1990 Hunter 30T Keel Joint and Mast Compression Issues?

[JDE]

Hello! I'm looking at a 1990 H30T that has been sitting on it's trailer for 3 years. It has been a freshwater boat its whole life. I saw two things that concerned me and before I continue with having it surveyed I wanted to seek some opinions here first. The keel joint is showing significant cracking which I understand could be considered somewhat normal and repairable although, in some cases, a complete removal may be necessary. Wondering how bad this looks and if it a major or minor fix. The other is some noticeable deflection at the base of the compression post. You can see it in relation to the cabin sole. Couldn't remove the sole to look underneath. On deck at the base of the mast you can see about a 1/4" - 3/8" deflection. I laid a companionway hatch board across it for measure. It's a little hard to see but if you zoom in you can see it. Is this to be considered normal and no big deal or the beginning of a much bigger problem? I should add that a looked at the keel bolts and they all looked fresh and shiny without noticeable rust. The bilge was clean and dry too but its been on land for a while.

Thanks in advance. Any advice or feedback will be greatly appreciated.

 

[sail sfbay]

Likely repairable. Get an estimate from a rigger for any mast repair and a boat yard for keel joint repair then you can decide whether you want to tackle these repairs yourself to save $$.

 

[Art12050]

Regarding the keel, it looks like the fiberglass is lifting away from the cast iron(?) keel. The same thing happened to our 1992 30T. I removed all the fiberglas, wire brushed off the rust and put a coat over underwater metal primer on, then bottom painted over everything. Every Spring I put on a coat of underwater primer then bottom paint. I use an ablative bottom paint, repainting every Spring. I’ve been doing this for about the past 10 years or so, no issues with bonding or lifting.
Its difficult to see from the picture, but the keel joint doesn’t look bad. Check the keel bolts in the center bilge to make sure they’re tight. Then rake out the joint, apply some 3M 4200, then paint over everything.
Regarding the compression post, are the floor boards warped making it look like the post is depressed? Hard to tell from the pics. You’ll need to take up the floor boards to see what’s going on for sure.

 

[JDE]

The floor boards are not warped. I checked for flatness. It appears the lateral fiberglass “beam” has deflected. I tried to lift the adjacent boards but they seemed attached unlike the bilge covers. It there a trick to lift them in this location?

Thanks for the tips on the keel joint. I can see doing this repair myself.

 

[Art12050]

My sole boards are screwed down an inch or so in from the edge. You may not be able to see the screw tops due to gunk built up over the years from varnish or teak oil.

 

[19thol]

Your floor at compression post looks idential to mine. I'm not sure how to fix/support that post, if you figure it out, let me know.