Concrete in my Bilge?

[VinnyVincent]

Or some kind of thickened epoxy?
My owners manual says the keel bolts were sealed with resin...but this stuff really resembles concrete...also why leave such asloppy unfinished look?

I will post pics soon, but i was wondering if this was common...

[VinnyVincent]

[Don C L]

Originally Posted by VinnyVincent

The keel bolts are covered with that stuff? What happens if you hit it with a chisel? (Which you may want to do quite a bit of...)

[VinnyVincent]

The keel bolts were covered at the factory according to the manual. What seems off is that it is not finished. Looks like it was poured and left as-is. I will try the chisel and report back

[VinnyVincent]

Okay i chiseled a piece off. It's not concrete. If you drop it onto a hard surface, it sounds like rubber/plastic so I am thinking it is thickened resin of some kind. Has anyone seen this before?

[Orion Jim]

Nope. Why obscure keel bolts? Kind of odd.

[Snowpetrel]

Some of the Early j boats used a vermisculite mix in the bilges. I think it might of had a small quantity of asbestos in it as well so be carefull. Google J24 vermisculite should give you a bit of info.

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[Don C L]

Personally, I'd keep chiseling at least to get a good look at the keel bolts. Wear a respirator (I didn't know about the asbestos!) and double bag all the bits. I am really curious, send more pics of whatever you decide to do. I have not seen this stuff but it looks like SnowPetrel is right, vermiculite, now after googling it.

[VinnyVincent]

Here's what the owners manual says:

The ballast on Newport Boats is a solid lead and alloy keel. The galvanized iron keel bolts are permanently locked in place by positioning them in the keel at the time it is poured. An epoxy adhesive is applied to the top of the keel before it is bolted to the keel recess in the hull. A fiberglass cloth is bonded over the entire joined area to further seal it. A resin and asbestos mixture is poured into the keel recess and allowed to harden. The covered keel bolts and their nuts are now permanently locked and insured of never having water come in contact with them.
The area of the hull to keel joint and the entire keel is now coated with micro-balloons, a resin based fairing agent. The whole area is then ground smooth and more micro-balloons are applied to any hollow spots. This process is repeated until the entire installation is smooth and uniform. It is then sanded and ready for bottom paint.

If that was done at the factory, it is some extremely shoddy work... I just can't believe they wouldn't even take the time to smooth it out. It's not even close to being level.

I got that crap all over my hands when smoothing it out too...right before smoking to boot

[David M]

Try a strong acid on a sample...like a little battery acid. Concrete will bubble and dissolve, epoxy will not react.

[leftbrainstuff]

Originally Posted by VinnyVincent

Here's what the owners manual says:



If that was done at the factory, it is some extremely shoddy work... I just can't believe they wouldn't even take the time to smooth it out. It's not even close to being level.

I got that crap all over my hands when smoothing it out too...right before smoking to boot

'Insured'. Interesting choice of words...

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[VinnyVincent]

Originally Posted by leftbrainstuff

'Insured'. Interesting choice of words...

Sent from my SM-N900T using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

You'll have to help me out here, because I seem to have just started my career in boat repair...

I'm am assuming that if the keel takes a good hit, it can/will crack near the bolts, thus allowing water to get in around them, subsequently making them corrode even faster since they are sealed away for oxygen?

[VinnyVincent]

Originally Posted by Don C L

Personally, I'd keep chiseling at least to get a good look at the keel bolts. Wear a respirator (I didn't know about the asbestos!) and double bag all the bits. I am really curious, send more pics of whatever you decide to do. I have not seen this stuff but it looks like SnowPetrel is right, vermiculite, now after googling it.

I am away from my boat right now, but did get another pic right before I left yesterday.

Yes, I know it's filthy and this was AFTER giving it a good scrub down and rinse...I had a whole laundry list of other things I have been repairing. Honestly I should've tackled this sooner it wasn't as dirty as I thought(the dirty "concrete" actually appeared to be a massive sludge build up until I got in there and cleaned the layer of black stuff off the top)