Our previous post described the circumstances surround a racing incident that caused some serious damage to G-whizz and to our friend’s boat “Aetos”. It went on to simply say that in the process some historical damage was found to be present from a grounding a few years prior.

The damage was delamination inside the hull that had kept itself invisible until Billy Olsen from Olsen Marine Surveying had a look at G-whizz post accident damage repair. The damage while fairly extensive was not visible from inside the boat, it was concealed by cabinetry, was not visible from outside as the hull showed no damage nor was there any damage or marks on the lead keel bulb.

The back ground to this damage is that Ann and I were using G-whizz as a quiet get-away when ever the opportunity arose during COVID restrictions. on one occasion we picked up a courtesy mooring just off Milk Beach at the north Eastern entrance to Rose Bay. Now one would expect that a 10 metre long 5 ton yacht with a draft of 2.1 metres would be comfortably accommodated on a public courtesy mooring with a stated maximum capacity of 20 tons. Wrong and I now check the depth available on any mooring other than G-whizz’s home before committing to a stress free stay. We were about to settle down to dinner when I glanced at the chart plotter which indicated that we only had 0.3 of a metre of clearance under the keel and there was still just under 1 metre of ebbing tide to go. In all fairness to the persons who laid this mooring we have subsequently witnessed a 120 foot yacht (somewhat above the stated maximum weight) hanging off the same mooring and now suspect a boat of similar size may have dragged the mooring to shallower water.

A hasty decision to leave was made and as I was climbing the companionway steps a large power boat passed by very close at speed, the wash from that boat lifted us and dropped us onto the seabed – twice – it is difficult to describe the noise and vibration that resulted. Subsequent inspections and hull servicing failed to indicate any damage.

The collision damage was repaired by Buckingham Marine Services at Woolwich Dock, but it was decided that it would be less expensive to truck G-whizz to the Central Coast and carry out the extensive repairs on real estate that is a lot less expensive than the hard stand at Woolwich. A decision that proved to be advantages as in the mean time I was diagnosed with a cancer that would require 12 or more months of treatment. This diagnosis would mean that we would not be using G-whizz for quite a some time which relieved the shipwrights from the pressure to get the job done quickly as possible.

While G-whizz was out of the water and mast removed the decision was made for Diverse Rigging to renew the standing rigging, service the boom (Outhaul, reefing etc.) and supply a new furler and assorted running rigging.

G-whizz is back in the water and looking like a new boat after about 9 months, while some detail work still needs to be done, mainly due to systems not being used for a long period (Fridge for instance) she is ready to sail again, a concept that has given me added incentive to regain my strength and get back behind the brand new Jefa steering wheel, and yes it did leave a bruise as I bent the old one in the prang with Aetos.

Once again huge thanks to:
Mitch Buckingham at Buckingham Marine Services
Jason Neuhaus at Diverse rigging
Billy Olsen at Olsen Marine Surveying
Trevor Robinson at APS Marine Electrical
and probably a surprise to most Club Marine Insurance

Please read an update to this post, it is about the rectification process undertaken to the unsatisfactory repairs described below.

Or the alternative title to Cast iron keel could be:

Why we love our cast iron keel – A high maintenance affair!

G-whizz, as with all Elan 340s with the deeper 2.1 metre keel is fitted with a composite keel, cast iron foil with a lead (“Elephant’s foot”) bulb.  I am not qualified to make assumptions on the benefits of various keel structures, nor do I fully understand the methods used to protect the cast iron in a marine environment. The Broker who sold G-whizz, they were the original Elan agent in Australia, said the reasoning behind the cast iron keel was that it allowed for a finer keel profile, the cynic in me thinks that it allows for a finer profit to the manufacturer. Maybe it is a combination of both.

G-whizz was launched 13 years ago and has performed exceptionally well in those years, requiring only regular maintenance and no repairs due to design issues. However for the past 4 or 5 years the cast iron keel has required a bit more attention than just a pressure wash, sand and repaint during the annual bottom service.

The following photos compare the condition of the keel following a pressure wash just after coming out of the water, the deterioration in 2 years is noticeable.

For the past few year the shipwrights have patched the keel using processes that are a bit beyond my comprehension, however the the cast iron keel continued to deteriorate between the annual services. I must say that the treatments were never promised to be a long term fix, only something to try and get through to the next service – in this regard the were somewhat successful. This year we bit the bullet to do something a little more permanent, we got two quotes from two different yards. These yards suggested different methods:
One; to soda blast the keel and epoxy.
Two; to wire grind then chemically treat the keel.

Quote two was half the price of one. and is the treatment we went for. I guess the success of this decision will be measured when G-whizz comes out of the water next year, although reports from the diver who cleans her on a regular basis will be most anticipated.

Motoring on the way to the shipyard for this bottom service G-whizz was struggling to get to get over 6 knots though the water under motor at 2000 rpm, on the way back to the mooring she was exceeding 7 knots at the same rpm, I wish I took more notice of wind condition on the first journey, but on the return run the was a gentle 3 to 5 knot wind just off the the bow, quite an improvement.

As mentioned earlier we were told that the Cast iron allowed for a fine keel profile, maybe the photo to the right illustrates that.

We are looking forward to our next race, that for a number of reasons is not coming fast enough, just to check G-whizz’s performance against her traditional competitors.

For those with a better technical mind in these matters than mine, the base treatment of the corrosion on the cast iron keel was Feronite, which I believe to be manufactured (or distributed in Australia) be Boatcraft.

I guess this whole process give us an insight into the trials and tribulations of those that have steel boats.

What is described above did not wor as intended read an update here.