Keel/Bilge area crack/Stern impact?

[Sailorbouy2312]

I am awaiting the full survey report, but the surveyor is being rather
non-committal on the issue of grounding as there is nothing obvious at he time of the survey due to many layers of anti-fouling.

The last survey took place in August 2017. I have been told that there may have been a small hairline crack then , but I am awaiting that photo too.

[Sailorbouy2312]

A few more keel area photos

[Cheechako]

The first photo doesn't alarm me that much necessarily. It appears to be tabbing of the floor support which the feathered edge is pulling up a bit. Fiberglass shrinks for years after it's layed. That's not uncommon at all. I don't know if I have ever seen an old boat where that hasn't happened in a few spots like bulkhead or cabinet tabbing.

Having said that, being where it is, and Bene's being somewhat lightweight and flexible, it could be from a grounding.... and should be investigated. Look inside other cabinetry in the galley etc to make sure it is tabbed in not loose. Are those shiny SS bolts keel bolts? That may also indicate a grounding and subsequent work.

[Sailorbouy2312]

The bolts have been cleaned. There is some residue at the bottom of the nut.
But not all bolts appear to have the same head depth. the one on the left would appear to different to the one on the right. . I don't know if that's normal on Beneteau's. As i don't have photos of all the bolts, but it would appear to be different.

[Sailorbouy2312]

I was also suspicious of the Allen screws in this photo as they do not all seat as I would expect.

[MicHughV]

ok, one last piece of advice regarding the Bennie.....because that shoal " bilge" area and the fact that the bilge float switch is attached to the hull and not inside the " cavity" you may get quite a bit of water inside the boat before you are made aware of it...

for this reason, I attached a " bilge alarm" buzzer to the float switch...when the float switch rises, the alarm will go off, and I mean to wake the dead noise....if you are out in the cockpit at night..you will " hear" the bilge alarm long before you notice any other problem...in fact, I would recommend a " bilge alarm" for any boat....you want to " know" what the problem is at the very first instance....mine is wired with a switch so I can turn it off before loosing my mind.

I've made it a habit on any offshore trip, to close all the non-essential thru' hull valves, ie, the forward head and sink, shower, etc, the a/c pump, and yes, even the fridge/freezer on the Bennie has a pump to remove melted ice-water.....this too gets shut down...this way, if there is a " leaking" problem, I can narrow my search down to just one or two locations...

happy sailing !!

[dannc]

The OP might want to check out the last few articles on https://www.morganscloud.com/members/ that are about keels and keel bolts. You have to pay a small amount for access but it is well worth the money.


Later,
Dan

[Sailorbouy2312]

The latest photos for advice

[Sailorbouy2312]

and more

[Sailorbouy2312]

Those, and more, have gone off to Beneteau for advice....

[MicHughV]

you see that orange looking stuff...that is diesel fuel mixed in with sea water and/or seawater salt crystals, coming from somewhere.....looked exactly like mine once the leaking fuel gauge issue was discovered....the water could be coming from a hatch, companionway, etc.....but the darker color is fuel.....stick your finger in it and smell it..

[Sailorbouy2312]

Thanks for that information....i've just asked the broker for that information.

Sadly I'm not in the same location as a boat, as its been 10 days since the survey. I'm relying on others to take the photos.

There were no fluids of any colour in the bilge during the sea trial.

[MicHughV]

for some reason, diesel fuel, meant for the yachting community is dyed red.....not exactly sure why.....taxes probably...but that color on the above pics looks exactly like diesel fuel to me, mixed in with some water...

[Sailorbouy2312]

Red Diesel = less tax.....especially in UK.....prevents normal drivers filling up cheap

[Bill O]

Are those "normal" cut outs in a Bene? Look like repairs to me but then again haven't looked at too many that deeply.
Was going to look at a Bene 57 (Farr design), but after looking over the owner's documentation on repairs, etc. it had too many bugs in that particular boat so we passed.
We talked to the architects at Farr and was very surprised on the thickness of the hull. If my memory is correct it was only ~5/8" at the keel stub and ~1/4" for the rest of the hull. Seems thin to me, but the Farr people told me that was a thick hull.