Ballast tank leak or hull breach - MYSTERY SOLVED!!!!!!

[Catigale]

I have written about my exploits at Cuttyhunk and taking on a large volume of water overnight

We just returned from a 5 day Hudson River cruise - all fresh water - each trip we have been paring down the amount of stuff we have been bringing and the lockers have been getting less and less full - but we are still getting water in every once in a while - especially when my larda** goes forward for the night and we are down by the head.

On this trip, I had the lockers empty enough I stuck my head down in the blige and could see the water seeping in towards the rear of the centerboard trunk...I then popped the plastic off the compression post through-liner and


VOILA!!!!!!



Up close



My compression post is almost half gone at the attachment to the plate on the centerboard trunk. I swam underneath and shined a flashlight and the kids could see it as clear as day



Its the equivalent of a 2 inch hole in the hull I figure

Ill get on the phone to either the factory or dealer to get a new compression post - hope this isnt a bad install.

[Catigale]

Btw - you can get a sense of what I found at 3am in the darkness on anchor by looking at the waterline on the comp post....with my two kids sleeping forward...



A couple of years ago it would have been a real ego blow the way I near-panicked with this ....but parenthood perspectives such things...

[beene]

Makes one sit up a listen a bit more when it involves the safety of wee ones.

I understand how you felt, feeling solely responsible for the safety of your sweet girls aboard your ship.

I would be lucky to have handled it as well as you did.

Hope I never have to test that.

G

[Frank C]

Steph,
I'm amazed that we can load this 'bago' enough to depress the waterline so much ... but mine's showing similar tendencies. I'm also sure my "closed" gate valve is now seeping quite a lot of ballast, though unsure if it would amount to 6 gallons/hour. Since sitting in the slip, my ballast tank is "self-fulfilling"

Time to head over to Camper World and get a replacement! And now you're latest pix have me heading over right now to pull off that plexi-cover and examine my compression post~@!

There's one precaution I DID take a couple weeks ago. Since sitting with ballast full of saltwater, my tank began to grow stuff ... stuff I'm glad I can't SEE! So last time out, I emptied the tank before docking. Then I ran a hose to the forward vent and filled the tank with fresh water. Midway along, I poured 2 cups of Clorox into the same vent hole. After two weeks, the ballast emits only a Springtime-fresh aroma~!

[LOUIS B HOLUB]

Stephen,, do you or anyone have an opinion what caused this ? This would be the last place I would expect a problem with the Mac. Is this some sign of an area weakness with the boat. Thanks for the pics.

Im going to do as Frank, examine the compression post ASAP. And my second question, if you dont mind, how in the world is this repaired and strenghtened when something like this occurs?

Sounds quite serious.

[bastonjock]

stephen,do you have shore power? that corrosion looks to be of an electrical nature to me

[Mac Ziggy]

There is a new 26X CB to dagger board conversion on the MOD page.

[Catigale]

stephen,do you have shore power? that corrosion looks to be of an electrical nature to me

My thinking exactly - the boat was slipped with shore power for two seasons since 2002 only though.

Also, the centerboard post and plate dont make contact with water so I dont see how there would have been an electrical connection.

My best guess is a bad weld from post to plate.

[Lease]

Time to head over to Camper World and get a replacement!

Hey Frank, would you have the URL for that place? Hopefully, they have on-line mail order, cause I need to replace my gate valve as well. It would be much appreciated if you could pass it on.

My boat has been filling itself as well and over the winter I sealed the centreline plate valve, but also removed the gate valve to check its condition. The rubber seal was broken around its collar so I stuck it back together with sealant, but am not hopeful that it will last very long.

I have absolutely no idea where I would source the part in Oz.

Many thanks.

Edit: Actually, I have found one from local supply. The one that I have found is branded 'Valterra' Part no. 80580361 and fits a 75mm evacuation hoes in its intended application. Knowing that my old X has a smaller hole than more modern versions, I wonder if the mounting screw centres are the same?????

[Frank C]

. . . Im going to do as Frank, examine the compression post ASAP.

I got to the Marina last evening & promptly pulled the inspection covers at base of the compression post. Surprisingly, they are affixed wtih just double-sided tape ... thanks Roger~!

Fortunately, my compression post & base plate were as smooth as a baby's butt. I snapped a picture, but don't have the camera handy for downloading. Suffice to say, I'm sorry to see Stephen's dilemma ... pleased to not face that myself.

[Frank C]

Hey Frank, would you have the URL for that place? Hopefully, they have on-line mail order, cause I need to replace my gate valve as well. It would be much appreciated if you could pass it on.

Lease, here's a link to Camping World. They have a Valterra 3-inch gate valve listed under Sanitation heading.

Pretty sure Roger uses a different brand ... at least for my 2000 X-boat. I saw the brand name when I removed the gate valve years ago, and pretty sure it's not Valterra. Don't know about interchanging them, but someone here might chime-in.

Google on "Camping Supplies" to find competitor retailers. But first, pull the valve body off your hull to see what you'll be needing.

On the X-boats ... the factory just drives the valve-body machine screws straight into the hull layup, since there's no way to reach nuts inside the ballast tank. I guess that means one could just replace the entire thing, drilling holes to match the new valve.

[Lease]

Thanks Frank. Looks like I can find one locally. To confirm what you suspect in regar to how they are mounted, I've already taken mine off to re-seal and it is just mounted with self-tappers through some pretty thick layup, so you can take it off and on at least a few times without compromising the crews' hold.

[Catigale]

Talked to Bill at factory and almost certainly caused by electrolysis in his view....he is looking into getting me a new post and install instructions.

Also, the centerboard post and plate dont make contact with water so I dont see how there would have been an electrical connection

Update here - Bill also advised me that you dont have to have a connection to get this effect, stray current in the marina can eat away metal parts of your boat without wiring paths if the metal is in contact with water...I didnt think mine were, but the evidence here is overwhelming to the contrary...

[bastonjock]

stephen,do you have shore power? that corrosion looks to be of an electrical nature to me

My thinking exactly - the boat was slipped with shore power for two seasons since 2002 only though.

Also, the centerboard post and plate dont make contact with water so I dont see how there would have been an electrical connection.

My best guess is a bad weld from post to plate.

in my previous occupation as a rig diver,i had to do a lot of underwater inspection,looking at the plate strongly suggests to me that through electrolitic action the steel has been erroded.

ive seen hundreds of anodes that look very similar to your compression post,has your outboard got an anode on it?if not fit one or if the one that it has is looking a bit thin change it

the way metals work against each other in a saltwater enviroment is that the more noble metal will sacrifise itself to protect the other metals from corrosion,it may be that the metal from the weld was different from the metal of the post and theres the cause

example, a steel hull will corrode to protect the brass propellor

i cant remember the galvanic series off the top of my head but it only takes two metals of a different composite to cause electrolitic action in salt water,its caused by the flow of ions between both metals

i once found a diving knife that had been submerged agacent to an oil platform,it had been in the water for 2 years and was in pristine condition,the anodes on the rig had protected it.

Looking at your compression post has led me to consider fitting a small anode in that area

[waternwaves]

Earlier thread to corrosion and metal nobility.


A corrosion Thread