Keel Askew - Is It Fixable ?

[JuanCH]

hello everybody, yesterday I took my 25 footer off the water and found out that the keel is askew, that´s why I had more weather helm on one tack. here´s the question, can I fix the keel? not me but an experienced person. the boat is made of plastic. we need to drop the keel, make the holes bigger, glue it and screw again. would you do this on your boat if needed? or is it something difficult? hope to hear from you!
sail on...

[Lagoon4us]

Best you ask your intended repairer, keels move for lots of reasons but usually because bolts stretch, become loose or if the bedding between crunches due to a fall, rot or bad slipping.
So none of this is answerable until inspected, might not be a biggie, You may not even drop the keel it just depends on your case.......

[Pblais]

I'm curious how you determined the skew? So how much is it off?

[Ex-Calif]

Originally Posted by JuanCH

hello everybody, yesterday I took my 25 footer off the water and found out that the keel is askew, that´s why I had more weather helm on one tack. here´s the question, can I fix the keel? not me but an experienced person. the boat is made of plastic. we need to drop the keel, make the holes bigger, glue it and screw again. would you do this on your boat if needed? or is it something difficult? hope to hear from you!
sail on...

What kind of boat
What kind of keel
How is it attached
Is it really plastic or is it fiberglass
Is the keel solid or hollow with ballast
Is the hull sound or dented
Is the internal structure sound
What caused the problem? Grounding, dropping etc.


Hard to design a repair scheme without details.

[JuanCH]

I have a photo but don´t know how to upload it? I click insert image but can´t I understand how to do it!

[JuanCH]

I have tried to upload it in the photo section but I could´t since the size of the photo is way too big! I will need to zip it I guess!

[Stumble]

Try posting at one of the picture hosting sites, then linki here.

You could have anything from a mistightened keel bolt to a set of bolts that need replacement. There is just no way to guess without more information. Pictures are always helpful.

Depending on the boat, you might be in a situation where it would cost more to repair the keel than replace the boat depending on severity of the problem, and the boat you own. Keel bolt replacement is pretty major surgery sadly.