Possible keel leak

[lockie]

After a roughish grounding a few weeks ago, I have discovered brown water in the keel water tank">fresh water tank. The water was clear beforehand, and the colour leads me to think it's not seawater, and it didn't taste particularly salty, more like slightly metallic and there is no oil slick.


I'm wondering if a leak has developed from the cavity below the bilge through into the FW tank. I know the space below the bilge has had gooey water in it in the past, as somebody (before my ownership) left open screwholes in the upper part of the bilge that allowed liquid to drain there.


The boat is a 70's build semi-full keel fibreglass with encapsulated lead keel. There is a cavity above the lead, below the bilge, and the FW tank is in the hollow aft section of the keel. It's and Australian Compass 28.

On the slip, the keel looked undamaged except for some gouges which I filled, but I'm concerned there is concealed damage.

Anyone able to shed light on with this situation?

Cheers, Graeme

[rognvald]

I just saw this Lockie. I would try a borescope first and see if you can detect anything wrong. Otherwise, it's drastic engineering: you'll have to remove your floorboards to see if there's any damage below. I hope this helps. Good luck and safe sailing . . . Rognvald

[JPA Cate]

Hi, Graeme,

I am not an expert on Compasses, but if the FW water tank was damaged from reaction to the impact, and it cracked, the brown, especially if your keel metal is iron, suggests rust. So, if you have access, I would empty the tank and have a close look at whatever's happening inside the encapsulation. You may need to replace the tank, but it would be nice to get it out whole, and fix it, if possible. In any event, you will eventually feel better if you understand fully what is going on there.

Ann