Keel bolt torque specs

[gknott]

Does anyone know the torque specs for the keel bolts on a 1969 Coronado 25? I understand that this may be a sister hull to the Catalina (Columbia??) 25 of the same vintage. Although mine appear to be in good shape, rumor has it that this could be a weak point for this boat and I would like to double check them during haulout. Beyond staring at them from the bilge and imagining corrosion monsters below, is there any other way of checking keel bolts besides torquing them?

[riphonda]

I seem to recall another thread on sailnet that suggested a C&C 30(?) spec'd 250 ft/lb for the keel bolts. Do a search and see what you come up with. I would imagine the values would be roughly equal if the keel is made of the same material (iron or lead) mating up to fiberglass and the bolt size were the same. I have to snug up my keel bolts after a rebed this spring. I just acquired the boat and have been checking it all out and to my dismay I was able to turn the nuts with barely a wisp of the ratchet- one handed no less. Me thinks they were too loose... Best of luck with your keel bolting/ tightening.

[sailingdog]

If these are the original keel bolts, I would highly recommend dropping the keel and inspecting them. While the bolts may look fine, they may have suffered from crevice corrosion and the bolts, where you can't visually inspect them without dropping the keel, could be seriously eroded. Maine Sail has a good photo of what can happen to keel bolts, especially if you have a wet bilge normally....which I'm linking to here.



Photo credit: Maine Sail.

Originally Posted by gknott

Does anyone know the torque specs for the keel bolts on a 1969 Coronado 25? I understand that this may be a sister hull to the Catalina (Columbia??) 25 of the same vintage. Although mine appear to be in good shape, rumor has it that this could be a weak point for this boat and I would like to double check them during haulout. Beyond staring at them from the bilge and imagining corrosion monsters below, is there any other way of checking keel bolts besides torquing them?