Keel bolts leak on '82 Hunter 30

[malyea]

Well this one's not gonna' be any fun....

I've had a wet bilge since I bought my '82 Hunter 30 almost 2 years ago - thought some was rain leakage, some leakage from stuffing box, etc...

I did not think of keel bolts leaking until today when close inspection of a dry bilge showed that 3 or 4 bolts are slowly seeping water, maybe 1/4 teaspoon per hour each bolt.

I've read a few previous threads about repair options but here's my first question(s) -

How is my keel to hull joint designed, engineered and executed?
What components are involved?
How thick is the fiberglass and is the keel simply "hung" from the boats bottom with 8 or 9 keel bolts and no "backing plate"?
Is there any wood core involved like the older Catalinas?
How built up is the hull where the keel attaches?

None of the keel bolts show any rust and the boat has been in fresh water for many, many years.

Thanks, I'm heading for the rum bottle ;-(

[celenoglu]

The thickness of fiberglass should be at least the diameter of bolts.


I cannot answer your boat specific questions but it is always a good idea to retorque before attempting any repairs:

1/2" 26Nm 19.2ft/lb
5/8" 66Nm 48,7
3/4" 130Nm 95.9
7/8" 190Nm 140.1 ft/lb

for stainless steel