Bubbles

[jrlivingston]

This just happened to Hull #240 - 2005 vintage. Has anyone seen anything similar? Yard thinks it was a void beneath the gelcoat that had water in it than froze. I am a little skeptical . . .

IMG_1431.JPG (59.6 KiB) Viewed 8719 times

[Vento Solare]

I concur that it was probably frozen water that expanded. The question is how did it get there. You probably want to use a moisture meter and see what the area looks like. Since the area will need to be ground out and patched, you should take a core sample and see what is there.

I did core replacement work on the J/30 I previously owned and had areas of wet frozen core that cracked the fiberglass.

[jrlivingston]

Thanks. I bit frustrating after all of this time. I suppose I will need to have the hull tapped to see what else is lurking beneath.

[russtms]

I am the new owner of hull 240. The water infiltration came from the radar post that had 6 inches of black water in the tube, likely for years. The water then infiltrated the core and then froze. I am in the middle of fixing the damage. The first thing I did was drill a hole in the radar post where it meets the hull inside the boat and 6-8 inches of black water poured out of the radar post. Sealing the radar post would have also been a great idea but no one bothered to diagnose the problem - so they didn't know.

I drilled about 40 holes 1/8" on the inside hull and had a heater on it all winter to dry out the core. The hull now meters dry. I will soon West Epoxy the holes and repair the freeze fracture.

Joel took very good care of this boat so thank you to Joel. The yard on the other hand? This mystery was no mystery at all, and took about 30 minutes to discover the source once I noticed the ice fracture. This was easy to discover and not all that difficult to repair. The outside of the hull had been fixed once - but the yard never took care of the cause, so it returned. The external repair was that of an amateur. I first noticed the bad paint job but on closer inspection I noticed the ice fracturing.

If you have decided to keep your radar dish you should drill a small hole in the bottom and see if water comes out of the post. The polyester resin that these boats are set up with will not keep the water out of the core if the water sits against the hull for any extended time period.

Sadly, all that needed to happen was the make sure the radar post was properly sealed and all of this could have been avoided.

I took the radar off of the boat as I intend to race her and that also solves the leaky post issue permanently.

The other area where water gets in to the hull is where the water bladders sit up against the hull. The hull changes temperature radically this time of year. Today, the hull was 80 degrees on the under side of the hull where the water bladders are situated. The cold water in those bladders meets the 80 degree hull and condensation forms on the inside of the boat. I plan to place a thermal barrier in between the hull and the tanks to mitigate the condensation issue.

These boat manufacturers - even J Boats, spend a lot of time solving the water against the outside of the boat, but very little time on the real culprit - water on the inside of the boat.

Russ Thompson
Erie, PA May, 2, 2024
Erie Yacht Club

[TSweather]

Hi Russ, Nice work bringing another 109 to Lake Erie and good find on the source of that water infiltration.

Freeze/thaw cracking happened on the cockpit floor hatch behind our rudder post. I was able to cut into the underside skin of it to discreetly remedy and now use a winter cover to avoid these issues. As these boats gracefully sail past 20 years old it is important to consider re-sealing all permanent deck fixtures. Over the past couple years I have chased leaks that were coming from multiple deck fixtures that likely had not been re-sealed since 2003 when the boat was built. These included cabin top handrails, bow pulpit, stern pulpit, mid saloon hatch frame, transom ensign/flag post, steering pedestal and even the aluminum frame at the companionway that holds the hatch board.

My sealant of choice for deck hardware is Sika 291 or the long open time "lot" version of the same stuff as it bonds well and can be removed in the future.

Todd
#41
Buffalo, NY

[russtms]

I owned and raced a J/33 that is in your area. It is now called Republic. I won BOY and the Lake Erie Interclub with that boat. I am happy to be in a J boat once again.

I found leaks in a number of deck fitting areas and I have a plan to rebed the entire boat.

Thanks for sharing. What is the name of your boat? Do you race it?

[TSweather]

That's awesome, I'm Very familiar with Republic, she's a great boat with a wonderful owner who races it constantly and does a ton of sailing outreach with groups like Wounded Warriors. That said, she had some hull core material replaced in the past couple years but is still going strong.

Our 109 is named Lionstar, we race weekly, and are planning to be down in Erie for the start of the Erie-Dover this year. Someday we will travel farther, though with 3 small kids at home time is currently limited.