Mystery Solved!

We found that the hull had been cut into at some point to replace the lower part of the saildrive by lowering it through the hull, and that cutout had not been properly repaired.  The leak was water getting through the poor repair job.  The cutout would have been necessary to lower the saildrive because it would not have fit down through the opening in the hull as constructed by Tartan. BTW, the proper way to replace the saildrive is to bring it up through the hull into the interior of the boat...no cutout required as it would fit to bring it up through the hull opening.

The first clue to the hidden problem appeared once the saildrive was removed.  That disclosed a poorly done application of fiberglass.  The photos below show some of this.

Cleaning off the fiberglass patch, it was apparent that it was done with polyester resin...bad choice for an epoxy hull as polyester will not bond to epoxy.  Also, some of the resin had not fully hardened.  As the patch was removed, it became apparent that the cutout resulted in opening up a passage for water from the water side of the saildrive into the hull interior.  This had been patched very poorly and eventually the cause of the leak.

After removing some of the patch, the hole near the center of this photo showed up...the likely path of the water leaking into the bilge.

These two pieces had been cut off and then put back in place.  They came loose as the fiberglass was removed.

This photo shows how the pieces cut away covered the circular part of the saildrive where it mounted to the upper gear box.

The saw marks for the cutout and the openings into the hull are apparent in this photo taken after the fiberglass patch was removed.

Once the patch work was cleaned of the epoxy hull, work could begin on repairing it properly.

First step was to glass the opening.

Tartan sent us a template that they use for cutting the hole, but the template did not fit into the circular saildrive mount space.  They must have changed the design a bit since hull #2.  Paul and Ken took some measurements on the saildrive and mount to determine the hole location and drilled some pilot holes based on their findings before cutting the actual hole.

Here is the new hole as seen from the outside (compare to photo above)

and from the inside.

Saildrive with fresh coat of paint ready for install.

The saildrive installation went well.  The tricky part was getting the spline to line up with where it went into the back of the engine.  This involved leveraging the engine up and sliding it back to the spline and then turning the engine crank using the fan belt until the spline was able enter into the back of the engine.  Paul was on the lever, Ken on the engine and I had the easy job of checking the alignment.

The hole size and location was perfect with about a half inch of clearance front and back.

Owl Moon Gets Covered

On a relatively warm day after Owl Moon had been hauled, we returned to Regent Point to remove the main sail and put on the cover.  We had ordered a new "boom tent" cover from Fairclough.  This would be Owl Moon's first winter in snow country and we opted for the a reusable cover instead of shrink wrap.  The boom tent won't protect the toe rail this winter, but we can add that later if we want.  It was great to have the help of Neil from the boatyard.  He was familiar with how the main was removed as they had done that this summer and they have also worked with Fairclough boat covers.

Owl Moon covered and ready for winter.

Owl Moon Returns to Regent Point

After considering options, we decided to take Owl Moon back to Regent Point to have the sail drive pulled.  They could also work on getting the centerboard to work better (we have an idea for that).  There is a weather window for several days of warm enough weather to make the sail south look like a good excuse for a late fall cruise on the Bay.  Our friend Tom is coming along to lend a hand.

November 15, 2016

Leaving the dock at 7 AM, there was a rainbow over Annapolis.

We were leaving at sunrise in order to make the most of the day, planning on arriving in Solomons, MD before sunset.  We were the only boat out as we headed into Annapolis harbor.

Annapolis at Sunrise with the mooring field empty.

Heading out into the Bay at sunrise.

Sailing by Thomas Point Light.

The discussion about using the pole to hold out the jib I had with Greg a few weeks earlier at the boat christening came in handy as we had about 10 knots of wind from behind us.  We found that putting the small jib out as well gave us about another half know of boat speed.

Wing and wing heading down the Bay with the small jib out as well.

We made Solomons just before sunset and had plenty of room to anchor outside Zahniser's moorings.  It was a lot less crowded than when we were in Back Creek on our way north to Annapolis the end of September.

November 16, 2016  Up early again to be ready for a sunrise departure, we had another beautiful day forecast.  Today we will head for Mill Creek on the Northern Neck Peninsula.

Heading out into the Patuxent River at sunrise on a chilly morning.

It was chillier than it looks...Diane took her warm hat off for the photo.  We had a nice reach down to the mouth of the Potomac and 3/4 of the way across before the wind died.  We hadn't been motoring long before it came up out of the SW.

Approaching Smith Point Light.

It was great to have Tom aboard for the trip.

We made it into Mill Creek just before sunrise and anchored in the first cove around the bend.  One other sailboat was also anchored in the creek...the next cove up.

November 17, 2016  We have a shorter leg for our last day of the trip.  However, Diane needs to be back in Annapolis for a meeting this evening so again we were up early to be ready for a sunrise departure.

Heading out of Mill Creek.

We made it to Regent Point Marina before noon and took Tom to Merroir for lunch.  After lunch, Tom and Diane caught a ride to Enterprise in Gloucester to get a rental car to head back to Annapolis.  I stayed aboard Owl Moon to do some winterizing jobs.  The most difficult of those was changing the engine oil as I almost destroyed the filter getting it off.

Diane drove back down on Friday to help with winterizing.  We got both of the jibs off and the bimini frame collapsed on Saturday.

The dodger and main sail are still on, but all other topside preparations for winter are complete.

By Sunday afternoon, a cold front was moving through and it had become windy and cold.  We left Owl Moon in the slip for the boatyard to haul later.

Now the dodger is off.

Sarah's First Sail on Owl Moon

November 13, 2016  The weather and Sarah's schedule finally came together and we got out for an nice sail on the Bay.  It was great to finally get out with Sarah on Owl Moon.  Almost mid November, but it has been a relatively warm fall so far.

Later it cooled off and Sarah bundled into a blanket.

A friend out for a sail at the same time took this photo of us under sail.

The Bilge Won't Stay Dry

Over the summer, one of the improvements to Owl Moon was installation of a counter for the bilge pump.  It had been staying at zero, but now the bilge pump is running several times a day.  I spent some time trying to identify the source of the problem and found that the fresh water pump had a slow leak on the intake side.  Okay, that is a relatively easy fix.  I replaced the pump, but I still couldn't keep the bilge dry.  Checking further, I realized water was coming forward into the bilge from the back of the boat.  I found there was a small trickle of water coming out from under the engine.

Video showing leak

All was dry aft of the sail drive.  After more checking on the sides of the engine and throughout the aft section of the boat, it seemed the most likely source of the leak is somehow associated with the sail drive.  It is impossible to actually see where the water is coming in because the engine is mounted on a pan that is installed onto the hull along with the mounting "donut" for the sail drive.  I am not able to see the front part of the sail drive and its mounting structure, only the sides and aft.

After consulting with several people, it seems that the action we need to take is to pull the sail drive and investigate further.  We had planned on keeping Owl Moon in the water over the winter, but now it looks like we will be having her hauled.

Weekend on the Eastern Shore

October 28, 2016  Breezy day on the Bay today.  We had a late start out of Annapolis, but made good time down around Bloody Pt. and up Eastern Bay...just over 4 hours from leaving the dock to anchor down in Dividing Creek off the Wye River.

October 29, 2016  Oops!  We tested the new keel/hull joint on Owl Moon. While under motor down the Wye River, John put Owl Moon under control of the autopilot to go and do something while Diane was busy on the phone.  As soon as John got back to the helm, the forward progress of Owl Moon was suddenly halted as we grounded on a shoal in the Wye River.  Fortunately, the bottom was soft and we backed off without much difficulty.  The most challenging part was for John to realize the boat was still under control of the auto pilot and had it's own mind regarding heading.  Going below we found no sign of water entering the bilge.  Owl Moon's new keel/hull joint withstood its first test!

We continued on to St. Michaels where we joined some other Corinthian boats at anchor in the harbor.  It was good we had come over early as the harbor was filling up for the Festival at the Maritime Museum.

October 30, 2016  John got up early and took in the beautiful sunrise.

Our Corinthian friends Vicki and Greg were anchored nearby on Erin Brie.

We weighed anchor after an early breakfast to head back to Annapolis.

Passing by our friends Carol and Leigh with a Little Ship Club guest aboard All That Jazz on our way out of the harbor.

Such a warm day for the end of October!

We sailed down Eastern Bay and part way up the Chesapeake toward Annapolis before the wind gave out leaving us motoring the last bit.

Some great fall sailing on Owl Moon

October 16 & 18, 2016  John had Tom Zolper join him for the first day sail on Owl Moon out of her home berth on a beautiful Sunday afternoon.  John had been anxious to test the centerboard that had been freed up recently when Bob Putnam pried it loose by working on the centerboard at the bottom of the keel.  He was diving his boat around the corner and offered to give loosening the board a try.

Owl Moon sailing up wind for the first time with the centerboard down.  It went down without any problem.

Two days later, the weather was again perfect for a fall sail.  This time we had friends Joe and Eve-Marie aboard and Diane skipped an Environmental Matters Committee she had meant to attend...it was just too nice a day to miss out on sailing.