Westerly Berwick Hull/Frame construction

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JoEhHH

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Hi Forum, it's the first time I write a post in the forum, but it was always a good source of information and ideas to maintain our 1972 Westerly Berwick.
We are own this boat for 10 years and sail it in the Elbe from Hamburg to Helgoland.
Now I have a problem with water in the looker on portside.
We had about 6 liter water in the bilge and sailed very hard on the side afterwards we had water in the locker under the portside seats.
We cleaned it all out and dryed for one week and we inspected... it was almost dry, then we sailed it and there came drops of water between the bolts and the frame.
There was some small gaps between the laminate and the hull and I took a screwdriver and was able to go under this.#
some question about this:
1. Is there a connection beween the main bilge and the locker... I cant find it
2. What is the construction of the frame? is it wood laminated with glass and raisin to the hull?
3. can the wood rot? Or get it normaly dry by a drainsystem?
4. What kind of raisin glass combination you would recommend to repair this old hull?

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Welcome to the forum. Probably better to use the Practical Boat Owner forum for questions like this. You might also get better specific advice from here westerly-owners.co.uk

It looks like there is some delamination around the stringer which will need cutting out. The core may be wood, but might also be foam. Yes, wood may rot inside. As to repairs it is now common to use epoxy for lamination as this adheres well to old polyester. There are many sources of information on repairs to GRP. West Epoxy is a very useful source of both materials and guidance. westsystem.com/instruction/instruction-manuals/

Good luck with your repairs
 
Aren't slow leaks there more likely to be keel bolt sealing, than problems with the ribs? As far as I know pretty much any bolted keel needs bolt/seal refresh eventually.

Not sure on this specific boat model but in general I would expect the ribs to be ply. The glass over them, rather than the ply, should provide most of the strength. I expect that if it is getting a little flexible there, that might contribute to seal problems.

In theory polyester resin can form nearly as strong a bond to well cleaned and prepared old resin as epoxy can, but (I've tried both, but not on
a keel rib yet) epoxy is definitely more forgiving as well as a bit stronger.

Messy job, but all doable. Good luck.
 
I have repaired quite a few of these, The first thing is to grind all the old gel & filth out of the bilge, Westerlys often skimped on layup & the bottom of the keel stub is often quite thin with puddled resin making it look thicker.
As far as epoxy goes I dont like doing grp repairs with it as its cost is prohibitive & it does not like contamination or poor working conditions. A good loyds approved polyester is perfectly acceptable providing preparation is good.
If you want to go the extra mile best to use Vinylester, this gives performance close to epoxy but far more compatible with polyesters & more importantly uses the same peroxide catalyst. Price is halfway between poly & epoxy.
 
It looks like someone has tried to reinforce the ribs in the past. Common modification on Westerly boats, Centaur, Pageant, etc, is to add additional ribs to strengthen the area around keel bolts. If it’s leaking, then the only real long term solution is drop the keels. Clean up the stub areas and re-inforce. Re-bed and seal. Not a job to be taken on light heartedly! Slackening nuts and backing plates, and then drying out and resealing with added cotton string is the original Westerly method of curing leaky keel bolts.
Definitely join WOA, worth ever penny for guides and advice.
 
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