swing keel leaks

[robincharlotte]

I have an O'Day 19', 1980 model. It has developed a leak around the swing keal. The bilge takes on water such that the bilge pump has to run about every 20 minutes to pump it out.

Any ideas on how to fix this? thanks much

Rob

[camaraderie]

Rob...when you say it leaks I assume you mean the centerboard trunk which holds the centerboard has cracks in it and is leaking. This is probably due to hard groundings over time. Can you physically move the trunk by rocking it side to side and can you see where the cracks are? The easiest thing to do is re-fiberglass around the base of the trunk after cleaning it our and widening any cracks you've found. West System epoxy can supply the materials and instructions you need.
http://www.westsystem.com/

[robincharlotte]

OK. I will check that. So this could be repaired from the inside if that is the problem? How about the keel bolt? I don't see it but could this be leaking too?

[sailaway21]

I'm going to hazard a guess that it's leaking around your pivot bolt-and you may have to drop the keel to repair adequately. Remove enough trim in the area to find out exactly where it's coming from. If you, or previous owner, locked the keel in position then grounding could certainly have caused keel trunk damage. If the keel is free to swing because you don't lock it, didn't know it could lock, and has never been locked, you're probably looking at the pivot bolt as the source. You may be able to do a decent diagnosis on the trailer to determine whether the keel must be lowered out or not.