Replacing keel bolts on a yacht. From: John Mosforth [mailto:john.

Replacing keel bolts on a yacht Right before the beginning (1) Fitting the Old in the New (2) Peaceful hell (3) Q & A; Yacht Raising and Lowering the Keel: Raising and Lowering the Keel: With the boat in the water, lower the keel by gripping the handle firmly and rotating it counter-clockwise. The root of the keel sits in a "shoe" molded into the underside of the hull, and the bolts probably have countersunk heads. I weld them back into position with a special lead alloy that make the new keel bolt 2 to three times stronger than the new old keel bolt. These cracks were discovered after marina reported hull flexing while placing boat in the cradle for winter. We advise reading the blog, and if you see a problem, think there might be a problem, or want to avoid a problem, have your keel checked by a qualified person. Probably a couple days to get everything dried out. The keel bolt nuts and washers are removed from inside. n my view, if you pound a typical Moody keel on the bottom (e. Messy but easier than tearing up and replacing decking. Bust the rusty nuts off the top. This can be done one at a time with the boat in the water. Remove/replace one bolt at a time. Some old boats have a sort of a flange at the root of the keel, and bolts are used to secure the keel to the canoe-hull shape. Where is the best place to get the specifications for each of the boat's keel bolts, and For sure cheaper than replacing the boat! Jim _____ Jim and Ann s/v Insatiable II, lying Port Cygnet Tasmania once again. The bolt was removed using an open ended spanner with a three foot (1 metre) length of You loosen all the keel bolts and rebed the keel (clean out the keel/hull mating surfaces, CLEAN, and then apply new bedding compound & retighten) using 3M 5200 permanent adhesive. Bob J. 9; Engine Start-Ups Pre bend is adjusted on a keel-stepped boat by moving the mast at the step and partners but on a deck-stepped boat be increasing babystay tension. Contact Ward Richardson at Beneteau (843-629-5300) for the right bolts, which are not that costly, and the torque specifications. Bob Smalsers comments on moisture content are important ones, as Monel is the best material lead keels but not for iron. Broads and Boats. Unless you find that your keel bolts show signs of wetness once you've pulled one, there is no need to "drop the keel". The bronze drifts we spiral cut to give them a little tooth to be more similar to a galvanized drift. I have heard of other fixes for damaged keel bolts, with the keel left on the boat and additional holes are drilled Mine have flared lower ends and 'countersunk' holes in the bottom of the keel; to remove themm you undo the nut above the floor and drive the bolt out downwards. If the I have been through the removing keel and replacing keel bolts on a wooden boat, helped by a colleague whose PhD thesis was on the subject of corrosion in such situations. The spigot attached to the leg has a collar on its inner end. com S/V First Tracks According to Mars Metal (tel. Often keel bolts are J bolts and cannot be removed. There are several ways of repairing the keel bolts. I just finished replacing the keel bolts in my recently-purchased First 345. I charge about $150 per keel bolt to replace it plus traveling expenses. I still have the waisted bolts we removed - one was in 2 pieces but this was through bolts (not studs like a modern boat) going through cast iron then an oak keel with only Boats with keel windows (Figure 2) or external flanges (Figure 4) have the bolt end hidden by fairing filler and may require lots of grinding and chiseling to expose the end. When the keels are fitted, there's a mastic seal put in the joint. Any unseen bolt deterioration is removed. All keel bolts look like the one in the picture. DÉESSE has a keel-stepped mast and it is nearly impossible to stop water from making its way down the inside of the mast. FF Has anyone here ever replaced keel bolts? Below is a cross section of the keel construction of my Peason P26. The Boat; The Crew; Our Purpose; Articles & Books. If you have keel damage, water ingress or any other keel related issue please speak to us. Broken bolts are more difficult to extract but can be knocked out of the external flange with a driving pin or, in the case of the window keel, driven down then cut off A price that is usually too high for older boats. Gary, does anyone know what the factory spec is for torquing up the keel bolts? Our boat is a 1974 (sail #208) that we have done much work on, including replacing the original keel bolts, but I cannot eliminate the Benetau/Jeanneau keels are cast iron, not lead. If left unchecked, this can cause the keel to break off or water to enter through the bolt holes in the bilge. Is replacing those nuts possible or should I A24 Keel Dropping & more on Keel Bolts; A24 Replacing Keel Bolts on Zethar by Geoff Marks. “ORCA” H&H Downeast Lobster Boat Build; Farallon 27′ Repower “Sea Harvester” Radon Boat Extension; Radon 29′ Repower with QSB 6. Beneteau direct you to your local dealer and they don't have that info. Poorly alloyed keels on new boats can also corrode. There are two main types of lifting keels fitted to sailing yachts, those that lift up vertically like dagger boards and those that pivot at an angle. Both are Yacht Legs Co products, adjustable at left, fixed at right. A keel roller is located along the center line of the boat trailer to support the keel With a lead keel, silicon bronze keel bolts are preferred to stainless but stainless is commonly used these days. ca] Sent: Tuesday, February 05, 2002 1:56 PM To: grsalvo@pacbell. That the standard fix for coating them. michael pierzga, Mar 30, 2013 #3. On many boats it is the other way around (my O'day for example). Yearly checkups are recommended, with local retreatment as necessary. E: Keel bolt cleaning/replacement. com/ One of our many services. This bolt was hidden under a floor board near the mast and was under a couple of inches of water. Let me provide you with some pertinent details about my vessel: Year: 1982 Length: 30 feet Material: Fiberglass Keel: Lead fin keel Weight: 1800kg Keel arrangement: Fin keel, keel-stepped mast Bolt diameter: 19mm When a boat loses a keel at sea the first reaction is often to blame the keel bolts, but the evidence does not support this; and other failures are actually more common. The out keel is released from the boat by dropping the bolts in the floors and carefully sliding the keel out from the tapered scarf near the bow where it meets the stem. practical-sailor. The usual quick and dirty method in a small boat like this is to install new lag bolts in between the original keel bolts. Joined 16 Oct 2012 Messages 146 Visit site. For the forward bolt, given the slope of the leading edge of the keel, the yard Lead keel bolts are essential elements for securing the keel to the hull of a vessel. The boat is from 1968. Ours had silicon bronze keel bolts and galvanized steel drifts (in a few places/deadwood) and we replaced all with silicon bronze. Catalina fixed lead The images clearly showed the corrosion of the bolts at the keel/Hull joint. open the point where the rust-water dripped out with a 1″ diameter hole saw and epoxied in a flush silicon bronze bolt hole. www. I know of several boats where the yard or owner, quailing at the thought of extracting ancient keel bolts, simply strapped the ballast. Keelbolts are commonly installed in one of three ways. This photograph shows the simple but elegant socket used by Yacht Legs. Both the keel and boat were scraped and cleaned. A new web site for Achilles Owners. If you use liquid wrench or PB Blaster you should be able to remove the nuts. I'm looking to buy my first boat. 4. mosforth@sympatico. The keel was replaced when the boat was a couple of years old from a lifting keel to a fin keel to improve performance. Thread starter louisderry; Start date 27 Apr 2017; 27 Apr 2017 #1 louisderry Member. Which means that keel bolt replacement can be done by drilling and tapping in the yard. Replacing the bolts is actually a much simpler task for you. Hi everyone. The re-attaching of your keel is usually taken care of at the boat yard, this is something that we are not involved with at all. Make this adjustment if the mainsail is either too full or too flat in the lower third, with respect to the rest of Cruisers & Sailing Forums > The Fleet > Monohull Sailboats: Replacing Keel Bolts, One at a Time The boat was lifted with the keel supported. About Us. 30-08-2023, 19:46 #4: zamber. Cast iron, I don't know but it If memory serves, the bronze bolts are 5/16, and are easily bent if the boat is supported on the outer keel. Be sure to know what material your Beneteau keel is made of: · Cast Iron keel use galvanized bolts - There are threaded sockets cast into the keel. Boat: C&C 30 Mk I. Registered User. PM me your email address and I will forward the Beneteau technical notice; or, simply call Ward Richardson in the Part Department at BeneteauUSA at 843-629-5300 and he can send you the same information. 6 of them are located in the central sump, and those exhibit significant signs of surface corrosion, even though – at this After removing my keel from my boat as part of my hull fiberglass repair, it was revealed that my fore and aft keel bolts had weathered excessively. " The yard reattached the keel by first bedding it in 5200, and then lowering the boat onto the keel. and cannot find anyone here, I wouldn't mind doing it myself as I have a Metal Fab Factory, I have been researching on how to extract the leaded in bolts, Some say drill out from the top and some say melt them out from the side of the Keel. 12 years ago however, the exposed keel bolt and nuts are very corroded so I've decided to replace. The surveyor did suggest drawing the keel bolts and replacing them, as there was a bit of rust around the nuts. It is likely this bond that is still holding the keel onto the boat. Re-fit keel, plates and bolts; Fill and fair keel; Sand keel; Epoxy Keel; Prime and antifoul; We carryout this type or repair/replacement quite frequently and have seen and overcome most issue that can arise when working with keels, please see below a keel replacement carried out on a feeling yacht or click on the links for more keel projects. I am thinking of replacing the keel bolts. DIY Wooden Boat Build - Ep 16 - Keel Forefoot, Upper Shaft Log, Stem - Building A Wooden Troller YachtIn this episode, the lamination of the keel sub-assembl HGFR Marine Services are specialists in the repair of Westerly and Legend Yachts keels especially bilge keel yachts. My problem is I'm in NSW Au. It can easily be done in the water one at a time by anyone that can pull a wrench handle. Taking the decision to remove the keel bolts while the boat is in the water is not for the faint hearts, a lot of questions pop up in your mind while you are planing the procedure , questions like , What if the seal between the hull and the keel breaks? what if the keel bolt brake? what if there is a leak? what if. This wears out over time. With the keel dropped off the boat, the bolts are pretty easy to remove and replace (if I remember correctly, the heads are countersunk into the flange but are not welded or otherwise connected. Keel removal and re-fitting. I am getting the boat lifted in January and would like to source the replacements prior to the lift. I have noticed cracks in the bilge near keel bolts - pls see pictures. Posts: 154 If it has already expended it is probably a write off due to the cost of replacing the keel and ballast. Others have cast-in-place allthread. The rust indicated water ingress and the delamination suggested the keel had taken a knock, with the forward end being pulled down and the aft end being pushed up into the hull. Finally tightened the nuts each day for a Update 18th June: However, there is a danger in using very low torque values like those suggested by Casey: A fundamental of good joint engineering is that the preloaded tension on the bolt needs to be substantially higher than the forces Still, most Moorings boats from that period had iron keels. If your boat has an iron keel you can install bulb halves, but cutting it will be more difficult. The price should reflect this, so how much do they want for the boat? A set of new galvanized or stainless bolts and nuts is not going to break Working on my boat the other day I discovered a keel bolt I didn't know I had and wish I didn't. The traditional method for keeping the propeller shaft watertight is the packed gland or stuffing box. wooden Lakefield boat. The keel bolts of our Jeanneau Sun Shine 36, year of manufacture 1985, are laminated to the hull originally. The generous nav station on the starboard side has a proper chart table for laying out your ocean My boat is a 1990 and you access the bolts which hold in the centerboard through two holes near the front of the slot. We have three yachts in our sailing school fleet - 2 Jeanneau Sun Odysseys and 1 Beneteau Oceanis - as part of the annual summer refit we would like to replace the keel bolts on all of them - they are all pre 2000 built and to our knowledge have not had replacement bolts fitted. Any epoxy will do but the "cold tar" builds thick and stays on. Do I replace the eye bolt still with the larger diameter one? i want to replace the cable, increase the diameter of the winch and reinforce the bridge that supports the winch. Replacing the rollers I am considering doing a bid on this boat. It may be that Re: Replacing keel roller on bunk trailer I just added a keel roller to my 17' alum boat. The need for replacing my P-bracket came about after picking up a length of polypropylene rope in Pollensa, Mallorca. Check your keel bolts and studs. Location: Ontario. Still, there is a small space around the entire keel (which is cast iron) and of course there are some rust streaks where the water got in and out. For those, especially in cast iron fin keels, I just drill down into them, machine in sideways through the keel to make a bolt access and landing, then sister in new bolts with When I replaced the bolts on a prior boat’s iron keel, I bought a socket and had it cut to just less than the height of the keel nut. 5 Canvas & Covers Hatches and Ports Hull and Deck Rigging Sails Trailering Parts Capri Keel Boats; Capri 18 Canvas & Covers Electrical Hull and Deck Plumbing Interior Lifelines & Stanchions Rigging Sails Trailering Parts Capri 22 Canvas & Covers These keel bolts are very bad and the boat is in danger of capsizing when the keel falls off. Search. It is the strongest and safest way of adding a keel to a yacht. Others are joined with a resin fillet which may have detached and need grinding back and replacing. So I started with a hammer to clean the rust off an was slightly shocked at the state of the nuts and exposed bolt tops . <G> keel bolts A watertight joint between the keel and the hull is necessary to prevent crevice corrosion of the keel bolts. when you take the boat out of the water take a look at the keel – hull joint, if you see rust stains it means that water comes through and there is high possibility that you will have a leak, so if it leaks replace the keel bolt and put back or schedule a haul out and plan to reseal the keel acted like a false dead wood. They can consist of long rods, threaded at either end, which extend from the bilge of the boat all the way through the https://www. Most sailboats, or monohulls at least, rely on ballast to counter the forces of wind on I'll show you how I replaced the old keel roller on my boat trailer. An A24 on The Round Lundy Race 2009, by Nicki Cru Achilles 24 Keel bolt Maintenance. Early 70's Pearson 26. Just make sure the keel is lead, as bronze bolts paired with a cast-iron Let’s wrap up our thoughts on how to install anodes on a boat. Fortunately, the keel bolts in a Beneteau are easily reached and fairly easy to replace, one at a time, even with the yacht in the water. If you do that, the adhesive is so strong that when properly applied, it can hold the keel even if all the bolts are stolen by burglars in the middle of the night. The keel bolt material can be up graded to a better Stainless Steel. This price does not include freight. It is a dutch made "bries vd Stadt", in the UK known as "offshore 8mtr". The boom-roller reefing isn't a problem. This allows the V to get onto the trailer and lessens the boat from tipping side to side until the flatter part of the hull reaches the bunks. I can travel to anywhere and repair the keel at the boat yard. this needs to be your centering roller. (Im still looking for Part II to this article which first appeared sometime Well, there is only one way to predict that . g. Page 2 of 2 < Prev 1 2. Apr 14, 2009 774 Sabre 28 NH Feb 4, 2017 #17 Here's what the bonding connection to keel bolt on my boat 40 year old boats are always project boats, unless a PO has kept on top of it. a grounding in rough weather) the grp keel stub is Any yacht sale from Hallberg-Rassy Varvs AB to outside Sweden is always ex VAT and the responsibility to pay local VAT is on the boat buyer, not the yard. MarsKeel is a North American leader in keel technology and specializes in replacing lead keel bolts that are damaged and corroded. Beneteaus of that period sometimes had steel, rather than stainless steel keel bolts or keel bolt washers. 2. Steve D’ Antonio. Our latest blog discusses all the parts of a possible keel bolt concern. For some of our more recent articles associated with keel bolts check out: Sistering Keel Bolts; When Keel and Stub Part Ways; and most recently, this months Bilge Oil and Keel Worries. No bolts are holding the keel to the hull, the keel is the hull. is it necessary. 85 kB, 946x2048 - viewed 100 times. The following article details the stages for refits Crevice Corrosion How can anyone trust a 36 to 48 year old boat, (which is what the Hughes 38s are), without verifying the condition of the keel bolts, and replacing them properly, including bedding the keel and retorking the nuts? In Keel Winches Sheet and Halyard Winches Shop by Boat Capri Dinghies ; CP-14. Keel bolts. When my boats sit on their bunks or rollers, the keel rollers just carry a little weight, only the rear keel roller is a couple inches below the keel. IIRC, on a Beneteau, the keel bolts are run from the bilge into threaded fastners set into the keel. Give me a call at 310 547 4604 at night or Email me at huseman I would generally prefer to mess with keel bolts with the boat on the hard, but it is probably ok to loosen a center bolt in the water, one at a If that looks fine, then I wouldn't think about replacing the bolts themselves, just clean/replace the nut and plate and reinstall, torquing properly. Checking and Replacing: Keelbolts, Part 1 - Practical Sailor Since 1974, Practical Sailor’s independent testing has taken the guesswork out of boat and gear buying. If you’re travelling long distances over rough roads, use more rollers to evenly distribute the weight and reduce damage from rubbing on the hull. The keel for the boat in our example will spend most of its life in the water, and will never, except by awful accident, lose much of its moisture. Paint neither the anode nor where the bolts sit, if the latter is for making the short-circuit, and there are no extra wires for that. The replaced keel bolt will be as strong and secure as the original. jpg (285. It ended up being fairly easy twisting out the old bolts. Do a search here, I've made a number of posts on the subject. Full details at How to check keel bolts. Since the very first fitting of an external keel to a yacht, there have always been risks of failure and in-depth discussions surround what material should be used or how they should be attached. If you have any doubt about their integrity, seeks advice from a surveyor or experienced boat yard. Another advantage of keel bolts is that it is relatively easy to withdraw the bolts (actually studs on Moodys) to inspect or replace them - there is no way of inspecting internally the grp holding an encapsulated keel onto a boat. Chain plates. The boat is a Cape Vickers 41. I then plan to use the boat for the upcoming season and Keel Bolts . The boat has been standing on its keel on the hard for at least 4 years. Joined: Aug 2002 Posts: 17,403 Sometimes keel bolts are threaded around stock, captured at the lower end with a nut fitted through a side-opening recess in the keel. The keel bolt holes in question are slightly misaligned with the holes in the ballast keel and off vertical. Replacing your keel bolts might not be such a bad idea, especially if the boat is fairly old. For stability the boat was then strapped down to the cradle using cargo straps, before the cradle was jacked up on to beer kegs. Many boats built in the 1970s and 1980s have encapsulated keels, where the keel is moulded as part of the hull, then filled with ballast. jpg (330. If its an iron keel, the bolts are just tapped into the iron and are relatively easy to remove. A bit amateurish probably but back then one did what one could on a budget. The boat is supported in the boatyard hoist or crane. Replacing Encapsulated Keel with Bolt On Keel. This was done in order to The devil is in the details, how to modify the boat to build on the new stub and to bolt on the keel is the hard part--you have to survey the existing structure, design and engineer the new stub structure and keel bolt arrangement so that it can be easily built and assembled. The keel is fixed with bolts (not studs) with hexagonal heads. Check for water in the deck core, make sure the engine mounts, shaft seal, strut, thru hulls are in good shape, expect to replace most hoses if not already done, check for fuel tank leaks, battery fusing, electrical problems. In this latter case, the windows are typically a foot or so below the top of the casting. My initial plan was to drill an oversized hole to fit an iroko dowel and redrill the new hole through the dowel. How involved is the procedure to replace a keel? If you haven't already, I'd get in the water and get a very good look at (and good pictures of) the keel, before I lifted a finger on anything else. I have got a cast iron Keel and I need to know the Sizes of the Bolts. First boat. The seam is pretty tight (compared to a lot of other boats in the yard, for example) and there isn't much movement on the keel. Often keel bolts are J bolts and cannot be removed. The keel still needs ballast, and for this we use lead that’s moulded There are numerous methods for inspecting keel bolts without removing them. The winch handle works through a friction clutch, the 3/8 x 3 1/2" lock bolt through the keel trunk and the keel, with a rubber washer on each side of the keel trunk Replacing the keel bolts on a 30ft, 7 tonne Falmouth pilot The keel bolts will have to be replaced sometime soon, they are extremely rusty and in a few cases the nuts have disintegrated in my hands. A boat yard will charge loads since they just hold the boat in the crane while they drop the keels & replace the mastic. Check the blanking plates are in your speed and depth transducers before the boat is lifted in. do the keel attachment points cause any trouble, will I need to budget for replacing the keel bolts ? Thanks in advance folks required new keel bolts. Leaking keel bolts are a sure sign all is not well, particularly I understand that the designer of a boat will specify the number, diameter and spacing of the keel bolts and the details of the keel pan/hull-keel joint so that the whole hull-keel system can adequately handle the loads, including B1 and B2 knockdowns (B1 = 90 - 120degree, B2 full 360 roll: check the '79 fastnet disaster report). Here’s how it worked in my case: After removing my keel from my boat as part of my hull fiberglass repair, it was revealed that my fore and Joda was hauled out at Rodney Bay Boatyard St Lucia for a full hull overhaul. In my mind I feel like this is a simple job. There was an interesting exchange on this topic between Julian Everitt and Bob Perry (in Bob's excellence in yacht design series) where a potential disconnect between design and construction was highlighted: IIUC, the risk discussed was that the designer penned a suitable combination of hull, rig & keel using the methods that the yard used as standard but barnakiel (similar boat here) How are Nordical ballast bolts fitted? 21-07-2020, 19:13 #4: Buddy_Y. Given the way these boats are built, replacing just the nuts and washers would be a useless waste of time and money since The boat is a Beneteau 32s5 25 years old and the keel is iron. This changed in about 1992 so a different method (which I dont know) would be needed. e. This included replacing the keel bolts, rudder bearings, shaft seal and bottom paint job. Looking forward to your next article on replacing keel The Boat; The Crew; Our Purpose; Articles & Books. Keel bolt and hull-to-keel seal replacement. The forward end of the keel is still up hanging by the hanger and bolts. Advanced Search Crevice corrosion on keel bolts can sink a boat, so we took the decision to inspect ours. Nice Boat! Replacing the bolts is a no brainer. You can spot te mods immediately. Like the bulletin said: Beneteau considers replacing the bolts as standard Hello, I have a Dragon yacht under restoration and need to repair a few 20mm keel bolt holes on her oak timber keel. the metal of the keel is all intact around the eye bolt up to the shoulder. Take the rig out of the boat, take the keel off and roll the boat over so That is basically impossible on these boats as the bolts are L-shaped and encased in molten lead" Mars Keel can replace the bolts - they cut out the section the bolt occupies and cast in a new bolt. . I was told that it probably needs the keel replaced because of the fiberglass coating it was given at the bow of the boat. Firstly the cradle had to be adjusted so that the lead ballast could pass between the front and back cradle cross The advice I found on the internet recommends I clean up the rusty bolts and replace them one by one with galvanized, high tensile steel replacements available through One of the jobs that our Boat Care team specialise in at Deacons Marina, is keel removal and refit, with the aim of replacing the keel studs or fitting a new keel to the hull. and likely this job will cost a lot more than 3 grand. Moderator On a boat of this vintage and with the amount of rust present dropping the keel is mandatory. There are a selection of materials that can be used for fastenings but care has to be excised with the choices made. The additional pres- sure exerted on the adhesive, gives The Legend 45 I am looking at buying has a 6 inch stain/mark in the anti foul right around the keel (above and below the keel joint). You can coat the heads with a sealant or epoxy to help seal them up. Looks like easiest replacement is to remove the 2 keel bolts at the front and drop it out from under the trailer, anyone do it that way I didn't want to remove the keel bolt nut and was going to use another ss nut on top of the existing nut and use a ring terminal for the ground wire between the two nuts. As your boat is leaking now I'd suggest the mastic needs replacement. Step 2: Loosen the keel bolts from inside the cabin. Unfortunately, eventually the keel bolts can weaken until it is primarily the bond securing the keel to the hull. Keel re-sealing. Registered User Catalina 25 or Catalina 27. 1. Usually they are bolted on to a bed of Sikaflex or similar adhesive sealant. Right before the beginning (1) Fitting the Old in the New (2) Peaceful hell (3) Q & A; Yacht I'm reaching out to seek some guidance as I embark on a project to upgrade the backing plates for the keel bolts on my sailboat. The first is to take the keel of and melt out the old keel bolt and weld the lead around a new keel bolts. Engine Start-Ups – 4BT 3. Any adhesive that is squeezed out of the joint can be tooled to a finish 208 Remove Sika adhesives or sealants with Sika® Remover-208 After three or four days, the keel bolts can be tightened to their full torque rating. Join Date: Jul 2007. Has corrosion formed in the keel hull joint ? Replacing keel bolts in a cast keel is major surgery. <br /><br />Just priming with red lead and painting will work on iron keels too. When that bond fails catastrophically the keel will part from the boat. Although they will be filled, angled light should reveal their outlines. Now, each There is no point in simply replacing the nuts since the keel bolts can be removed without dropping the keel, although it probably makes sense to drop the keel, and redo the bedding if you are going to replace the bolts. There is always another boat. The boat is a '93 Beneteau 45F5 and is on the hard for the winter, the other bolts look fine and appear to be stainless in an iron keel. Recent rudder bushing replacement (known issue with this model). Pull all the bolts, drop the keel, scrape off all the sealant and replace with 5200. If the exposed tops in the bilge are not rusty, there's no water weeping in or out, and no large crack visible between the keel and hull, there's no real need to do anything but check the tightness with a torque wrench. Now you know that nothing will shift, and you can proceed to mark the outline of the casting on the wood, and bore I am getting my boat ready for the water and I want to seal the keel/hull joint on my 1978 Pearson 26. I use a die to make threads on the shaft ends and secured the rollers with stainless locking nuts. There is also an interesting article from our archives in keel bolt inspection. This is a actually a very easy and routine repair job compared to the so This is in addition to replacing the worn keel bolts and resealing the keels, see above: Keel bolt and hull-to-keel seal replacement. The keel was rebedded (and chronicled) approx. I got myself off my sickbed, flew to Malta Boat leaks are the bane of a sailor’s life, but with patience their source can be traced. It seems like superficial rust to me. Book1 : The Dream of a Becoming Sailor; North Atlantic Crossing. costablancayachtservices. Remember, the main principle of installing anodes on a boat is that the anode should contact (short-circuit) the metal structure it protects. I have heard of other fixes for damaged keel bolts, with the keel left on the boat and additional holes are drilled One of the jobs that our Boat Care team specialise in at Deacons Marina, is keel removal and refit, with the aim of replacing the keel studs or fitting a new keel to the hull. The U-bolt drops down through two holes in the socket, trapping the collar. You can pull them one at a time to check their condition, even in the water. Preparation List before Crossing the North Atlantic With a 26 Feet sailboat; Replacing Keel Bolts; Sailing From A Female Prespective. Three or four rings are normal for small and medium yachts with auxiliary engines. The boat was lowered back down as shown in the photo below. Wobble rollers fit the curvature of the hull and carry approximately 40% of the weight of the boat. The heads The best way to remove a sailboat keel is to do so in a boatyard with specialized equipment to manage the heavy weight of the keel and the boat safely. If I could find out the size M20 M24 for example and Length 90mm for It seems like every keel material design has its pitfalls, but after owning two previous boats with iron keels, I was looking forward to not worrying about keel corrosion — especially the invisible kind. The rest I wasted" - Elmore Leonard 20-02-2022, 10:56 #8: donradcliffe We are now replacing the 7 bolts, out of 10 started a week ago, replacing one bolt Keel rollers support the boat’s keel, so they carry most of the weight. Check with your manufacturer if you’re unsure about you keel. I had previously fitted a rope cutter but its mounting was insufficiently strong to cope with the thickness of the rope, 16 mm diameter, and the three setscrews pulled out of the P-bracket hub. 7 550 “Moolight” Repower Project “TIME OUT” Boat Restoration & Repower; Albin 28′ Repower Project “Restless” Repower Project; Engine Startups. bolts that need replacing and how busy we are it usually takes about 4-6 weeks. Then bolt it back on with new bolts. The 2-piece hulls were factory-made and then builder-assembled. Where the limit is namely found is in the bending of the keel wings after grounding, when the boat is left to rock back and forth on the keel. It's easy, requires no lift, and often works quite well. Instructions: Launch the boat and tie the boat off to the dock or onto the beach close by, and move your boat trailer and vehicle away from the launching ramp. The original keel bolts are cast iron and threaded into a threaded insert in the keel, not SS threaded rods cast into a lead keel. Sistering [/B]Keel bolts in lead keels may be installed from the bottom, or they may be threaded rods installed from the top, terminating in a backing plate and nut fitted via a "window" in the keel. G’day All Would welcome advice on whether regalvanizing just the nuts, washer and backing plates on my 12 year old Jeanneau is a useless exercise if not removing the bolts as well. It seems - based on description and realizing the pics could change this - like a quickie repair in a case of suspect keel bolts. I viewed a 1990s Sadler 32 today, and there's lots to like, but the broker made me aware of some corrosion on the keel bolt backing plates. ” Keel bolts are very different things on a fixed lead keel vs a cast iron swing keel. The boat usually lifts out onto a static cradle. com. If the nuts are junk, then what are the odds that the bolts are suffering where you cant see them? "The keel bolts should be fine. Hatches are positioned over the pertinent bits, but you might want to invest in an electric driver before checking your keel bolts. Even more unusual than keel bolt failure, a hole or crack in the hull is a possibility nonetheless. I have a 15 to 16 ft. Various materials are used for the packing, traditionally flax, hemp and cotton, but Hi all, We have a 1984 Beneteau First 38 and have just spent the last 4 days removing 20 Keel Bolts. I'm reasonably confident of all bar 2 responding to lots of leverage with an appropriate socket and plenty of penetrating fluid but it's the corroded heads I'm mainly concerned about as I don't think there is enough sound metal for the socket If I am just replacing the bolts and not taking the keel loose for some reason you can take a little caulking cotton and wrap it around the shank of the new 5/8” 316 stainless steel flathead bolt and smear Life caulk around it and the hole before tightening the nut. Get them down to bare metal and use cold tar epoxy. You should get a firm quote from a yard before purchase. Yes, there is “internal dam” within the mast that is located at deck Island Packet sailboats are no exception, as their keels are bolted to the boat and occasionally prone to separation. Not for use on a swing keel boat. You can see water being squeezed out if the mastic is dodgy. New rode was delivered from Trinidad, a local machine shop threaded both ends. I did a combination of chisels and wrenches to replace the nuts 1 by 1 ( still in the water) until they were all Catalina bonded the keel onto the fiberglass keel stub in addition to the keel bolts. Marine engineer recommended replacing washers with SS plates and retightening the keel bolts. Inside the boat, Barry was concerned by the delamination and bumps on the hull near the forward and aft end of the keel flange and the rust streaks around the bolt holes. Zethar had been epoxied in 1986 and a skin of epoxy covered the hull to keel join, so this was disturbed that as little as possible. Hello all, Most sailing boat keel bolts are bolted down into the keel from inside the hull: they hold the keel in position using threaded holes in the body of the keel without going all Encapsulated keels. Lifting and swing keel inspections. Dropping the keel (lifting the boat off the keel, actually) could be a next step. Depends on the keel material, and the makeup. Has anyone any experience of Fin keel boats cannot dry out without additional support, either from a harbour wall or by fitting a pair of beaching legs. There are also other checks which can be done if the boat is ashore. MarsKeel has the ability to replace damaged keel bolts, offering replacement technology and techniques that return you keel to new condition (800) 381-5335 | sales@marskeel. Step 1: The first step is to arrange the cradle for the keel under the boat. Since the ribs are now cracked and weeping I am thinking it it time to fix Checking keel fastenings: what to look for. We didn't expect it to look like this 🔔 SUBSCRIBE http://bit. To replace the bolts you get the nuts off (use a nut splitter, cut the nut with a cut-off Re: Cast Iron keel replacement I don't know about the sailmaster keel but have owned a few bolt on iron keels. The mix of steel and stainless steel below the waterline was never a good thing and some of Beneteaus of this era needed early keel bolt replacement. A typical repair involving keel bolt replacement and new hull-to-keel joint proceeds as follows: A frame is prepared to support the keel when it is separated from the hull. No Graham ho has hit the keel bolt on the head! Re my c30 My keel bolt and nuts were just a clump of rust . ) 2. Hi All, I want to replace the J Bolts in a Lead Keel. Keel separation occurs when the bolts holding the heavy keel blade loosen or corrode. Fortunately, the cure is not difficult – only labor intensive – and the prognosis is for complete recovery and a long life. 01 kB I will change my keel bolts very soon as the bolt heads appear rusty. 24-11-2022, 10:13 #3: Pete7. I'm planning to do this on my Columbia 36 this winter. If the rust turns out to be more than just surface discoloration, I would have a hard time trusting them and would seek a professional opinion on replacing the keelbolts. This article focuses This means the keel is moulded as part of the hull. Remove one bolt, treat the replacement with anti-galling lubricant, replace the bolt, move on to the next. There is always more than meets the eye and decay is constant. As long as you can get a socket on the bolt heads; their removal, inspection and replacement are straight forward. It's easy, requires no lift, and The keel bolts on this boat are pretty badly rusted, and the very aft most bolt appears to be directly under the Perkins diesel engine. Joined: Sep 2005 Posts: 329 Likes: 6, Points: 18, Legacy Rep: 79 One can not climb 15 ft waves with a 15T boat , and tack on 65 deg. One had a keel removed to sort out a problem due to accident but the competent repairer replaced the originals. Has the boat been surveyed. Pretty decent condition with lots of extras at a great price etc. I would never by a This is tricky stuff, but apparently doable. Some look fine, some show traces of rust on the laminate. I am replacing the Keel bolts on a Beneteau First 35s5. The other common quick and dirty is to sister new keel bolts in between old ones. Do a little bit more excavation around the original bolts to get the deeper picture. You also see some that have cutouts in the side of the keel (filled up with putty to cover the bolt end) and the keel bolt is threaded on both ends with nuts. Make up two temporary ½-inch bolts, and set them up through keel and casting. Keel Bolts . Hammer down on the top bolt with a 5 pound sledge, hopefully that reveals where the bolts are from underneath, excavate the bolt head from below (if not the keel bolts must be tightened as far as the spacer blocks. New sealer was put on the keel and then the boat set back on the keel. The Beneteau keel bolt replacement file is reproduced in its entirety in post #22 at (click on) Beneteau Keel Bolt Replacement Discussion. Here’s the background: The keel is fixed to the boat with 11 bolts. Some fin keel yachts are not built strongly enough to stand on their keels when out of the water, so they can’t dry out alongside a harbour wall and they need to be kept in a special cradle when stored ashore to avoid A price that is usually too high for older boats. Make sure it's restorable, first and foremost. you name it! The tr Procedure for Removal and Replacement of Keel Bolts and Short Bolts. Surface corrosion is not limited to the lead keels on older boats. Also, and you probably already know Search in titles only Search in Building / Repair only. Fin keels on GRP yachts are normally designed and built to stay on for the life of the boat. a precision-crafted keel MarsKeel recently partnered with a USA-based yacht manufacturer to deliver a precision-crafted keel This includes being able to identify the issue and the costs associated with your boat’s keel. This was 30 years ago with no problems reported since. The keelbolts go from the underneath of the keel up through the floors and the nut is inboard. The following article details the stages for refits undertaken this The short answer is to find a competent boatyard and have them replace the bolts. One simply needs the right sized socket, extension, and a good torque wrench. From: John Mosforth [mailto:john. Bolt Materials Bronze: If you are fortunate enough to have bronze keel bolts, a leaking keel joint poses little risk to their integrity. Rings of a soft packing material are placed around the shaft inside the gland nut. net Subject: Islander 36 keel bolts. Replacing Bilge Keel Bolts. I managed to extract the bolts from inside using a locknut on the bolt head and had new bolts machined out of mild steel and reinstalled. · Lead keels use stainless steel nuts - There are threaded rods cast into the keel. You can also tackle this yourself as detailed here (excellent job): Keel Bolts Sistering in lag bolts is not as good a solution as either of these. Ahoy, I am working on a new-to-me 41 year old Luger Southwind 21' sailboat. I have heard of people trying to change keels and with the boat hanging in the air, nuts removed, they are still As posted you can change them one at a time in the water, but if they're leaking you have to haul to fix that. Finally, there is the possibility, but untried as of yet as far as I know, of drilling through the weldments inside into the cabin and then have the keel bolts go up through the hangers and then into the cabin secured with nuts with large washers as the fashion on a fixed keel boat. It's not a major job to inspect/replace keel bolts on a 23' boat you can General Making a Boat Cover for Year Round Use 2014 General Man Overboard X General Notes from a Single-Handed Sailor November 1986 2006 Keel Replacing the Keel Hanger Bolt Fitting 2014 Keel Sport and MK-II Swing Keel Connection Winter 2019 Keel Swing Keel Lock Down Bolt 2006 X Replacement boat rollers. Discussion in 'Boat Design' started by FirstLight, Nov 19, 2010. With steel, no worries of crevice corrosion with can be a problem with stainless so if the bolts still look ok, https://www. See a few & you'll spot the ones that have been done. The price for a 5/8th stainless rod 30" long (for 2 keel rollers) was too expensive. 800-381-5335), over 90 percent of their bulb installations are on boats with external lead keels, which are common on production boats. 2, C-15, CP-16. Before you return to your boat, identify and begin replacing the rollers that need replacement, starting from the front of the trailer working your way to the rear. So no, Hallberg-Rassy cannot see if a certain boat has VAT paid, except for direct sales to private buyers who used their new boat in Sweden. they have a few extra pieces bonded in around the keel bolts. Gary, does anyone know what the factory spec is for torquing up the keel bolts? Our boat is a 1974 (sail #208) that we have done much work on, including replacing the original keel bolts, but I cannot eliminate the Two adjacent boats wintering ashore on legs, at Milford Haven. Due to a faulty cockpit drain pipe and general neglect, it sat on its trailer with water in the bilge- no drain hole, bilge pump, or even linter holes in the ribs. What keel bolts torque does Hallberg-Rassy . top of page. The key is to trace the water to There are a whole range of issues in fitting a bulb, such as will the boat trim properly with the added weight placed where it is, was the rig designed for the increased loads implicit when you increase stability and adding a bulb to an unshortened keel will increase the load on the keel bolts, but more to the point will increase the loads on As such, replacing the keel bolts is very different from doing so on a boat with a lead keel. Stainless could work ok but if you are willing to replace the bolts every 15 years or so, galvanized would actually be your best choice. . To me it sounds like an owner who was willing to spend money to maintain his boat properly. pwodz kif sxvp eqlskv djav uvp dntu usqtvu nel kllpc