There Is Water In Our Keel! Our 48 Year Old Sailboat Project Keeps on Giving | SAILING SEABIRD Ep. 8 

My father was a marine engineer and a yacht surveyor who taught me everything I know today.He would take quick set gel coat with him on a survey.If he suspected osmosis,he would drill a 3 mil hole at the lowest part of the keel. If water had wicked into the keel, it would stream out of the hole.By the time he finished the survey, it would be dry and he would plug it with the gel coat. The problem is there Is a chemical break down in the fibre glass under the gel coat hence the strong smell of ammonia.The fibre glass looses its strength because the resin binding it together has broken down. This is the Achilles heel of older fibre glass hulls.As for plastic through hull fitting,don’t go that route,they become brittle and one fitting can sink your boat.Phosphorous bronze and sikoflex is the only way to go. It’s not the flange of the plastic fitting that will fail, it’s where the hose fits on. Plastic through hole fittings should be restricted to trailer boats that spent most of the time on the trailer.I am sure you are aware but just in case you are not, two stainless jubilee clips per through hull fitting and a wooden emergency bung tied around the hose with string ready if it ever splits.If you keep your anode in good condition your bronze fittings will not suffer.

You two are a bright light. Please stop apologizing for being yourselves. It’s fun to watch and root you on. You’re brave. Let people scroll on if they cannot handle the occasional swear. Keep being you. ❤

You should name the company who is giving you such grief because not only will you be helping other sailors by cautioning them but in all probability the owner of the company doesn't know what this salesman is doing to the companies image.

I also had to drill my trawler taught in the same places it’s simply a wet bilge Filled them after drilling with foam and glass over them in the bilge and it’s been fine with no smells or sloshing water now for 13 years 👍

I'm totally fascinated by your perpetual optimism - it's heartwarming. I so look forward to your next video.👍

Thank you for sharing

You both have the most important piece of equipment to make this project a success - A SENSE OF HUMOUR!!!

Stuart, here is an old way to get rid of the itchy skin from grinding fiberglass. Use White Distilled Vinegar and simply pour a little in the cup of your hands and rub it together where needed. I always get the gallon jugs because it’s more economical. This neutralizes the fiberglass from your skin. Then just wash with soap and water to remove the vinegar smell. I also can’t stand incompetent sales people that can’t process an order correctly from a customer. I sure do enjoy watching sailing seabird and look fwd to the next episode. Cabrillo marina, San Pedro Southern California.

How awful that the company sent the wrong tank and instead of saying we are sorry for our mistake they call you a thief. Please tell us who they are. No one should have to deal with that nonsense. We will share your experience with fellow cruisers. That company will be known for their dishonest reputation. They have rightly earned. God bless you both. Hope things go better soon. Cheers, S/V Cork~Texas

When I have prepared such, I have drilled with a hole saw suitable for a water vacuum cleaner at the lowest point to vacuum dry. Used 0.3 tomyls loaded with epoxy filler and pumped full and plugged borehole with wooden plug. Then sanded and laminated the holes.

Thanks

I'm glad that it was your accent in the explanation at the start and that you didn't "rumble" (English slang) for fight at the end and you meant "ramble" (talk a little too much). I'm also pleased that it's a German company messing you about as the Germans are always quoted as doing things so much better than Brits. It just shows that there are good and bad companies in every country and that you've just been unlucky enough to find a bad one in Germany. BTW, swearing is perfectly acceptable when you get a face full of crappy water.

Stay positive and keep going, thanks

Good video, justified rant at the end.

Wishing you all the best in your project. Looking at your episodes I often forget the problems I have in my boat 😀.

Hi Stuart and Marina, this episode has five months old so don't know if you'll get my comment. I'm catching up on a lot of yours two or three years back but haven't commented because I figured you would never catch them. Good repairs and yes there's Crooks everywhere too bad. Thanks and catch you both later, by now

Fuel tank saga, telling them that you want a refund ,and clean the old tank, put a inspection hatch in,,save a lot of time and money,keep looking on line their are great idea out there, you can do it ! dont let a soft surf board spiol your day,LOL,😛💪💪👍👍

Hi Guys from Las Vegas , Great Video ! Laughed a few times ! lol the water coming out fast was crazy ! Love your attitudes ! already looking forward to the next Video !

A "Beump" in the keel - sounds like Marina has been going to the Inspector Clouseau "École 'Anglais" 😊 Love the vidoes

Patrick Childress called it "The Trading Bin"

Hy. Sorry i m late looking yr videos !! When yr budget shld be too short, you hv plenty of holes to sell 😁 I free hole for 2 sold... with great choice : Small , médium or wide , Stern or bow holes even center holes ? such a choice is rare. You are the Lucky owners of à Steel gruyère cheese sailing boat . Keep fighting my friends . You Will win thé holes battle and rust too. 12 pass hulls !! Is she an océan liner ??

.... Re the tank thing .. have to watch out for people that are always pointing at others rather than fessing up to their blunders .. all they are trying to do is take the attention off themselves .... 18 holes in the boat .. well that is plenty ... back from the day when every electronic measurer needed it's own hole ... thank god for new tech ... yes water makers are expensive, but water is a must have and having an endless supply of water, what is too expensive .. there is a company, think it is out of Florida that provides of the self parts to make your own and have heard is economical .... good job on the paddle board .... that bilge sure looks good all nice and clean .... thx for sharing .. as always .. never stop dreaming, just dream bigger .. have fun be safe, save our oceans ...

Tru design are the cats pyjamas, I love them

Please don't take RU-vid criticism too seriously. I learn a lot from your channel.

I think you’re doing a fantastic job, video editing most of all repair great job!

You have every right to rumble and grumble. That sounded incredibly frustrating. Hopefully all will be rectified. And your boat just keeps looking better and better! So much cleaning inside! No worries with all of those holes. Eliminate what you can. 😎💕💕😎

Haha, nice…Nothing like a good drink of osmotic juice! Looking forward to seeing what happens when you grind that big blister out! Many hours of oh glorious grinding ahead! Let’s go!

A common error...they are not called "through holes" but "through hulls". The boat is coming along nicely. Hang in there.

The good, the bad, the ugly and the water-filled keel. All in the day of being boat restorers and RU-vid celebrities! Thank you for sharing and stay true to your goals! ⚓⛵🐠🐬

Well done! that’s the best way to remove old skin fittings!

Love the practical way you sort out all your challenges 🎉🎉🎉

That's exactly how I removed my through hulls. Plus 1 on the TruDesign, especially with the load bearing collar.

Sorry to hear about the faffing and the hassles. Hopefully thing will look up from here on. You two are amazing! Keep up your spirits.

Congratulations on having an extremely beautiful wife! ..... shes lovely!

Leaves are falling all around It's time I was on my way Thanks to you I'm much obliged For such a pleasant stay But now it's time for me to go The autumn moon lights my way For now I smell the rain

Tell that salesman dude "we wouldn't even be having this conversation if you had done your job and sent the right tank". Ashhat!

Head Up. Stay on fire. Find the good in the Bad. ⛵⛵⛵

Wishing all the best sailors...hey the journey of a thousand miles starts with a single 🚶‍♂️ .keep walking.

Keep up the good work! Hope you will get hold of the big tank!

I watched with my partner. We have just anti-fouled our boat for our first time. His comment was, he would love to be there with you both! He loves the new experience and learning and then the result!

I got rid of 7 through hulls by getting rid of one of my heads and going with a composting toilet and of course getting rid of the diesel. Do yourself a big Favour and get yourself an oscillating multitool...best tool I ever bought for rebuilding a boat.

Sometimes as my old dad said you have to go and pound on someone's desk! Oh it helps if you use a 4 pound sledge!!

Shop local! See if you can find a small local welding fabrication shop to make it for you and cancel the order. I am finding that since lockdowns, supply chain issues are increasingly an issue. I expect this to get worse and not better in the short term. Failing that cut an inspection cover port and assess what the condition of the existing tank is like. Easy to make a lid and gasket. I have done that to one of my SS water tanks. I am told, by one who did his thesis on osmosis, that the primary cause is poor mixing of the hardener with the resin. Small liquid pockets of hardener remain and water enters osmotically to try to equalise the concentrations on each side of the partially permeable resin membrane. Osmosis can achieve enormous pressure and so forces delamination in even the best laid composite. Stuart is right. A lot of hard work for you both but entirely doable. The phenomenon became more prevalent with the early self mixing chop guns that mixed (poorly) and fired resin and chop when laying down hull. Go well!

pretty woman

Enjoying watching your journey

Y'all keep killing it. Don't sweat the haters

Happy birthday for next week :D :D

ça fait plaisir de voir des jeunes très courageux,courage ,une mamy !

Regarding your diesel tank. When you pay peanuts,always you get monkeys.

Keep at it guys... I suggest you fit a permanent drain in that keel void... It will allow you to drain any fluids on haul out and see whats going on via a flexi scope. Without constant grinding and filling. The smell is de oxygenated water... The fact its clear was a good sign its not black from reacting with iron. Or organics..😉👍🏼 16 holes is a lot. I would set up a intake locker. And a a couple of out flows.. one from your blackwater tank one for the engine... And cockpit drain . Take care 🐝 you two.

Shame you had not gone to Tek Tanks in the UK. First class service and a first rate product.

You guys are great, keep up the great work. Hopefully not many surprises as you continue onward.

We just love your channel and all the undying effort you guys put into it. You might try to keep telling yourself that for one dollar it's still so worth it.

You have friends around you who can help and you are cracking on with it. The best of luck to you both and keep the vlogs coming. Your engi e even in that condition is worth money. Perkins are sid engi especially and last forever. 😊

There are too many holes in our boat... proceeds to drill 20 more. At least it was holding water.

Stay positive one day at a time you will suceed...WELL DONE YOU ARE WORKING VERY WELL INDEED...!

You guys rock 👍🖐🍾 Keep up the good work .

Check out model R/C lithium batteries . they are number one CHEAP relacements for power tools . all four of my Battery drills had dead batteries . Now they are my GO TO power tools .

Never be scared to name a company, good or bad, they deserve it. The more good and bad companies that are named the better it is for those shopping.

Hard week but your spirits seem good. Glad you found a treasure. I got a paddle from our marina's bins but as I am half way across the world I am sure it is not a match for your board.

Drilling the keel was kind of like popping a zit!

I don't like boats or the sea but I recently came across your channel, and enjoy following your journey. I thought ye were going to have an argument together at the end of the post, I picked you up wrong at the start.... Glad ye didn't argue and hope the fuel tank problem will be resolved

7:04 🤣 my God I nearly peed myself. I enjoy your sense of humour and I love your optimism.

Take the arrogant sales man to court for definition of character on your name, if he's rang up and accused you of stealing.. Keep up the good work on your project

Pull a vacuum on a low point to remove the water . and use a 0.8 mm cutting disc to open up an inspection panel .

We bought a Dufour 31 wich was unattended for 13yrs laying on a shipyard. There were holes in the deck so the woodcore was rotten in some areas. Ive cut the deck open and replaced the wood. My luck was that the previous owner had put in a brand new volvo penta md2030 engine in. After cleaning diesel tank and maintence the engine started at 1st try and works perfect. Still got 'projects' like a new dodger. The sails where decent too. Be pragmatic and don't let anyone scare. Tip; try to keep holes in the hull to a minimum and dont forget to degrease surfaces you want to apply epoxy on! And dont forget 5 layers of Primocon to watertight your underwater hull. Good luck

I would NEVER put in plastic through hulls. A friend of mine fell off a wave off the Sunshine Coast (Australia) When the boat landed in the trough of the wave the plastic throughull blew apart and made for a very interesting afternoon.

Hi guys, have a look at Barefoot Travels RU-vid. They had the same problem with their hurricane damaged catamaran. Davey did an excellent job of repairing the keel.(S2 E64)

Thanks for the info on through hull removal, I’m just about to mine on my 43 year old boat, and I never saw your method before. Seem easier.

You guys are doing a great job.. LOve your attitudes and your positivity.

Great y2 are posative attitude doing good repairs & maintenance onthe yacht welldone cheers from australia mate looking good

Pray and have faith...There is a God in heaven.

I found nothing to be rambling as you warned but in fact the truth of something you're being forced to deal with. I think most of us at one point or another have been forced to deal with a salesman/company as you're having to now. People will say just buy from somewhere else but in many cases that isn't an option and trying to get moneys already transferred back can be damned near impossible. I feel for you kids having to deal with this and hopefully it all comes right in the end...

Unfortunately the problems you find are good viewing for us so hopefully the increased subscribers etc will help ease the pain a little. Very much enjoying your project.

those mud things are wasp nests they will bury spiders in there too for the larvae when they hatch.

Better than truedesign (not sure of the spelling) is no hole :) or at least as many as possible above the WL.

oh and one more thing I'll have a bit of whatever Oom Wat is smoking please 🤣🤣🤣🤣

ok, the take away for me, is avoid German marine stockist of Italian fuel tanks. It's pity they all have to be tar with the same brush, but better that than having that kind of hassle, in the future. Maybe some other German stockist will try to fix that image.

Holes in the gelcoat with vinegar smelling water, not a big problem. Some grinding and epoxy and it'll be fixed. Really, you may not need to fix it as it isntg structural

if there is problems with waiting that give time for grinding down the keel and scrapping to prepare the hull.

Where are you? Fan from Montana USA. You can do it !

Hello you 2 hope your both well enjoyed the video really hope the fuel tank arrives soon 😊

Amigos, podrían grabar con más volumen los vids? muchas gracias!

I guess making your own fuel tank using the old one as a template is perhaps a little too tricky for you otherwise you would have given it a go. seems very expensive for the new one though. Think I would have asked my bank to give me a full refund by now and made another plan rather than give my money to companies like that. Best of luck to you, seems like you are moving forwards quite nicely.

Don't take any notice of the trolls they are jealous and don't know shit.

It's all about designing, not quality😄👍 do it once, do it right🤘

pierrot

Ok , so that’s a bit of a leak , I can understand that the water has come from the inside , but why has that caused the glass to bulge , in just one place ? . How confident are you on the condition of the rest of the hull ? The engineer in me says that reducing the thru holes can only be good 😃🍻

Twelve Holes in a boat - they might have well just built a sieve instead of a boat !

Who doesn’t need a rubble every now and then. You rubble as much as you want if people don’t like your rubbles, it’s called the off switch.

Does the €1 seem such a good idea now?

Dude, that sux! That vinegar smell is rotten fibreglass inside ur boats keel! Good luck, U guys! Ur optimism will get U thru these disasters! Stay on it & U will reap the rewards! Restoring any boat is expensive, let alone finding new problems! 🤭😩

air conpreseur et et ressinne

plastic thru hulls are not very durable, if you run over rocks ,sandbank or debris they can crack easy and they will harden over years pretty fast, better use messing (kopper and zink) don't know if that is a English word but that is the material what is is named in Nederland keep up the good work!

How much can ya do from the hardware store rather than hyper expensive boat kit. Through holes / Seacocks?.

Re the fuel tank. I advise to cancel your fuel tank deficient order cause for a refund. Remove the existing fg tank that fits and clean it out. Install a high grade primary filter with a backup equal filter filter to use as an alternate filter when changing filtering while running. You may even possibly be able to install an inspection hatch in your existing and you will be way ahead with your fuel system. Make sure your tank outlet leaves about an inch of sediment/water room in tank bottom. ection

I'm looking to restore a boat over a couple of years for my retirement is there any more boats for 1 euro available where you are please? any advice on how to locate them will be much appreciated Also when things get a bit annoying take a mini break to relax a bit your're both doing a great job and i'm learning a great deal from your experiences. Things are always better in the morning after a few beers and a good nights sleep.

I know once the floor gets patched, and hull gets resealed.. it will really start feeling like a sea worthy rig. Any leads on an engine rebuild or replacement?

Auto parts are the same way. Terrible customer service. The last customer service rep I dealt with was mocking me with animal noises while I was telling him my problem.

Do you have a patreon account yet? I know you’re not wired that way, but we all kinda wanna help. We aren’t skilled and we aren’t there… so maybe we can help another way?