SailNet Community banner
  • SailNet is a forum community dedicated to Sailing enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about sailing, modifications, classifieds, troubleshooting, repairs, reviews, maintenance, and more!

Replaced Keel Bolts? A Red Flag?

6K views 14 replies 12 participants last post by  hellosailor 
#1 ·
Over the last month I have been very seriously considering purchasing a 1992 Beneteau 35s5. I just found out the vessel has new keel bolts. My dad said that this is a major feat and is not a good sign. I have no idea why a sailboat would need new keel boats except for serious deterioration which is a bad sign. Anyone have any advice?
 
#2 ·
Certainly it's something that should make you pay closer attention... try to find out the story behind the work that was done - the why and when. Could be that this keel bolt replacement has fixed the "problem" and the boat's better off for it.

On the face of it I wouldn't call it a deal breaker, but knowing it was done lets you point it out to your surveyor and ask some pointed questions of the broker/seller.
 
#3 ·
i just had my keel bolts replaced on the boat i bought. the survey caught it and the owner paid to have it repaired before i bought the boat.

in my case the ground plate failed and caused electrolysis to corrode the bolts. the ground plate was also replaced when the keel bolts were replaced.

it was a major undertaking, but luckily one i did not really have to deal with. this could have easily been avoided if the ground plate was checked often. a better sump pump placement would have also helped, i have fixed that problem.

G~
 
#6 ·
does there appear to be any structural repairs in the stringers or cross hats in the bilge area? any new fiberglass work compared to original? this would indicate a hard grounding that could have caused damage. replacing keel boats on a 15 year old boat seems premature - but then again I am not familiar with the beneteau so take latter point with grain of salt...unless you are in freshwater (bad pun...)

Rick
 
#7 ·
It seems very early to be replacing keel bolts and in my opinion means something went wrong (as in CEOL's case.) My keel bolts are 48 years old and are ready for replacement, I have a friend who replaced the keel bolts on his 1928 Alden and it was probably over due. A 15 year old boat shouldn't need this kind of work unless it was built wrong, had a glavanic problem, or was grounded. You may want to talk to other owners/ owner groups to see if this is a known problem with these boats.
 
#8 ·
I haven't had a chance to look at the boat. If the price negotiation goes well enough for a haul out and survey then I will do a thorough examination. My decision is between this boat and a 1999 Hunter 340. The hunter does not have near the sails or goodies. Thanks for the input, it is something I have to pay a great deal of attention to.
 
#11 ·
You might take a look at this article: http://www.practical-sailor.com/tools/keelbolts.html

At the end of that article is a link to another similar article, worth reading.

I think the fact that it HAS been done on your prospective boat is actually a good thing. The fact that it NEEDED to be done is not. And I expect the reason it was necessary is due to Beneteau's general practice of using cast iron rather than lead for exernal keel ballast. If you want evidence, take a walk around a boatyard in winter and look at all the rust bleeding out of the 10-15 year old Beneteau keels, especially in and around the keel-to-hull joint.

If you accept this kind of engineering, you must also accept an increased maintenance burden, as apparently your owner has. Kudos to him/her. Many owners are blissfully unaware of the trouble festering beneath.
 
#12 ·
Beneteaus of that period sometimes had steel, rather than stainless steel keel bolts or keel bolt washers. The mix of steel and stainless steel below the waterline was never a good thing and some of Beneteaus of this era needed early keel bolt replacement. To me it sounds like an owner who was willing to spend money to maintain his boat properly. Of course the question that I have is "How did that owner know he needed keel bolt replacement?"

It is very unlikely that keel bolt replacement was made necessary by a hard grounding, but I would still follow up on RPerret's suggestion to check the bilge for repairs since the keel would be removed to make repairs exposing any existing keel bolt problems.

Jeff
 
#13 ·
Keel bolts can be stainless steel or mild steel, the keels are typicaly cast lead or cast iron. Galvonic corrosion can be minimized by matching the potential as close as possible. The Cal 9.2 has iron keel and mild steel bolts that extend into pockets in the keel secured by washer and nut, same as in the bilge, washer and nut. I pulled my 1981 boat last year 2007, and the bolts did not exhibit any deteriation (fresh water boat). My research on keel bolts in salt water revealed a condition known as crevice corrosion where the stagnent water will allow the ions in salt water to become active and set up a potential galvionic cell that eats the stainless bolt creating pockets and crevices. Lead keels and stainless bolts are usualy fabricaated by placing J bolts into the keel while the lead is moltent. The bolts are protected by the use of sealants like 5200. The repair procedure can be to "sister" additional through bolts without dropping the keel. I found a contact through the Islander 36 site that has a business traveling around doing just this. His charges were around $2,000. I have his contact info listed on my Cal 9.2 web site, under keel bolt repairs. Other repair procedures can be done by dropping the keel and it is more co$tly and difficult. Best left to professionals.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top