Keel is moving

Hedi

.
Jul 1, 2017
7
Hunter 280 Phuket
Hi there, om my Hunter 280 the keel is moving but not loose at the connection-plate and also no leakage. Is it possible that the whole hull is weake or any ideas?? Thanks and greetings from Phuket.
 
Oct 29, 2016
1,915
Hunter 41 DS Port Huron
Welcome to the best sailing forum on the net, the welcome from Phuket had me question the name and its pronunciation.

How did you determine the keel was moving?
 

Hedi

.
Jul 1, 2017
7
Hunter 280 Phuket
we lifted the Boat out of the Water (rigging repair) and i detected that i can move the keel from left to right easy. Keelbolts are tight and no leaking at all. It looks like the whole hull is moving.
 
Nov 6, 2006
9,884
Hunter 34 Mandeville Louisiana
Welcome !
Is the boat on land now and resting on the keel..? if so, it is probably a good time to torque the keel bolts then if still loose, start troubleshooting ..
 

Ted

.
Jan 26, 2005
1,254
C&C 110 Bay Shore, Long Island, NY
Check underneath the cabin floor boards to see if there is any damage. There should be some individual transverse structural beams/ribs or a structural pan. See if there are any areas where they have separated from the hull. It sounds like this could a major structural problem but until to look inside, you won't know for sure.
 
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Jan 7, 2011
4,723
Oday 322 East Chicago, IN
I had a 1996 Hunter 280, and the hull / keel joint was never an issue.

I had the 5-foot deep draft keel. Do you have that or the shoal keel?

Do you have a crack at the hull / keel joint?

Ever ground the boat?

I can’t imagine the keel can move without cracking the joint.

CD3ECAA5-4E2B-49FE-AD1E-10A176D9E715.jpeg 88C15B57-3FAE-4C0B-96C3-58834E8549D2.jpeg

The bilge is very shallow on that boat, not much of a keel stub if I remember correctly.

Greg
 

Hedi

.
Jul 1, 2017
7
Hunter 280 Phuket
thats the boat and there is not much constuction in the bilge-aerea
20181106_165651.jpg
20181106_122007.jpg
 
Jan 7, 2011
4,723
Oday 322 East Chicago, IN
Like you said, not much constructionin the bilge area. Hard to see from the exterior shot, but I don’t see much in the stub keel joint area.

Were you drinking when you noticed the keel moving ? :beer:

That may explain things ;-)

Nice looking boat.

Greg
 
Dec 22, 2012
95
Hunter 27-3 103 Gables By The Sea
You might try putting someone in the boat when you wiggle the keel to see if it does move. Have him video it with a cell phone. There are maybe some cracks just barely visible on the cross members, get a little closer and higher resolution. The bilge should be sparkling clean even more so than your galley and any rust on the stainless bolts should be cleaned off with a wire brush or 3M scrubber and maybe citrus stainless cleaner. If you have a conventional stuffing box then flush it with fresh water after each trip; it only takes a minute.
 

Ted

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Jan 26, 2005
1,254
C&C 110 Bay Shore, Long Island, NY
Screen Shot 2018-12-09 at 2.36.12 AM.png
There appears to be a crack running parallel to the aft most horizontal stringer. It is noticeable in the lower right corner of the photo of the bilge that you posted. Look closely at the area circled in red as you wiggle the keel.
 
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Apr 22, 2011
865
Hunter 27 Pecan Grove, Oriental, NC
I will also suggest that you remove the nuts and washer from one of the keel bolts and check for crevice corrosion on the bolt. Your bilge has had some nasty looking water in it.
 
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Oct 19, 2017
7,732
O'Day 19 Littleton, NH
Wow! Excellent!
It did look like a separation of at least two of the ribs was going on. That looks like a nice fix. It's a good think you notice the problem in the first place.

-Will (Dragonfly)
 
Apr 22, 2011
865
Hunter 27 Pecan Grove, Oriental, NC
Looks great, Hedi. Is that carbon fiber cloth that you glassed in?
 
Aug 1, 2011
3,972
Catalina 270 255 Wabamun. Welcome to the marina
You might consider removing the bottom paint around the area where the keel joins the hull outside and look closely for hairline cracking. The glasswork in that area, under those conditions will eventually start to fail.
 
Sep 30, 2016
339
Island Packet IP 44 Ventura, CA
So where was the crack? Cant really tell what happened except for a bunch of sanding and epoxy.
 

Hedi

.
Jul 1, 2017
7
Hunter 280 Phuket
some small cracks around de bilgeaerea. yo can find them in the beginning of the post.
 

Tom J

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Sep 30, 2008
2,301
Catalina 310 Quincy, MA
Sawadee, Hedi. I loved Thailand. My dinghy's name is "Nit Noi". Excellent job on the hull!
 
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