In the Spring of 2009 when our boat Liberty went in the water I discovered that it was taking on water at a rate of about 2-3 gallons per day. At this point we realized that something had to be done to correct our keel/bottom woes. Our boat always had some water in it and I always thought it must be from the keel stepped mast which allowed water to enter thru various openings in the spar allowing water to drain into the bilge. With 2/3 gallons showing up and no rain we had to rethink our assumptions. Every fall and early spring water was weeping from the area where the keel stub attached to the hull and past owners all noted that they remembered the same thing. Apparently this was happening as far back as 20 to 25 years ago. It now seemed time to “bite the bullet and repair the boat properly. After getting several estimates I decided to have New England Boat works do the job. This yard did work for Dennis Connor and the America II syndicate as well as several high profile groups. This was not the most economical boatyard however I felt that they were the most qualified to do a repair this complicated. This yard allowed me to do as much work myself as I was comfortable doing so some money could be saved with my labor. I will try to explain the steps that were taken thru my comments and a few hundred pictures that I have taken along the way. Needless to say this has been a very labor intensive 6 to 8 months.

 

We took the boat out in the middle of August and the first step was of course to take the leaking keel off with the hope that all we would have to do was to re-bed it torque the nuts and live happily ever after.  Things didn’t quite work out that way.

 

These pictures were taken just before the boat was hauled. I took a few of the inside of the cabin at the mast step and the mast collar to avoid confusion in the spring.