Weeping keel boats. Cause for concern?

[Kabunza]

Hello
I have a Pearson 36. Last year I had the keep dropped, rebedded and reinstalled. I was told keel boats were in good condition. I’m now finding some water coming in though a couple of the keel boat nuts. It’s a very slow weep. I’m wondering if this is cause for concern. I’m thinking of just retightening to see if it slows it stops. Any thoughts?

[Compass790]

Originally Posted by Kabunza

Hello
I have a Pearson 36. Last year I had the keep dropped, rebedded and reinstalled. I was told keel boats were in good condition. I’m now finding some water coming in though a couple of the keel boat nuts. It’s a very slow weep. I’m wondering if this is cause for concern. I’m thinking of just retightening to see if it slows it stops. Any thoughts?

Disclaimer: I'm not a boatbuilder.
My thoughts are the problem should be fixed by the firm that did the rebedding job as they clearly didnt do it properly.


If you have to fix yourself you could wind back the nuts & put some marine sealant under the washers & on the last bit of thread if tightening doesnt fix it.
I'm assuming the Pearson 36 is a solid grp hull & not a cored one.
I would not try this on a cored hull, would be a recipe for disaster.
A boatbuilder might chime in with more experience with the problem.

[paulajayne]

Originally Posted by Compass790

If you have to fix yourself you could wind back the nuts & put some marine sealant under the washers & on the last bit of thread if tightening doesnt fix it.
.

Do one bolt at a time

[HeinSdL]

From my readings here on CF and elsewhere I understand that to have water seeping in via the keel bolts is not a good situation to have due to corrosions of the bolts. Tightening the nuts I would have thought does not make the keel/hull seal any more water tight. So the water entry might be reduced but the bolts may very well still be exposed to salt.

It really looks like a bad job done by the people who dropped the keel and therefore I would definitely go back to them and show the moisture before doing any work yourself.

[Kabunza]

Thanks for everyone's replies. I do have a solid fiberglass hull.
I would assume it's normal to get seawater between the keel and hull, since I see a lot of boats that have a noticeable crack where the two meet. However, what's the harm with the bolts seeing seawater and how is that any different that the prop shaft being in the water? My hope is to tighten the nuts and get through a season, since the bolts were in condition when they were checked last year.

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by Kabunza

Thanks for everyone's replies. I do have a solid fiberglass hull.
I would assume it's normal to get seawater between the keel and hull, since I see a lot of boats that have a noticeable crack where the two meet. However, what's the harm with the bolts seeing seawater and how is that any different that the prop shaft being in the water? My hope is to tighten the nuts and get through a season, since the bolts were in condition when they were checked last year.

The "harm" depends on the bolts. If they are SS then entrapped water causes corrosion. It can occur quite fast actually on some boats. Just because you can see the interface line between a keel and the keel stub doesn't mean those boats leak.
The joint should not be leaking. You should probably notify the yard that did the work to be on record, then try to use it this year if you want, get them to fix it after boating season maybe?

[sainted]

The issue is crevice corrosion, which happens to stainless steel that is exposed to moisture and deprived of oxygen, which is precisely what is happening to your keel bolts. Crevice corrosion can literally cut a bolt or a chain plate in half.

For goodness sake, you paid some one a fair chunk of change to solve this very problem. Make them address it, by suing them if necessary.

[BillKny]

Originally Posted by Compass790

Disclaimer: I'm not a boatbuilder.

If you have to fix yourself you could wind back the nuts & put some marine sealant under the washers & on the last bit of thread if tightening doesnt fix it.

Do NOT do it this way! The objective here is two fold. First you want to keep water out of the boat, which I'll accept that the solution proposed by COMPASS might do. But it is JUST as important to keep stagnant salt water away from the keel bolts themselves to prevent rather rapid corrosion of the bolts.

If you have water coming IN through the keel bolts, I am afraid the only real solution is to have the keel dropped, and this time bedded correctly. Any other solution is a hack.

[Kabunza]

One thing I didn't mention is the yard where the keel was dropped is 800 miles away. The local yard is backed up until August! I know the bolts were in good shape as of last year. Now I'm worried to death if this can even wait until August.

[Compass790]

Originally Posted by Kabunza

One thing I didn't mention is the yard where the keel was dropped is 800 miles away. The local yard is backed up until August! I know the bolts were in good shape as of last year. Now I'm worried to death if this can even wait until August.

What material are the bolts? Fair point crevice corrosion could be an issue if they are stainless.
Lucky others chimed in. Still think my hack is ok if they are bronze or monel bolts.

[coopec43]

In Australia now racing yacht keels and rudders have to be inspected. I'd be very careful if I were you

Keel and rudder inspection notices available from Australian Sailing

Past WMYC Commodore Jim Fern shared an anecdote about the Farr half tonner Springloaded he previously owned. When once checking her keel six of the nine stainless steel keel bolts broke or disintegrated when tightened using a torque wrench. Fern discovered that the nuts had ‘work-hardened’ and became brittle. Fortunately, the discovery was made during routine maintenance and not offshore.

https://www.vgyd.com//wp-content/upl...Off-9-5-13.pdf