Keel Bolts

[FrankZ]

Never take a picture with less than perfect wiring and leave it laying around where Gord can see it.

[ahnutts!]

Originally Posted by FrankZ

Never take a picture with less than perfect wiring and leave it laying around where Gord can see it.

I was going to wait and post pics of the completed project but I figured that my not happen before the second coming of Christ.

[Sandero]

How are the original bolts anchored to the (various) keels?

The bolts used to anchor the frame of a house to the foundation are L shaped and set into the concrete. The L prevents the bolts from turning.

I would imagine that keel bolts could be set into a poured keel...assuming that it's not hot enough to melt, distort or weaken the bolts using the same L type bolts. Removing them and replacing them is another story.

To replace a bolt in a keel one would have to drill and tap it, it would seem.

My keel bolts (16 in all) are encased in GRP and not visible except as huge bumps in the bilge. The keel is cast iron and it has a flange about 1" or more thick and the bolts are located in the flange about 4" to port and starboard of the CL. I don't know the material but I suspect they are tapped into the keel flange and then ground down flush to the feel which is then all covered with fairing. The location of the bolts appear at athwartship hull reinforcements which I presume are either steel belts or some other additional GRP layup to stiffen the hull which is about 3" thick at the keel location.

If I were to replace them, I would contact the builder and find out what they are and how they would replace them and purchase the bolts from them (most defintely metric). If I am correct in how this is constructed, I would not drop the keel, but remove the bolts one at a time (on the hard), remove the fairing, install a new bolt, grind it off flush and then seal and refair and then glass over the bolts in the bilger again. YIKES what a job.

This is what they look like from the bilge side.