keel bolts needed

coldsteel · #1 (**permalink**) 10-21-2009

Aloha,
Does anyone have a source for keel bolts for a CAL T4? I will dry dock my 72 Cal t4 next month and need to replace the keel bolts at that time. I want to replace them with stainless steel ones. Can anyone help me?

pedcab · #2 (**permalink**) 10-22-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by coldsteel

Aloha,
Does anyone have a source for keel bolts for a CAL T4? I will dry dock my 72 Cal t4 next month and need to replace the keel bolts at that time. I want to replace them with stainless steel ones. Can anyone help me?

Why do you need specific premade bolts? Can´t you build your own out of proper grade stainelss steel threaded rod?

Jeff_H · #3 (**permalink**) 10-22-2009

Keel bolts are the kind of thing that you would need to make or have a machine shop make from monel or stainless steel shafting.

Jeff

coldsteel · #4 (**permalink**) 10-22-2009

Well I am new to sailing and this is my first boat. It has been neglected for a long time and it is a work in progress for me. I want to learn how to take care of a small sailboat before I move up to a larger one that will take even more maintenance time. I am having the boat taken out of the water for the first time to have the hull painted and checked for blisters. I checked the bilge and the bolts that hold the keel on. There are six bolts, two in the front, two in the middle and two in the back. The two in the front look good, the two in the middle are rusty and the two in the back broke off at the nut when I touched them. They are not leaking but I think that I should replace them before I take the boat out again. I did not know that I would have to find a machine shop to make the bolts for me; I assumed that this is something that would need to be replaced every so often, so I also assumed that I could buy them premade. Do you know if I will have to drop the keel or can I replace the bolts one at a time while it is still attached to the boat? I have been reading some of the keel bolt replacement articles on sail net but I cannot find anything that addresses the CAL T4 specifically. Any information would be helpful.
Thanks.

Jeff_H · #5 (**permalink**) 10-22-2009

Assuming that the T4 does not have an encapsulated and bolted keel, you will need to tak the keel off to replace the bolts. In the normal course of things a properly made lead keel with monel keel bolts should last nearly forever. Iron or Stainless steel bolts last 20 to 40 years depending on the installation.

Jeff

coldsteel · #6 (**permalink**) 10-22-2009

Well it made it 37 years so I guess that it is time to replace them. Do you know where I could get the specs on the bolts or the type of stainless steel rod that I should have threaded and the type of thread that I will need, I assume that it is SAE not metric. Is there a Cal T4 specification manual that I could order? I have an owner’s manual for the T4 but it does not give the specifications on the keel bolts. I have “This old boat” as a guide for repairing and painting the hull. Is there specification on what the torque is for the keel bolts when I put the keel back on?

myke60 · #7 (**permalink**) 09-22-2010

hi all I need to replace the keel bolts on my 1961 cal 20 # 193 and was wondering if anyone out there knows what size the are thanks

mpickering · #8 (**permalink**) 09-23-2010

Do you know what the keel is made of? Lead or iron? If it is lead, you might be able to get away with sistering in some keel bolts from another design if your keel is large enough. When I was replacing the keel nuts on my C-27, I was exploring the possibility of having to sister in new keel bolts. Catalina sells a kit for the purpose that are self-tapping once you've drilled a pilot hole. All you need is a good drill and a breaker bar.

If your keel is a lead fin with sufficient depth (3+ feet), look at adapting something from another design as an option. Just run the new bolts in next to the ones that broke off.

Now if your keel is iron, well... have fun. It probably isn't going to be easy.

Bear in mind if the keel was attached properly you could lose all of your keel bolts and the keel should stay on. The bolts are an extra layer of security. I was missing my three aft keel nuts and the keel was fine.

Matt