As many of you already know I own a
Catalina 30, my first sailboat.
Also as many of you already know I'm way behind the
learning curve when it comes to
maintenance and I'm trying to get myself up to speed.
So here we go: When we pulled the
boat out of the
water for
winter storage I noticed a hairline crack in the
keel which runs from the leading edge aft about 1 foot. I've done some
research and I have what I believe is a "Catalina Smile" . It is my understanding that this could be something as simple as setteling and retorquing the bolts would be in order. The
bilge is dry and the
keel bolts look to be in good shape but I never had the time to look at them closely. I'll need to take a closer look and make sure everything is torqued and that the
hull is not damaged. If all appears well would I just need to grind along the joint where the keels meets the
hull and reglass this area? I intend to repaint the hull in the spring anyway so a little glass
work at that time should be no big deal.
As always all of your insite is greatly appreciated.