1st time out on my Mc 25, took on water.

[DennisandAlison]

First of all I want to thank fellow Mac 25 owner John Jessie for helping me rig my boat, and do my first ramp launch. The MacGregor community rocks!
I took the family out on the Bay in Long Beach CA. On the way out I took a look in the battery compartment, and under the port bin and it was dry as a bone.

After a couple of hours, and very little wind we headed back to the landing. We dropped sails and fired up the 8hp Honda and cruised back at 3-4 knots. About half way I dropped in to the cabin and cranked up the keel and did not notice any standing water.

We trailer the boat (another story) and there wasn't any noticeable water in the main passage way. After getting home I went below and there was several inches in the main passage way with the lower keel bolt plug floating around. I replace the cap, and bailed the cabin, removing just over 15 gallons (5 gal bucket and a scoop)

Just out of curiosity I removed the plug and water started pouring out of the battery compartment. I bailed most of the water out, and don't know where the water came in, but I don't think there is a leak on the bottom, because I'm guessing if water can leak in, it should be able to leak out.

Would raising my keel under power cause water to enter the boat? Anyone have any ideas.

[SkiDeep2001]

D&A, The amount of water you had is a bit much after you assumed boat was dry but I bought my in March of this year and when I got it home I had full bilges, (snow on boat at pickup). I pumped/sponged out all water and next time out had quite a bit of water in cabin. No leaks in hull, chainplates sealed. Dried out boat again and put heater on board for a few days. Now the boat was completely dry. I had it out twice around Memorial Day and when I got home boat was all dry. Well, we have not had rain for 28 days here (until Thursday) and boat has not been in water but taking boat on trailer from house to my shop and back a couple of times during this dry period and I noticed small amounts of water in cabin. It seems to me there are some hidey holes where the water can congregate and you think it's dry and then trailering going up/down ramp seems to allow it to drain out from wherever it was hiding. I'm not saying this is what's happening in your case but I would dry boat again and see what happens. It may take a couple times of this drying cycle to get rid of all the water in the boat. Good Luck/Have Fun. Rob

[Nautek]

I am not familiar with you boat however check the following if they apply to your boat
Check where a sink might be discharged through a skin fitting. Make sure water is not coming back up the hose
Bilge pump discharge through a skin fitting. You need to have a non return valve fitted in the line

Allan

[David Mellon]

I just want to welcome you to our happy group of sailers. Please enter your info under Location so it appears when you post. We have had a few trips out to Two Harbors, Catalina. Some leave from Marina del Rey. I leave from the South Shore ramp near the Queen Mary or Cabrillo Beach ramp. There is also an Armada planned to Catalina Harbor, the west side of The Isthmus leaving from Long Beach. When you get your waterbugs worked out I hope you will join us for a weekend of fun!
Dave

[Pete]

D&A, if you find out where the water is comming in, it will give you some peice of mind. There are not that many places for water to come in. If your boat is like mind, I have a '77 V22, I have leaks in the following areas.

Keel lock down bolt. That is the bolt that locks the keel in the down position. Becouse of the area I sail running aground is quite common and I need to be able to pull the keel up quickly, so this is just a hole in my hull just above the water line. Water splaches in here quite a bit. Some day I will make a plug. My keel pivot bolt does not leak as I removed it and rebeded it with 5200. I belive the keel pivot is below the water line.

On my boat there is a 6" peice of hose attached to the hull where the keel cable comes thru. One time this hose got cought on the cable and pulled off the barb and wraped around the winch. Without this hose in place water splached in thru the keel cable hole. Again just splashes as it is still above the water line.

My lower rudder bracket is below the water line. While I rebeded mine it was defenatily a leaker when I got the boat.

On my boat thats all I have in the lower hull. Up top is another story. While I have rebed all my hardware I still have leaks. Most of these are rain water only and dont have much effect while sailing. Depending on how far you heal your boat you may want to check these areas:

Chain plates and side windows. While normilly these are above the water line. I did heal my boat over till water was half way up the window. Becouse I am still working on my boat neither the chain plates nor the windows are sealed and water poured in.

I have a builge pump mounted in my boat with a thru hull fitting leading into the cockpit. That way I can monitor the water its pumping out. Having it discharge into the cockpit also provents having a thru hull fitting in the outside hull which would always be a possable leek point.

I also drilled a hole in the hull liner in the walkway up front close to the v-birth. I drilled a .5" hole so I can plug it if I ever want to. this does a few things. First it allows rain water that collects to draing to the builge where the pump can get it. Also it allows me to monitor the amount of water in the boat and bail if needed.

Pete

[DennisandAlison]

Thanks for the help. I will check the keel cable hose, and the keel lock down bolt (I did not use it, or even know where it is). I will look for evidence of seepage at the lower rudder bracket. I did not heel the boat over, and the water was pretty calm so I don't think I took water from the windows, and I do not have an anchor chain plate and the sink is the self contained bin thing that slides under the port cockpit.

Other then putting my boat (1985 MacGregor 25 drop keel) back in the water, is there any way to look for a leak while on the trailer?

I will also invest in a bilge pump, the idea of pumping to the cockpit is a good one and I will do that.

[johnnyonspot]

That's an awful lot of water to have in your boat. The two best guesses I have are the keel bolt and the cockpit scupper drain hose. The seal for the keel bolt may need tightening or replacing, this allowing leakage. Or the hose that runs from the cockpit drain to the thru-hull hole may have cracked or become disconnected. Easy way to check this is to run some water through from the cockpit and see if it comes out the hole, or simply look at it from inside to ensure its good. I only had problems with my keel bolt hole leaking when I went out in heavy winds and was heeled over a lot. Otherwise my Mac 25 always stayed pretty dry. Never had a need for a bilge pump, though its nice to have one.

[DennisandAlison]

I scooped most of the water into a bucket and emptied the bucket into the cockpit which then flowed out the drain, but I will check that as well.

[CaptainRon]

The keel lock down bolt should always be installed. Even when you are not using it to hold the keel down it should still be installed. The keel is lowered until it rests against the bolt. Otherwise, the keel will hit against the forward wall of the trunk and there is an open hole for water to splash up through, especially when heeling.

[DennisandAlison]

After some personal challenges we finally got her back in the water. Before dropping her in at Kings Harbor I checked the keel cable hose fitting and it was loose. I tightened it and that did the trick. We rigged her up and by the time we slipped out of the harbor the fog was too thick to continue safely. We went back and the hoist operator/dock master kindly let us keep our boat tied to the dock that night. I live about 10 minutes from the harbor and felt compelled to drive back around 9pm to check if I was taking on water.

She was tight as a drum, and the next morning we motored out the next day with a buddy who has some time under sail to help guide us. The winds were almost none existent an the sea was glassy. We motored out and swam, waited for wind, then came in. Since the next day would be Friday and the morning would not be too busy the dock master let us keep our boat in the water for a second night.

Yesterday we had fair breezes and building seas. For the first time we really sailed outside of a harbor. We headed about 4-5 miles out over the Redondo Underwater Canyon, then tact south to Malaga cove, and then ran home with a following wind.
I kind of wanted to try a "wing on wing" set up but decided to learn how to use my jib to catch the wind off my stern.

Before we drop her back in to the ocean we will install a battery, and a bulkhead mounted compass. (OMG!$!) Our next outing will be a run to Two Harbors Catalina with our sea kayak in tow.

Thank you everyone for your help and support

[Kenny25]

Hello, sorry to hear about your leaks. I'm sure when I get my boat in the water I'll be facing some of the same stuff. I just got a Mac.25 and also live in the LB area. I would love to chat, meet, maybe see your boat and how you have it rigged sometime.

Kenny

[captain frank II]

Towing Canoes:


I don't know about Kayaks but: When towing a canoe use a short painter. When a longer one is used the canoe would wander and eventually turn over.......of course dumping whatever you left in there. Live and learn.