310 Keel Bolts

[Cat 310 #1 in GA]

I tightened my keel bolts yesterday for the first time. Was surprised that 2 or 3 of them were snug but not tight and they moved easily. One bolt is so close to the fiberglass side of the bilge that I could not get the socket to seat properly and was not able get leverage to tighten the bolt as much as needed. Any ideas? The bolt is in the bottom left in the attached picture. Tried tapping the socket down with a hammer but was doing that gently and it did not work. Used a torque wrench and standard 1.5 inch socket. Was able to get 7 of the 9 bolts tightened to 80 ft lbs. Will try to get them to 100 eventually but was surprised how hard it was to get to 80. Anyway, would appreciate any ideas about the lower left bolt in the pic....
bob

 

[Tally Ho]

Crows foot may fit on the nut that is too close to the bilge wall.



Greg

 

[Cat 310 #1 in GA]

Greg,
Thanks for that great suggestion - never heard of that before. Was about to order it but got a longer ratchet extension and used a pipe on the end of the wrench handle and was able to tighten all 9 bolts to 100 ft lbs. Going to try again in January when it is out of the water to see if it makes any difference.

 

[Tally Ho]

Greg,
Thanks for that great suggestion - never heard of that before. Was about to order it but got a longer ratchet extension and used a pipe on the end of the wrench handle and was able to tighten all 9 bolts to 100 ft lbs. Going to try again in January when it is out of the water to see if it makes any difference.

Sound like you are making good progress.

Greg

 

[JRT]

I discovered the cockpit table leg is an ideal "pipe" extention that is realatively easy to get to and use.

 

[JK_Boston_Catalina310]

I don't know what size torque wrench you are using but a Torque Multiplier can make your life a lot easier.

 

[BrianRobin]

FYI, they are nuts on yours ,not bolts, and usually indicate a lead keel, hope you are able to get them tightened !

 

[Cat 310 #1 in GA]

I don't know what size torque wrench you are using but a Torque Multiplier can make your life a lot easier.

Looks like it would but very pricey. My torque wrench requires a lot more effort but was only $ 19.95 at Harbor Freight
bob

 

[Cat 310 #1 in GA]

FYI, they are nuts on yours ,not bolts, and usually indicate a lead keel, hope you are able to get them tightened !

Yes they are and yes I did!

 

[Cat 310 #1 in GA]

I discovered the cockpit table leg is an ideal "pipe" extention that is realatively easy to get to and use.

Great idea...

 

[JK_Boston_Catalina310]

Looks like it would but very pricey. My torque wrench requires a lot more effort but was only $ 19.95 at Harbor Freight
bob

Hey I torque to 150 on a 1/2 inch torque wrench. I top out around 100 on a 3/8. If it requires beyond that or if I had to do it often I would go with a torque multipler.

 

[Cat 310 #1 in GA]

Hey I torque to 150 on a 1/2 inch torque wrench. I top out around 100 on a 3/8. If it requires beyond that or if I had to do it often I would go with a torque multipler.

Uhh, are you still talking about keel bolts or something entirely different?

 

[JK_Boston_Catalina310]

Uhh, are you still talking about keel bolts or something entirely different?

Really anything.

But for keel bolts, our bolts are 1" by 8 thread in 316 stainless. Catalina says the minimum torque is 90-100 foot pounds. But the proper torque for the bolts is 299 foot pounds. The concern I had is if the hull could bare the 299 foot pounds on the bolt.

So after looking around on the internet and talking to a few other people I know who have done bolt on keels projects, I set 160 foot pounds as my goal. Like I said, I can get to 150 foot pounds on a 1/2" torque wrench, so that seemed good enough.