J/42 Back in The Boatyard: Allision Damage

[Todd Stevens]

I suppose I might as well start a thread about this.  

Part 1. Confession.  I hit a rock at cruising speed.  Not going to try to make excuses here.  Damaged my leg. Damaged the boat.  Since then, I've been traveling 400 miles back to the boat yard, mostly motoring in calm conditions and waiting out weather, holidays, and travel lift schedules.  Finally got hauled out today.  

From the outside, it looked like mostly cracks in fairing compound, but on the inside, I could immediately see that the baseboard trim on the settee had busted loose and travelled upwards, leaving a 3-inch scratch.  Pulling up the floorboards revealed some disturbing broken members in the grid and several cracks in the liner, parallel to the keel, that were seeping salt water.  Not much... a couple liters a day. 

[Todd Stevens]

On the hard, probing with a screwdriver reveals that there is indeed some delamination of the hull at least 2 to 4 inches forward and aft of the keel. I guess that’s the source of the salwater seepage.

[Dennis Boyd]

Todd, 

Glad everyone is safe, and boat been hauled.   My heart goes out to you.    This is an expected journey.    Keep us advised. 

Dennis

[Dennis Boyd]

typo.....sorry.... UNexpected....

[Chris]

This is tragic, Todd - so sorry you're having to deal with it. I live in fear of hitting something in Spice - I've always said it's not if, but when you run aground, and obviously our boats don't take it lightly. Where are you on the hard? Will you do the work yourself, or have the yard do it or both? 

A friend with a smaller boat (Dash 34) did something similar last year and fixed it himself, but there is much less furniture to work around, so tabbing the grid back down was much easier for him. His approach sounds like what you have planned: drop the keel; fix the external damage (he had less, but did have some), re-tab the grid (he was able to make it stronger than it had been, but our boats are stronger to begin with, so that may be more challenging), make the keel/hull joint perfect (made a mold to mimic the top of the keel and used epoxy to create a perfect surface to mate with on the boat; reattach the keel - go sailing. He's also done the keel on his Cartwright 44 in the past, if you'd like to chat with him about it he's likely happy to. Let me know and I'll get you in email correspondence.

Good luck! And share your experience here, I, for one, am very interested in it.

Chris

[David Jade]

I am sorry to hear about this as well. 

We removed and reset our keel last year on our J/46 (leaks around bolts - long story but no grounding). That alone was a complicated process. 

We hired Stephen Burke who designed the keel systems for the J/46 and oversaw the J/46 builds at TPI. He gave us very detailed information on how to have the yard do everything right, including making it stronger than before (just because we could). He knows it all very well  You might want to reach out to him. 

I have tons of photos of our process if that would help. Might be enough similarities. 

Good luck. 

David                      _/)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On Apr 17, 2026, at 6:36 AM, Chris <j44s...@gmail.com> wrote:

This is tragic, Todd - so sorry you're having to deal with it. I live in fear of hitting something in Spice - I've always said it's not if, but when you run aground, and obviously our boats don't take it lightly. Where are you on the hard? Will you do the work yourself, or have the yard do it or both? 

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[Adam Ruscitto]

Hi Todd,

Really sorry to hear about your grounding and resulting damage. Are you hauled out in San Carlos again? I'm currently en route to San Carlos, will be arriving Sunday. I'm bringing tools to remove/torque keel bolts with me if that's any help to you. Also happy to lend a hand dropping the keel, etc.

best,

Adam

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[david hills]

Adam, you are a hero!

David Hills

Caretaker 

Emery Farm

135 Piscataqua Rd

Durham, NH 03824

603-674-6412

I am my own strength, there is no other
I am my own weakness, there is no other
We are all one, there is no other

Sent from my iPhone

On Apr 17, 2026, at 12:50 PM, Adam Ruscitto <adamru...@gmail.com> wrote:



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[Todd Stevens]

Thanks for the contact reference - that’s exactly what I was looking for. The guy the yard here consults with won’t be here for a week. IDK if he really has an engineering background or not.

I have brought the boat all the way north up to Puerto Peñasco. Although this was the farthest option. They have the equipment to do the job and they actually build boats (albeit, mostly in steel). Unlike the San Carlos yard which is mainly just storage. And the US border is only an hour away for having stuff delivered. If the process ends up being drawn out, we are already in position for hurricane season storage. And they have a couple of apartments to rent, right here in the yard, if/when that becomes necessary.

I haven’t really yet got out the grinder, but with a little probing I’ve learned a bit more about how the keel structure is built. There is a fiberglass stub that extends about ten inches below the hull, and the bolts must extend all the way through that. Except for the one at the bottom of the sump. I haven’t yet found the actual keel/stub joint - it appears to have been wrapped in fiberglass or something that will have to be ground off. This means that the hull delamination forward and aft of the keel may be a more complicated three-dimensional problem that I first thought. And now I worry that it may involve cored hull.

So I guess I have to mostly cool my heels here for another week. I can work on things like cleaning and folding the sails and flushing the motors and such.

First night on solid ground in at least a couple of months and I still feel like I’m bobbing up and down...

[David Jade]

Re: keel stub

Sounds a lot like the J/46. There is a “belly band” of fiberglass around the joint. 4-6” tall. Must be carefully ground away to separate the keel. The top part of the keel has an inset that the belly band fills. You don’t want to grind into the stub itself.

There was nothing cored in our stub. The aft part though was about 10” of mostly solid filled material. The rest varies in thickness. But around where the stub meets the hull, yes cored hull at some point.

We’re on an offshore passage right now. I’ll gather some photos of our J/46 stub/keel
in a few days as yours sounds very similar. Maybe it will help.

David _/)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

> On Apr 17, 2026, at 3:16 PM, 'Todd Stevens' via J/4X Owner's Group <j4x-owne...@googlegroups.com> wrote:
>
> 

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[David Jade]

One more thing. The original J/46 owner’s manual had a section of installation of the keel. Maybe the J/42 owners manual has that as well.

David _/)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

> On Apr 17, 2026, at 3:32 PM, David Jade <da...@mutable.net> wrote:
>
> Re: keel stub

[Todd Stevens]

The J/42 manual has only a brief description of the keel. I suppose it was thought to be short enough that the boat could be trucked without removing it.

[Dick York]

Stephen Burke is a genius about lamination.  Use him.

Also, do not mess around here... get it done right.  The Sweden 41 Gunga Din went down about two years ago from pounding in the Gulf Stream....... after several groundings and some issues with the grid and keel bolts.  https://www.ussailing.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/BROC-Structurcal-Sinkings-Final-Report-1.pdf

Some ultrasonic tests might be of help.

Yes, pull the mast first.  

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/j4x-owners-group/972C08DC-DC9B-4112-B639-16A76E26FD6E%40mutable.net.

[Todd Stevens]

So, one of the findings of that report should be of immediate interest to the J/4X crowd.

Access to the floorboards was impeded by interior cabinetry.

At least on my boat, all the floorboards are secured underneath perimeter baseboards, that all have to be removed before any floorboard can be pulled up.  Also, most of the self-tapping screws driven directly into the grid are bent or broken. They are just not strong enough for the application.  (I’ve always thought that was a stupid idea. Maybe it works in “green” fiberglass but not once it’s hardened.) So nothing really holds the floorboards down except the baseboards.

A more robust, and operable, method is needed for securing them.  

[Todd Stevens]

Weekly update:  I have been in contact with Steve Burke. Got my initial ToDo list.  He thinks all the dramatic-looking damage is “easy" to fix. But the little cracks bear closer scrutiny.

Got the rig pulled, in preparation for dropping the keel. Cleaned the sails and put them away. 

Located and started to remove the “belly band” of fiberglass that wraps the stub-keel joint. It’s six inches wide and about 3/8-inch deep, filling a groove in both the keel and the stub. Let me tell you, by the time I ground down to 11/32” I was getting pretty worried, but then lead appeared.  This job is too big for my battery powered grinder. Will have to level-up on tools this week.

The yard is building a cradle to support the keel. Apparently nothing that’s laying around here is quite right.  

Weirdly, the crack in the paint that sometimes appears upon haul-out is actually the bottom of the belly-band.  Not the joint at all.  But I guess it’s still the border between fiberglass and lead, under the paint.  Biofouling is consistently worse below that line - over the lead - than it is over the fiberglass.  Barnacles like lead?  Hmmm. Before we’re done, I’ll strip the whole keel down to bare metal and apply new barrier coat.  

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[Todd Stevens]

Another weekly update. Things have been moving on Mexico time… slowly… but moving.  Mostly waiting on the yard to finish building the cradle so we can drop the keel.

Finished grinding out the belly band. 

Moved off the boat and in to an on-site apartment, so I could start tearing apart the interior.

Pulled up all the floorboards and scrubbed out the bilge spaces so we could get a better look at what’s going on. Now that the boat is sitting on the keel, the cracks have opened up somewhat and are easier to see.  

Unfortunately, the damage to the grid goes farther aft than I had hoped. I’m going to have to remove the galley and all the systems within. As far as I can see at first look, I’m going to have to remove it stick by stick.  But I’m hoping that at least some of it will come away in “units.” Has anybody done this before?  Any hints? I guess we must look at this as an opportunity to upgrade all the fresh water plumbing upon reinstallation.  And maybe add some icebox insulation. 

In fact I keep getting sidetracked, thinking about how things might be reinstalled more better.  At one time I wanted to move the table forward, well now it would be trivial to put it anywhere I want. But I don’t think I want to any more.  The heater needs to be replumbed to mate up with the new fuel distribution system - lots of options.   It would be nice to get the water tank selection valve and strainer out of the bilge. I need a better way to fasten down the floorboards. And maybe new floorboards…. But that’s all down the road. (Just if any parts are required, best to order them early.) 

On Apr 26, 2026, at 18:54, 'Todd Stevens' via J/4X Owner's Group <j4x-owne...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

Weekly update:  I have been in contact with Steve Burke. Got my initial ToDo list.  He thinks all the dramatic-looking damage is “easy" to fix. But the little cracks bear closer scrutiny.

Got the rig pulled, in preparation for dropping the keel. Cleaned the sails and put them away. 

Located and started to remove the “belly band” of fiberglass that wraps the stub-keel joint. It’s six inches wide and about 3/8-inch deep, filling a groove in both the keel and the stub. Let me tell you, by the time I ground down to 11/32” I was getting pretty worried, but then lead appeared.  This job is too big for my battery powered grinder. Will have to level-up on tools this week.

The yard is building a cradle to support the keel. Apparently nothing that’s laying around here is quite right.  

<IMG_0565.jpeg>

Weirdly, the crack in the paint that sometimes appears upon haul-out is actually the bottom of the belly-band.  Not the joint at all.  But I guess it’s still the border between fiberglass and lead, under the paint.  Biofouling is consistently worse below that line - over the lead - than it is over the fiberglass.  Barnacles like lead?  Hmmm. Before we’re done, I’ll strip the whole keel down to bare metal and apply new barrier coat.  

On Apr 18, 2026, at 14:25, 'Todd Stevens' via J/4X Owner's Group <j4x-owne...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

So, one of the findings of that report should be of immediate interest to the J/4X crowd.

Access to the floorboards was impeded by interior cabinetry.

At least on my boat, all the floorboards are secured underneath perimeter baseboards, that all have to be removed before any floorboard can be pulled up.  Also, most of the self-tapping screws driven directly into the grid are bent or broken. They are just not strong enough for the application.  (I’ve always thought that was a stupid idea. Maybe it works in “green” fiberglass but not once it’s hardened.) So nothing really holds the floorboards down except the baseboards.

A more robust, and operable, method is needed for securing them.  

On Apr 18, 2026, at 12:42, Dick York <york.r...@gmail.com> wrote:

Stephen Burke is a genius about lamination.  Use him.

Also, do not mess around here... get it done right.  The Sweden 41 Gunga Din went down about two years ago from pounding in the Gulf Stream....... after several groundings and some issues with the grid and keel bolts.  https://www.ussailing.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/BROC-Structurcal-Sinkings-Final-Report-1.pdf

Some ultrasonic tests might be of help.

Yes, pull the mast first.  

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[David Jade]

One note on removing the fridge. On the J/46 the insulation around the fridge is supposed to be vacuum panels of some sort. So maybe be careful when cutting into them. I was told to never dill into them for mounting anything inside or outside. The original J/46 spec sheet mentions this fridge construction.

 

I did talk with another J/46 owner (who I don’t think if on the forum here) that rebuilt their fridge once and it was a big messy job. A common issue is that the moisture gets trapped behind the wood and leads to rotting from within.  Maybe for only those who run the fridge 24/7 for years on end. They salvaged parts of the cabinetry by only carefully cutting out the side panels and leaving behind the corner posts, then bulking up the insulation around the fridge and replacing with new side panels in-place. The guy who did it for them said he would never do that job again.

 

Hope this helps,

David             _/)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

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[David Haller]

Does anybody have any plans or drawings of J 42 refrigerator cover? Ours is deteriorating. 

David J Haller

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[Todd Stevens]

Didn’t have much luck with trying to disassemble the cabinet. Everything is screwed and glued. They wanted that thing to be rock solid. Now contemplating sawing it into two or three feasible units that I hope can be joined back together.  

The fridge is actually beyond the work area, and might not be disturbed. Except the lines for the engine-driven refrigeration may need to be disconnected, which may be the end of that system. Unless I can find a tech to recharge it around here somewhere.  I did drill through the insulation when I installed the 12VDC refrigeration a couple years ago - no problems.  

Turns out the bilge pump hoses were brittle and at EOL anyway.  Tugging on them to get them out of the grid and through the cabinetry, they broke here and there.  Replacing 25 year old hoses - one of those PITA things you should do but don’t unless something makes you do it. Oh, the electric bilge pump hose does run through the fridge insulation, so that will probably have to come apart. 

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[Todd Stevens]

On May 6, 2026, at 10:33, David Jade <da...@mutable.net> wrote:

 A common issue is that the moisture gets trapped behind the wood and leads to rotting from within.  Maybe for only those who run the fridge 24/7 for years on end. 

I should note that after running the fridge 24/7 for years on end, the bulkhead is always wet from condensation behind the settee end cushion, and may be a bit rotten. A case for more/better insulation there. 

[David Jade]

Our J/46 doesn’t really get much condensation behind the cushions but our old J/35c did and what we did was glue/stick on a thin piece of cork board behind the cushions. This little thin bit of 3mm cork board helped, maybe as insulation but also maybe as just something that prevented condensation as much as the bare wood did. I think natural cork resists condensation, mildew, etc…

 

On our J/46 we get condensation under the sink on the fridge exterior and I’m about to try the same thing there as well. Amazon sells it as shelf liner material in rolls with an adhesive back, about 3mm thick.

 

David             _/)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

From: 'Todd Stevens' via J/4X Owner's Group <j4x-owne...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Wednesday, May 6, 2026 2:08 PM
To: j4x-owne...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: [J/4X-owners] J/42 Back in The Boatyard: Allision Damage

 

On May 6, 2026, at 10:33, David Jade <da...@mutable.net> wrote:

 

 A common issue is that the moisture gets trapped behind the wood and leads to rotting from within.  Maybe for only those who run the fridge 24/7 for years on end. 

I should note that after running the fridge 24/7 for years on end, the bulkhead is always wet from condensation behind the settee end cushion, and may be a bit rotten. A case for more/better insulation there. 

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[Bill Bowers]

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Bill Bowers <wfb0...@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, May 6, 2026 at 20:51
Subject: Re: [J/4X-owners] J/42 Back in The Boatyard: Allision Damage

To: <j4x-owne...@googlegroups.com>

Ahoy All

I recently completed a major repair of the grid of ConverJence, J42 #3.

 I removed and replaced the water heater,  and scarfed port and starboard stringers and ribs at the nav &  galley bulkheads. Was able to avoid galley surgery. 

Removed water tanks and tabbed settee fronts to the hull and bonded to the stringers to provide greatly improved stiffness to the grid structure. 

Cut out all delaminated tabbing with a grout removal multitool. Sanded off most of white gelcoat on grid floors snd sides of ribs and stringers. 1/2” fillets grid to hull with Raka low viscosity epoxy microfiber cabosil splodge. 8-12 layers of 23 oz biaxial cloth to floor and grid walls. Avoided raising height of floorboards.

Original grid was 8 layers of biaxial with 4 layers of overtabbing. In the most critical aft keel grid bays I have added 1/2” of void free epoxy glass to the grid walls and hull bay floors. 

Where the stringers and ribs fractured at the nav/galley bulkheads I scarfed down thru the 1/2” top of the grid and tapered back about 8” where possible. 

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/j4x-owners-group/9C2CA4BC-228F-40F3-9B17-B1766CDCC4F7%40me.com.

[Bill Bowers]

Ahoy All

I recently completed a major repair of the debonded and fractured grid of ConverJence, J42 #3.  We hit a rock at 6kn. No leakage.  Where the stringers and ribs fractured at the nav/galley bulkheads I scarfed down thru the 1/2” top of the grid and tapered back about 8” where possible.

 I removed and replaced the water heater,  and scarfed port and starboard stringers and ribs at the nav &  galley bulkheads. Was able to avoid galley surgery. 

Removed water tanks and tabbed settee fronts to the hull and bonded to the stringers to provide greatly improved stiffness to the grid structure. 

Cut out all delaminated tabbing with a grout removal multitool. Sanded off most of white gelcoat on grid floors snd sides of ribs and stringers. 1/2” fillets grid to hull with Raka low viscosity epoxy microfiber cabosil splodge. 8-12 layers of 23 oz biaxial cloth bonded to floor and grid walls. Avoided raising height of floorboards.

Original grid was 8 layers of biaxial with 4 layers of overtabbing. In the most critical aft keel grid bays I have added 1/2” of void free epoxy glass to the grid walls and hull bay floors. 

Pics of grid retabbing below.

Best

Bill Bowers

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/j4x-owners-group/9C2CA4BC-228F-40F3-9B17-B1766CDCC4F7%40me.com.

[Todd Stevens]

Wow, thanks for that. Looks like they changed the structure somewhat by the time they got to Hull # 41. I.e. only the center keelbolt (under the table) is down in a sump. The rest have some kind of filler packed in there. That’s not a keel bolt way up near the front bulkhead is it?

So the boat has been hanging in slings for a day while the yard guys try to get the keel off. I was inside while they were trying to wiggle the keel, and you could see the floor flex around the group of three bolts, independent of the grid. Of course that whole bay is damaged at the moment, so maybe it’s that.

They’re trying so aggressively to “remove the filler” between the keel and stub that they are cutting into the structural fiberglass of the stub. I stopped them, but damage was done. Sending away for more better tools. E.g. they didn’t have deep sockets to fit the keel bolt nuts, so they fabricated some. (facepalm) The wedges they were trying to drive into the joint were just cut from pine 2x4. (facepalm) I just picked up a supply shipment at the border the day before. If I’d known, I could have bought the right tools. Although if we can find something to strap the keel down to, they can try to pull the boat off with the 150-ton travel lift.

> On May 7, 2026, at 18:42, Bill Bowers <wfb0...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> <IMG_2953.jpeg><IMG_2952.jpeg>

[Bill Bowers]

Hi Todd

No, that is an unused forward scan sonar thruhull in the first bay. 

I cleaned and retorqued keel bolts lubed with black Neversieze. They were all very snug. Needed 1/2” impact driver and PB Blaster soak and heat. 

Best

Bill

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[Bill Bowers]

3 plies 23oz biaxial epoxy tabbing settee fronts outside reinforced stringers under water tanks. Gap between fronts and stringers packed with structural filled epoxy. 

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[Todd Stevens]

On May 8, 2026, at 09:28, Bill Bowers <wfb0...@gmail.com> wrote:

<IMG_2470.jpeg>

3 plies 23oz biaxial epoxy tabbing settee fronts outside reinforced stringers under water tanks. Gap between fronts and stringers packed with structural filled epoxy. 

I think my stringers are OK. It’s the transverse members that have broken away from them.  The marks on the cabinets suggest that the stringers did not move during the crash.  Everything else did.  And tabbing would look pretty shit on my cherrywood panels.  Still might have to remove all that to make room for grinding.  

From what I have observed in deliberately trying to make the keel wobble, it’s the floors of the bays and their bonding to the grid that need the most reinforcement.  

We’re at all-stop for the weekend while new tools fly in at the speed of Amazon. The greatest worry right now is that the entire length of the bolts, within the stub, might be bonded with 5200 or something. (Although I think that’s unlikely.) If so, the suggested solution is to weld up a super-long hole saw slightly larger than the bolts and drill down around them. But that’s a last resort. We haven’t really even given the conventional wedge method a good try yet.  

Meanwhile, I’ll pull out as many hoses, cables, and systems as I can and see if it still looks like the cabinet needs to come out.  

[Bill Bowers]

Todd, the stringer reinforcement tabbing is under the bunks under the water tanks extending outward. Totally invisible. 

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[Bill Bowers]

Our J42 rib and stringer grid was stick built from inverted U shaped 8ply members which were butt joined in situ by 4 more plies of heavy biaxial cloth which overwrapped the members and formed the tabbing to the hull.  A very sound bluewater specification with no Cheeki Raffiki hidden glue.  Will send pics biopsy pics of the fractured rib in a minute.

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[Kirk Daniel]

Sent Anyone interested on some used sails  fasher , 130  ,110 trial radial spinnaker and 155 jib

KirbDaniel

404-680-5944from my iPhone

Begin forwarded message:

From: Bill Bowers <wfb0...@gmail.com>
Date: May 8, 2026 at 5:43:21 PM EDT
To: j4x-owne...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: [J/4X-owners] J/42 Back in The Boatyard: Allision Damage

Reply-To: j4x-owne...@googlegroups.com



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[Tom Keffer]

Kirk, I think you'll have better luck starting a new thread rather than embedding your offer in an unrelated thread.

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/j4x-owners-group/21F8D6B0-DFC7-4066-9F07-8F7263C1097A%40gmail.com.