bananaing after rerig, keel boat leaking?

[Seasic]

I would be 100 % about the source of the leak first even if it meant getting into the bulkhead to the bolt (which you'll have to do if you dropped the keel anyway) I believe they have a dye you can use under water to disperse around the keel joint to detect a leak in that area.

Best of luck!!

[Cheechako]

I would wait until next haulout to fix it. No panic required. Are you sure it's that bolt and not the shaft seal, rudder post seal or etc?
Crawl back to the rudder post area, take some toilet paper. Lay it on the down slope of the hull. It's hard to see water sometimes. If it's wet there's your leak. Try this elsewhere too.
If you really have to drop the keel, you might get a yard to lift the boat and leave it over the sunday day off etc. Clean your keel surfaces and install back up with new sealant when they come back.
If you can't get at the bolt now, how will you when you haulout?

[grantmc]

I have to ask as I've never heard of the word before.
Please what does bananaing mean?

[Sailmonkey]

Originally Posted by grantmc

I have to ask as I've never heard of the word before.
Please what does bananaing mean?

To take on the shape of a banana

[phorvati]

Yeah, i would make sure leak is from keel bolt. If your keel bolt in question happens to be lowest part of the bilge i would bet its not the culprit.

If you vacuum the area, water might appear to be seeping in from the bolt but remember the bilge areas are saturated in water. Just because you vacuum lowest spot does not mean all the water is gone. Its not excluded that water saturated parts of the stringers, or areas under water/fuel tanks, in all the little compartments that only get water when the boat heels, All that stuff slowly seeps into the deepest part of the bilge as you sit at anchor and a boat goes by.

You vacuum deepest part and it seems like there is more water there while water was just emptying from other compartments. Just be absolutely sure its not that.

[Brewgyver]

Does Jeanneau really put a bulkhead over the top of a keel bolt? Seems a bit odd. Even if they do, the gap or cracking you see in the filler at the keel to hull joint doesn't necessarily mean your hull is deformed or "banana-ing." Many fin keel boats experience this. Ever hear of "Catalina smile?"

Looking at the boat profile and overhead views, the forward starboard bulkhead is the only one that appears to come close to the keel. So what else could be leaking, on the other side of that bulkead? The forward head. There are likely three or more thru-hulls right there, not to mention the various hoses and connections, any one of which could lead to the small volume of water you're seeing. A slow leak in this area will pass under the hull liner and into the bilge.

As others have said, it's well worth your while to put some serious effort into eliminating other possible sources before you tackle dropping the keel.

[johnnyj]

Thanks for the input you all. I think I am going to put a few of your suggestions together to eliminate other possibilities. The idea that water is seeping between the hull liner sounds like a very good possibility. At least I have eliminated everything forward of the bilge. Could be the rudder. If it’s the rudder post seal is it easy to fix?

[nwdiver]

Check for leaks elsewhere as advised, 5 years seems awful early to have a keel problem........just asking are you sure it's saltwater?

[Brewgyver]

Sorry if I missed it, but how did you eliminate everything forward of the bilge? In most boats, any stray water that gets into the actual hull (even condensation) winds up in the bilge(s).

[johnnyj]

I’m 50 50 now on it being the keel

I’ve eliminated everything forward of the bilge because I sat there with a shop vac and towels for a few hours to see where it was coming from. The water was coming from the aft direction. I’m not completely ruling out forward or a beam of the bilge because I know how water likes to travel. I’ve tasted it many times praying it would be fresh water... it’s not

2014 jeanneau 44DS it is an SOB to get back to the rudder to see anything. I’m really at a loss to find out how, but I’ve been pulling everything apart back there to find a water trail and I cannot. Going to keep looking everywhere.

[Brewgyver]

On that boat, if/when the shaft stuffing box drips, does it run into the engine bilge, or can it make it's way to the main bilge? You might want to make a small investment into an inspection camera, might save you a lot of trouble!

[johnnyj]

after tearing more stuff apart I decided to taste the water again and it tastes like fresh... I’ve been at anchor for days now and the fridge condensate drains to the bilge. I definitely have been getting a strong salt water taste every time in the past. So my thoughts are
1. that sea water is getting in while moving, maybe pressure on the keel when heeled over or pressure on the rudder maybe. My bilge empties well above the waterline so I don’t see water getting in there underway
2. I’m an idiot and have wasted people’s time

Going out sailing and diving the mooring balls around TCI and will be back to Provo in about 2 weeks. Will see some results then

Thank you everyone so far for insight. Even if I am an idiot, I think I might be a little bit smarter of one after the conversations here ha!

[nwdiver]

Fresh water being salted by the salt residue in the bilge, maybe......

[Aussieyachtsman]

Am I the only person in here who considers this a more serious issue than respondents are treating it? My comment won't be particularly constructive, I realise, but having read the coronial report into Cheeki Rafiki and heard the anecdotal stories about Beneteau keels separating from hulls, should not forum members be providing a little more urgency to this issue than suggesting slackening off the hydraulic ram on the backstay to stop the hull bending? Blimey, if that's got enough force to bend the hull out of alignment and cause keel separation, I wouldn't be brave enough to take that boat off the mooring, much less offshore and I'd be putting is straight back on the market and would be buying something a bit more seaworthy. Having grown up on wooden yachts water in the bilge has never been a cause for panic because, let's face it, wooden hulls leak. But the only place a glass hull should conceivably be leaking is around the cocks, or even the stern gland. If you have leaking around where the keel meets the hull and you're getting 5 gallons of water in two weeks, I'm sorry, in my humble opinion you have an engineering issue that requires significant professional assessment if you plan to go any distance offshore.

[Aussieyachtsman]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheeki_Rafiki