Keel Bolts

[Buchido]

I have an older Catalina 27, and was wondering if there is a way to tell if the keel bolts need to be replaced. The top of the bolts look in good condition but can you take them out one at a time to inspect/replace the rest of the bolt and just rely on the remaining 5 bolts to keep the keel on the bottom?

I haven't been able to find any good info on this. Catalina direct does sell replacement keel bolt kits but it seems you have to redrill the hole. I can see that being necessary if the bolt is seized or strips threads when you remove it. Or maybe the bolts aren't able to be removed? But I would only want to resort to that if the bolts were in poor condition and needed replacement.

Lastly, any thoughts on epoxying the bolts to prevent corrosion. I heard some people do it but others say that it will lead to a more corrosive annoxic environment.

I know I would sleep easier if I could figure out the condition of the keel bolts.

Thanks,

Steve