doesnt do that but ply wood rots black./ good luck.

I could see that in a rudder, but in a skeg? A plywood form?

[Vic de Beer]

It sounds like you've had bilge water seeping in somewhere. If possible, drill a hole near the top and one in the bottom.... let gravity take over ......maybe help it allong with a heater/blower/fan.
The black cloth could be just simply bilge water contaminated glass.
Now, if it had a strong, vinegary smell, then it would be something diffferent related to the resin.
Good luck..
Vic

[Fishman_Tx]

Plywood form not unheard of in a skeg from what i hear. I was actually HOPING to find wood, that would have been an easy fix. Water - Probably about a tablespoon or 2, slow drain...

[S&S]

Originally Posted by Vic de Beer

It sounds like you've had bilge water seeping in somewhere. If possible, drill a hole near the top and one in the bottom.... let gravity take over ......maybe help it allong with a heater/blower/fan.
The black cloth could be just simply bilge water contaminated glass.
Now, if it had a strong, vinegary smell, then it would be something diffferent related to the resin.
Good luck..
Vic

If you have an air compressor you can drill a hole edgewise in the top of the skeg and blow air into the hole to drive the water out your existing bottom holes. After it's dry,you could use the same hole to force pump epoxy into it.

[Vic de Beer]

Compressed air is a good idea as it may indicate where the water came from as well....