I have a hunter 356 ,2003 , when i bought the boat 3 years ago it had this crac in the front of the keal, it as not change ever since but i would like to fix it, i was told by the surveyor that the crac was on estitic, no water infiltration at all, any sugestions ? Marc
Crac keal
- Thread starter Marc356
- Start date
Well, you should believe your surveyor since I had something similar on our 1990 Vision. I had the keel bolts re-torqued and the fairing reworked. It was the joint to keel stub seam. Never a problem for the nine years I owned her after that. Good luck!
To test if your surveyor is correct go ahead and use a filler to give the keel a smooth finish and re-paint the section. Check it again the following year and if it does not reappear then it was cosmetic.
That crack is probably just in the fairing putty, not the keel itself. The putty is quite brittle and cracks easily if the keel hits anything, as Benny said, clean the area and refair with fairing putty, or an underwater rated caulk. They are quite common; the keel is attached with bolts and 5200 and the joint is smoothed with the putty - it serves no structural purpose.
+1
Maybe take a wire wheel and grind it down a bit and create about 1/2" wide groove... lay up two pieces of fiberglass tape w/epoxy in the groove and fair. Paint and check it next year.
I'd be a little more conservative than other posters. I had an '88 35 Legend with a recurring crack. The difference was my crack was over the area where the stub from the boat met the keel. Yours is higher. I wonder if it's more than superficial. I don't know of any way to conclusively prove how far the crack penetrates. Perhaps a long, thin bit drilled into the crack to see if you hit metal?
I faired my crack every year I hauled, just to feel better. I'm unconvinced that it affected anything more than my attitude.
I faired my crack every year I hauled, just to feel better. I'm unconvinced that it affected anything more than my attitude.
Well thank you all for your good advices, i think i will try the putty and see the result at the end of another wonderfull sailing season on lake champlain ny this summer, stby 09
