Hole in the keel filled with foam and water Dear friends,
Today I was at the boatyard, checking the underbody of my boat, scraping off some loose paint and antifouling. I noticed a crack on the starboard side of the keel with a drop of water on it. Further inspection showed that more water came out. Strange...
It appeared that there's a box in the keel, covered with epoxy and glassfibre and filled with pur-foam, with was soaked with water. I removed the glassfibre cover and cut out most of the foam to let it dry (the port side is still covered).
Since I'm relative new to classic Swans I was surprised to find this box in the keel, but it seems that the box has been designed to be there. And I'm pretty sure there is another one further aft, but that one is not leeking water.
What is the purpose of these boxes?
What is the best way to proceed: fill it with foam again, cover it and paint it?
What is the best way to cover the box again? Glassfibre, or a sheet of stainless steel?
I can see the box has been covered a few times before, because there are small screw holes around the hole.
Hope someone can help me with this.
Best regards,
Gerrit
47/001 Mandate
Somebody more informed about your model will give more details but those pockets are quite normal in some keel assemblies. The nuts that fasten the terminal part of the keel bolts are placed there.
Dear Gerrit,
In the 38 there is also an emty space roughly in the middle of the keel. The Professor once told me that it is for the option to add some more lead and weight into the keel, if necessary.
Regards, Jyrki
These "boxes" are supposed to be there. I have similar ones on each side of the keel. I have been told by Lars that they are meant to be filled with more lead if necessary. So, no worries. It is strange though that yours are filled with foam! Perhaps you will need to check with Lars what is the most appropriate material to fill them with, if not lead.
