CB bolt failure avoided

[soling42]

In the 26/H260 (and possibly 23.5/240) there is one 3/4" SS bolt that holds the bracket in the CB well. After my near miss on the bow rail/forestay bolt failure I figured no way would lightening strike twice on such a critical fastener but yes. When I pulled the CB during a new session of bottom paint and general money pit refurb delight the CB bolt came out nearly 30% gone!

I know it's buried in sealant and may have suffered from oxygen deprivation but if that's the case on a boat that's only 6yrs old, how is everyone else doing on even older 26/260's? It's a big stainless steel bolt that was clearly on its way out. Hope you're lucky too.

Lucky again, Mike

PS If I didn't know better I'd say it could have been a lightening strike that exited through here when the first owner had it. That thing is seriously pitted and there seemed to be some similar pitting on the bracket sides too.

 

[VT Fitz]

Nice rig!

Forget about the bolt, I love your rig for working on the boat! Must have some serious roof joists to support the initial lift, huh?

 

[soling42]

That one SS C/B bolt holds the whole C/B and its hardware in the boat so I'm glad to have the opportunity to catch it before a major issue happened. So the shop project pays off. Can you sense Kellis muted glee while I find yet another project out in the shop. Trash cans be damned, there's a giant beam to be welded somewhere woman....

I tend to get carried away with big steel projects......well just about any project really. There was a pile of 50' long 22" I-beams, 6"x25' steel columns and misc bar joists on my property so I spent two years, pretty much solo, welding and cutting and cutting and welding until the beast was born. You could drop a tank on my shop roof and it would be fine. My little hollow sailboat isn't hurting anything in this structure.

Big pneumatic jacks and Texas sized tools make the job a lot easier but it's still a little tricky. Actually I jack the whole trailer and boat up near the ceiling, block and strap the boat to the beams, then lower and remove the trailer.


Mike

 

[BobSail]

Thanks for the heads-up Mike. How'd the centerboard uphaul line look?

 

[soling42]

The line was just fine and would have lived at least a few more years although there was a major oyster and other giant barnacles growing right on top of the line inside the CB slot. Failure from marine crustacean abrasion was a real risk. It's done now so I'm good for a while.
Mike

 

[sea_casper]

H26 Ok '98

I know it's buried in sealant and may have suffered from oxygen deprivation but if that's the case on a boat that's only 6yrs old, how is everyone else doing on even older 26/260's? It's a big stainless steel bolt that was clearly on its way out. Hope you're lucky too.

Redid my uphaul this year and bolt was fine on my '98 H26.

Also, the Forestay U-bolt on the H26 is through bolted with SS Washers and Nuts, similar in fashion to the side stays.

Perhaps some "improvements" made on the H260 should have been reconsidered by the factory.

 

[soling42]

The more I think about it I'm almost sure it was lightening strike damage to the CB bolt.

The bow/forestay bolt was a SS 3/8" bolt that was threaded into an embedded aluminum plate. Failure was almost a certainty once the sealant started to fail. A through bolt was so simple that I wonder what genius decided the bolt and embedded plate was more efficient.

 

[kloudie1]

CB Bolt Corrosion

Looks pretty much like the oxygen deprivation corrosion (crevice corrosion) , Mike.. It would be in a close clearance fit that has stagnant water in it. Attached is a shot of a rudder pintle bolt from a buddy’s boat. Glad we found it.. Same problem, leaking sealant around the bolt, underwater. That rough pitted gray surface is a giveaway. Lightning arcs (most of the time) leave little well rounded nubs from the melting that happens.. Seal the new one well where the corrosion is on this one, and ya won’t have a problem.

 

[soling42]

Lightening is pretty ferocious stuff and there doesn't seem to be any other damage so I believe you're right. Rust never sleeps, eh? I don't think the damaged part was encased in sealant but was certainly submerged in a small area way up in the CB well where the water would be stagnate for days/weeks.

Mike