Fixing keel to stub Connection - Smile

[jerryf609]

Hi Folks. I have a 1985 Catalina 30 Tall Rig used in fresh water only.My (adult) nephew is considering buying it from me as his first boat. He and his wife like it and appreciate substantial improvements and refits I have done. His surveyor is concerned anout the smile as is my nephew.

Who here has removed the plywood stub below the bilge and replaced it with laminated fiberglass and epoxy. Im not sure it really needs that done but I am considering doing that to improve it and bring his confidence up. A local yard told hime it would cost $9 to 12 k to do that which just is not feasible financially.

They also said they could replace the washers with larger washers or plates and fix the smile on the outside for about $4k but wouldnt guarantee it.

I dont see paying the yard to do either of these fixes but I certainly could to the second fix.

What have you done or would you do?

Thanks.

 

[dmax]

Do you suspect that the plywood has been compromised? Evidence would be brown streaks running down the keel and/or the nuts on the keel bolts sinking into the fiberglass. If you don't have either of these there's a good chance the plywood is fine - if that's the case I would go with the bigger washers and re-torque the keel bolts. The smile is very common on older Catalinas and does not necessarily mean the plywood is rotten. It is a pretty big job but $9-12K is crazy - I read about a guy who used a chainsaw to open up the bilge and expose the plywood! $4K to replace the washers and fill the smile is also crazy.

 

[jerryf609]

Do you suspect that the plywood has been compromised? Evidence would be brown streaks running down the keel and/or the nuts on the keel bolts sinking into the fiberglass. If you don't have either of these there's a good chance the plywood is fine - if that's the case I would go with the bigger washers and re-torque the keel bolts. The smile is very common on older Catalinas and does not necessarily mean the plywood is rotten. It is a pretty big job but $9-12K is crazy - I read about a guy who used a chainsaw to open up the bilge and expose the plywood! $4K to replace the washers and fill the smile is also crazy.

Thanks for the reply. Yes the nuts are squashing and cracking the fiberglass in the bilge around most of the keel bolts . I havent noticed any stains on the keel outside. I think the water ingress was from the bilge.

 

[jerryf609]

I am going to go ahead and expose the plywood and cut it out then glass up layers to replace the plywood. Not going to be easy but i think it needs to be done to complete the sale and preserve the boat longterm.

 

[dmax]

Sounds like a good plan.