Keel trike strike possible leak

[Merlin 3442]

Sailing in unfamiliar waters I missed the last set of red and green markers, turned too soon and struck a rock shoal at about 4 knots.
The boat is a C and C 27. I now seem to have water in the bilge. I am concerned I may have a leak around the keel bolts. Any suggestions?

[AbaftAndBaffled]

Make sure your bilge pump is working. You're probably going to want to bite the bullet and get lifted so you can get it looked at asap... those sort of things don't get better with time.

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Merlin 3442.

Originally Posted by AbaftAndBaffled

Make sure your bilge pump is working. You're probably going to want to bite the bullet and get lifted so you can get it looked at asap... those sort of things don't get better with time.

Indeed.

[noelex 77]

Welcome to the forum. I wish it was in better circumstances.

I agree you are going to have to get lifted.

There are a few things in the mean time you can do that will be helpful.

Taste test to check its salt water.
Dry the area and see if you can determine where the water is coming in.
Remove all the floorboards and carefully examine all the whole floor structure around the keel area looking for cracks.

[boatpoker]

Lift your floor boards and take a look around the hull at the leading and trailing edge of the keel area. In a straight ahead impact as you describe the hull at the forward end of the keel is put into tension and the area at the aft end is put in compression.

Compression stresses normally show more visible damage than tension. Look for fractures, even very fine hairline fractures emanating from the area in something like a starburst pattern. If you see anything at all chances are that there is more damage that you cannot see.

Dry your bilge and with masking tape wrap each keel bolt with paper towel, get yourself a cup of tea, lie on the floor and watch for a while.

Depending on what you find you may have to bite the bullet. Biting the bullet now is probably a wise thing to do anyway. as your insurance requires you to mitigate damages and they may make things difficult if you try to put in a claim 3 months from now. I'm involved in a similar case now where the insurance company is trying to pass on significant damage costs they say were a result of the client not mitigating damages (I'm on their side).

[Kenomac]

If the water is clear around your area, go for a swim with a mask and take a look from the outside, assuming you're a good swimmer.

If it's salt water in the bilge, you'll need to have the boat hauled out in order to get the keel to hull seal re-done.

[zeehag]

might need to careen or haul to find damages. you may have some. check inside keel bolts first, then proceed with diving and then haul....if the leak is bad bad, use splash zone and then haul out