Good idea, and it makes sense to check. I'm pretty certain nothing has been tinkered with, given the consistent patina and materials throughout, but we've had her all of 4 of her 42 years.
The hull is indeed solid fiberglass with a cored deck. So at least it's not the scariest of the scary. I've got to say thanks for the the Windstar blog! It's an incredible resource and our go-to for getting a sense of how these boats fit together. On Fri, Mar 18, 2022, 8:45 PM Dave S <syerd...@gmail.com> wrote: > Another thought, and this may seem like a silly question - has the boat > been modified in any way? Any structure removed? > > > Sent from my iPhone > > On Mar 18, 2022, at 7:50 PM, Dave S <syerd...@gmail.com> wrote: > > Curious. If the hull is solid glass or cored and sound I’d tackle a diy > repair without hesitation, provided you are handy and are either willing to > learn about the techniques and material involved or have a knowledgeable > friend who can help. There are many here who can help identify well > intentioned bad advice. > HOWEVER- is this hull balsa cored below the waterline? One very nasty > possible hypothesis is that the keel support structures- transverse > ‘floors’ (beams) and bulkheads are bonded to the inner skin of a failed > cored hull. This (I’d imagine) might cause what you are describing. > Now that I’ve scared you I’ll say I have no idea how the 25-2’s hull is > built, but this does fit the description. Even that could be fixed but it > might be an involved and complex job, again depending on how the boat is > built. > > Dave 33-2 windstar > > Sent from my iPhone > > On Mar 18, 2022, at 7:32 PM, Stephen Kidd via CnC-List < > cnc-list@cnc-list.com> wrote: > > > Greetings, > > I wanted to give an update on the keel wobble on our 25 MKII. It took a > while for us to get our ducks and the weather in a row, but it gave us time > to do a lot of reading and research following the leads provided through > the list. As our next step in investigating the keel wobble, we tightened > the bolts and checked the keel with the boat in slings. Torquing the bolts > went smoothly using a torque wrench, torque multiplier and an extra deep > socket. Before tightening, we backed them up a little, and they all budged > with between 100 - 150 ft/lbs of torque on the wrench. We were able to > torque the keel bolts to 350 ft/lbs, and there was no indication of the > bolt spinning or washers digging into the glass. > > We then had the boat lifted in slings, and the keel continued to flex with > a moderate push with a foot. At this point, I noticed that the flex wasn't > between the keel and the hull (that was encouraging!), but it was the > entire hull flexing. I then climbed aboard and asked the very > accommodating marina manager to wiggle the keel, which he did with vigor. > The entire bottom of the bilge visibly flexed. Interestingly to me, the > keel bolts didn't appear to move relative to the rest of the hull, > everything was in it together. The hull/keel joint actually seems pretty > solid, so I am glad that we took this step before dropping the keel. > The hull flexing is something we should have caught right away, but we > looked right past it because we assumed it was the hull/keel joint. > > Even if the hull/keel joint is off the hook for the wobble, from past > discussions on this list and elsewhere, I suspect this is not a good > finding. We have seen cases where people have made significant and > impressive structural repairs, many of which have been referenced here on > the list, to increase rigidity. The both of us carefully inspected the > bilge area for signs of cracking or separation, and we have not identified > anything obvious (untrained eyes). Thus, we would not know what to fix were > we to go that route. The marina manager is similarly at a loss. I'm also > not comfortable not knowing why the hull is visibly flexing. At the same > time, several sailors at the marina suggested that she's probably fine and > we should just go sailing and keep an eye on it. As tempting as that is, > that's beyond our comfort zone. > > So, that's the general outcome of the wobbly keel investigation. I do have > a question: Is this a repair that a reasonable person would be able to take > on? I'm not sure that person would be me, but I do not want to scrap a boat > that someone could make good use of. Afterall, she has been an incredible > boat for us and is undeniably an adorable 25' C&C. > > Many thanks, > Stephen > >
Please trim your messages before sending to the list. Thankx
