Chrysler Sailors Forum

Hello All,

I'm new here, but hoping to get some advice. I have a C26 with swing keel. Last time it was in the water there was a considerable amount of water collecting in the bilge pocket aft of the swing keel trunk section. After 12 hours, I had 3 in. of what above the cabin sole, so boat had to be pulled out. Not been in water since. I've seen lots of posts on here about fixing leaks, but I'm hoping one of you has had a leaky keel trunk and successfully fixed it. I'm going to have the boat raised up on a travel lift, high enough to extend the keel to vertical and then have a look up inside there to see if there is any obvious cracks/damage/holes and if not, then fix and seal everything in there I can get at. Going to seal up around the steel section at the bottom front of the fixed section of the keel, where I think the swing pin is located. I'm thinking that the steel swing keel assembly that visible is sealed underneath (above it) and that there is no way for water to go up from it to inside the boat, but I could be wrong. So I do not know the exact point where the water is coming in. If anyone has any advice on what I should do, please reply! Also what is the best method and products to use to fix fiberglass leaks in general. I one repaired a hole in the side with many layers of light fibreglass sheets (inside and out) with epoxy resin, and then bottom paint. This worked perfectly, but is there a way to fix/seal a whole area (with no obvious holes or damage) without fibre-glassing? Thanks in advance for any advice!

Check the tube that the cable runs through. Sometimes people just put a garden hose on it. Your best bet is to take the table support off and check it out. I have heard that the trunk itself is not very stout, although I have no problems with mine.

Thanks for your reply skipper Dan. I did have the cable house replaced with heavy tubing and a new through hole fitting at the same time, years ago, and it has stayed dried ever since. So I had the boat lifted yesterday and keel is lowered. I looked up inside the trunk from the bottom and saw a wet, muddy spot, so I cleaned that off which revealed a pretty large crack about 8 inches long. On the inside of the boat in the same spot ( I’ve removed part of the cabin sole) there’s water in there and A lot of very soggy rotten wood. This is got to be my leak, will fix today and let you know how it goes!

Let it dry out for quite a while