Am looking at an Irwin 39 that has cracking around the keel and hull joint that the current owners have started to grind out. They have owned the boat since new, it''s an ''80/''81 vintage and said they''ve never noticed any cracking until last winters haul-out for storage. This is a keel/centerboard set-up and I''m not familiar with this keel hull attachment. It seems that the ballast centerboard housing is bolted directly to the bottom of the hull with a flange extending about 4" out from the vertical sides of the keel. The bolts appear to be spaced about 4"-5" apart down the length of the keel. While feeling under the cabin sole, it seems that there might be a double row of bolts in the flange on both sides. Is this correct? It would certainly explain why they appear to me to be undersized (3/8"?). What it looks like to me is that the whole keel unit/flange assembly is bolted to the bottom of the hull in what should be a heavily laminated, possibly recessed area, and then faired in to the bottom of the hull with resin and fairing compounds. Does any Irwin owner out there have any experience with this set-up? Is my estimation of the situation far off the mark? The owners have asked me to
repair this but I''m reluctant to start anything until I have an understanding of what''s involved. Any info or help in finding info would be greatly appreciated.