keel bolts project or not ?

[gbendaly@gmail.com]

Hello all,

I am new to this forum,
as a matter of fact I have just joined in and hope to find a wealth of informative stuff
I have a 28 foot sailboat which has an encapsulated keel ,and strangely enough there are 5 keel bolts in the bilge ! at time the surveyor said it is an added safety feature because ususually encapsulated keels do not need to be bolted through the bilge floor..
my problem is that the nuts in the bilge are rusted beyond recognition and have fused with the protruding threaded rods
should I leave things the way they are and forget about them or try a more radical approach to the problem
your recommendations are wellcome
Georges

[rugosa]

Is it really encapsulated or is it external keel that was laminated over during or after construction?

[Faster]

What type boat? Any chance of getting original documentation on construction? In a truly encapsulated keel any keel bolts would be entirely superfluous..

As rugosa is implying, it's more likely a bolt-on that was glassed over. Any visible cracking around the hull/keel joint?

[gbendaly@gmail.com]

the boat is an Aloa 27 and the original documentation confirms that it is an encapsulated cast iron keel
unfortunately I only have a hard copy
there is no visible seam / crack / joint between the hull and the keel
so ??
thanks again for your observations

[gbendaly@gmail.com]

I would have posted some pictures but I could not figure how
any help would be apprerciated
Georges

[Faster]

Originally Posted by gbendaly@gmail.com

I would have posted some pictures but I could not figure how
any help would be apprerciated
Georges

The best way to do pics here is via photo hosting sites like Photobucket. Easy and cheap to join, upload your pictures there then copy and paste the IMG CODE optional link into your post... and Voila! there they are.

btw..if it's the same boat shown here in the vid it looks like it would be a bolt-on keel.. this sort of underbody would be less likely to be molded in.. esp with the presence of keelbolts.

Nice looking boat!

(this is a bit long, but you get a good view half way through)

[mikehoyt]

Aloha 26/27/8.2 all have encapsulated keels to my knowledge

[Faster]

Originally Posted by mikehoyt

Aloha 26/27/8.2 all have encapsulated keels to my knowledge

Yes, perhaps, but this is an ALOA, european boat, not our Great Canadian Aloha...

[hellosailor]

You might ask Aloa 27 Bare Boat Flotilla Sailing In Turkey And Greece those folks seem to have several in charter.

Or try to contact the builder directly: "Zaadnoordijk" somewhere in The Netherlands
Yachtbuilders Zaadnoordijk - Yacht marina and yacht builders of C-Yacht in the Netherlands and
Jachtbouwers - Zaadnoordijk Yachtbuilders

[gbendaly@gmail.com]

yep this is the same boat an ALOA 27 designed by Franz Maas quite different from
the ALOHA
thanks for the compliment,and I checked again ,it IS an encapsulated keel
I will try to down load as you kindly suggested some pics in photobucket
and follow your directives
Cheers
Georges