Catalina smile

[Gary]

I purchased my catalina 27 last year and upon inspection in the cradle last week I have noticed hairline crakes at both the front and rear of the keel. i have been told about the infamous "smile" however I wonder if I dremmel them out and fix will they not posssilbe just re-appear when she is lifted out of the cradle? I thought I would try and tighten the keel bolts located in the bilge although they are very difficult to get to and the PO had tarred the bottome of the bilge. I was wondering if there is proper torque spec for tightening these bolts and do these hairline cracks need to be repaired every year. Will there be a water leak if I don't fix them this year. I was going to paint the bottom again with VC-17 as the PO had always done.

 

[Trevor - SailboatOwners.com]

Not structural

Hi Gary -Sounds like you've heard about the infamous Catalina Smile. Try a search in the archives for more info. On my C36, I simply ground out the area, filled with Evercoat, faired and painted with the rest of the bottom. When I hauled the boat two years later there was no sign of the "smile". In any case, I fixed the original cracking area to make me feel better, although I don't believe it's structural.Best,Trevor