Cracks in keel

[E.N.]

Last year we got a 1980 30'. We love it. The survey had said that the keel needed to be resealed. The surveyor said we needed to drop the keel, clean out the old sealant then tighten and reseal. We thought this was the usual "smile", but the keel joint really didn't look bad at all, actually fine to us. But there is a significant crack in the keel about approx 1-2' down from the Keel/Hull joint in in the front of the keel traveling toward the back about 1' or more and another smaller crack in the back of the keel heading forward. The previous owner has obviously put some kind of sealant in these cracks. Also of notice is a chunk of keel taken out of the front of the keel measuring about 2" tall and 1" deep. The surveyor didn't seem too worried about it. If we do drop the keel, will this affect/solve those cracks? Any thoughts appreciated.

 

[LaDonna Bubak - CatalinaOwners]

Smile

Sounds like Catalina Smile to me. I would have to assume the surveyor has worked with other Catalinas before but perhaps not. I'm also assuming YOU hired this guy instead of the yard/broker. If they recommended him, you might call another surveyor out to just check the keel. Is there water in the bilge?LaDonna

 

[Jerry Maisonneuve]

Other things you might consider...

My 1984 has a problem similar to yours and I now have it out of the water and am working on it. I had heard that this condition (Catalina smile)is fairly common and I got tired of seeing that "common" smile after every haulout over the years. The first thing you might look for while your boat is still in (or out of)the water is the condition of the keel bolts in bilge area. (I did one better on mine by taking one inch core sample of the bilge -- and I came up with very wet wood particles!). The keel hangs down from that area by means of 8 bolts. Check to see if the nuts are tight and if the washers on these bolts are sinking into the fiberglass below. If this is the case, it would probably mean that the keel is dropping ever so slightly due to the wood beneath that flberglass layer rotting. However, this condition must be fixed with the boat removed from the water. Catalina has a fix for it. Just call the factory for the instructions. I believe every Catalina 30 prior to 1988 has wood imbedded in this area below the layer (1/8")of fiberglass.If the problem doesn't seem too bad just doing a good job grinding out and resealing that area where the keel meets the hull should last you a few years. I doubt that your keel will ever fall out if the nuts are snug!As for for other areas of the keel that seem affected it would probably be OK just to grind 'em out, refill and repaint.Hope this helps. Happy sailing!!

 

[Willy]

Keelstub wood removal

Check the link below to see Catalina's fix.

 

[E. N.]

the fix

Well, I contacted Catalina Yachts (awesome help and a real nice guy I talked to!)I told them of the thought of dropping the keel, cleaning and refilling and tightening. They said that was completely unnecessary. The man there faxed me over a sheet with diagram and directions on how to fix this. It was so much easier than I had thought. The filler was suggested to be Marine Tex. It worked great! We tightened the keel bolts to specs and sanded and repainted.....very pleased with results.

 

[Rich]

Glass over the joint

I have a 1987 Catalina 30. The shop in the marina I stay at suggested I glass over my keel joint with 3 layers each being wider than the last. So I ground all of the gel and filler away in the area I wanted to glass. Made sure it was dry completely around the joint. Then layed a 6 inch 8 inch then a 12 inch piece of glass over the joint. Then I used West System 410 to fair it. I did it last spring and it still looks like new. I even went hard a ground once last summer on some clay or sand with absolutely no damage to the joint. I just launched last week and no sign of cracking at the joint. I think if you figure it out you will have about 25 to 40 lbs per lineal inch of keel joint. It was a big job but well worth it.