H260 WB Swing Keel attachment question (Dave C?)

[Tom2909]

I have a 1999 H260 water ballasted, swing keel; and the keel retaining bolt has corroded to the point of failure. The nut is welded to the swing keel bracket, and the mating bolt head is accessed from inside the cabin, under the table.
One solution is to simply unweld the old nut from the bracket and weld a new one in its place, then reassemble as it was.
An alternate solution would be to flip the bolt and nut by welding (or maybe gluing with 5200?) the bolt onto the bracket so that the threads and nut are kept dry on the inside of the hull, reducing potential corrosion.
I'd appreciate any guidance that @Crazy Dave Condon -- or others with experience removing/replacing the H260 keel -- can provide. Thank you!
-Tom

 

[Kermit]

Tag @Crazy Dave Condon like this.

 

[Tom2909]

Thank you, Kermit!

 

[Regular Guy]

Tom,
Dave is your man, but I know he likes pictures for his educated advise. I contribute here some from which I hope they will help in your case.
You may also discover the pivot bolts to be corroded. The easiest for me was going to a bolt and nut store and bought stainless steel screws in the exact diameter. A metal shop cut them for me in the exact length. Paid $5 per cut.
Hart

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

Tom
Send me a private email. I would like to talk with you.
You need to go to the upper right to your name and foto private messagev. Includes time zone and location. Thanks

 

[Tom2909]

Hart, Thank you for your assistance and posting the pics!
-Tom

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

@Regular Guy
Hart, can you post those photos under the H 260 boat information photo section. I would appreciate it. Also do you have any spec/drawings from Hunter and If so, forward them to me please. Spec now for the centerboard bracket is under downloads.

 

[Tom2909]

Thank you, Dave and Hart!
I found the necessary parts available for order on the Hunter Owners Forum's store here:
http://shop.hunterowners.com/hp/part.php?m=260&c=7&p=53873

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

Tom;
Keep me posted. No need to respond for now.

 

[Tom2909]

Hi Dave,
This project got put on hold for a a while, but I am refocused on it!
I've found a welder that can handle the repair. I cleaned off the old adhesive and sanded off the marine growth. There are some new pictures attached for reference.
Inspection of the nut and bolt raised a question or two that I want to run by you, Dave. Please refer to the nut and bolt pictures attached.
I originally thought that the threads of the nut had corroded away, but upon close inspection they don't look bad. A shot of liquid wrench and a wire brush to clean up the bolt, and reassembly of the nut and bolt feels fine.
So I have to rethink the reason that the keel came off...
I had the keel up-haul line replaced a few months before, and the boat yard that did the work said that they replaced the keel bolt because it looked corroded. The specification for the keel bolt is 3 inches, but the bolt used is clearly not even two inches long. I'm speculating that the bolt was just barely connecting with the nut, and it gave way. The boat was on a mooring and the action of the boat could have worn the end of the threads.
My question is: Is the bolt really supposed to be three inches long?
The final picture shows a side view of the cleaned up bracket. I've marked the direction of the wear on the holes for up-haul pulley and the centerboard pivot pin. The welder is going to cut those out, weld new plate stock in place, and re-drill the holes.

Thank you, Dave!
Best regards to all,
Tom

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

When I looked at the photo of the bolt against the ruler, that explains why your centerboard bracket/centerboard came loose. I bet the yard who installed the line lost the bolt and put another one without checking what it is called for. That bolt should be a 3/4 hex head by 2 3/4 inches long stainless steel bolt. The part number thru the forum store should you go that route for the 260 and others is part number 827463. I would raise cain with the yard that put on the one you show here. I hope this helps you sir.
Feel Free to contact me anytime thru the forum email.
It takes a 1 1/8 deep socket for the hexhead

 

[Dennis Kitchen]

Tom,
The bolt needs to be long enough to pass through all the structures and extend through the nut 2-3 threads minimum. On my 23.5 IIRC it is long enough to begin catching the nut when the bracket is still an inch or so away. This aids in re-assembly so you can pull the bracket up to the hull and compress your sealant with out smearing it all over the place. The bushings you see on my hardware show the thickness of all the fiberglass layers to be penetrated below the metal plate. I bored out the fiberglass and installed these bushings in thickened epoxy to perminantly seal all the layers of the hull assembly so a leaking bolt would not leak into the hull liner from the ballast tank. The other view is looking down through the metal plate and the installed bushing. From there your bolt must make it through the bracket and nut with 2-3 threads extending through.
Dennis

 

[Tom2909]

Thank you, Dave! I just ordered a new bold and the replacement roller and centerboard pins from the Hunter Forum store.

 

[Tom2909]

Thank you, Dennis!

 

[Tom2909]

Dave, I'm wondering if it is wise to replace the existing nut in the bracket, or leave it as is? One one hand, it is going to the shop to fix the elongated holes anyway, but on the other hand, I don't want to pay for replacing a nut that is fine as is. Thoughts?
Thank you!
Tom

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

If it works don't fix is my motto but as long as the weld is fine and the threads are fine too, then go with that.

 

[Tom2909]

Thank you, Dave!

 

[DJN51]

When I dropped mine to replace bushings and line on my 23.5 I got a 2 ft piece of threaded rod ,insirted it in bracket nut and used it to guide bracket in hole.Saved a lot of agravation

 

[hunter240]

Tom,
Dave is your man, but I know he likes pictures for his educated advise. I contribute here some from which I hope they will help in your case.
You may also discover the pivot bolts to be corroded. The easiest for me was going to a bolt and nut store and bought stainless steel screws in the exact diameter. A metal shop cut them for me in the exact length. Paid $5 per cut.
Hart[/QUOTE
I'm replacing my keel line sometime in the next 2 weeks. My boat is a 1998 240 and never been done. It still works fine, but I think its time. I's like to be prepared in case I need to replace the pivot bolts. what size did you use?

 

[MaxinCalgary]

The threaded rod and bolt is the way to sinch the bracket up into the keel slot.
I have found that most marinas have little exposure to lifting or working on WB boats and can do more damage than good.
They block all boats the same.
The keel is one area that you should do yourself with a little TLC or find a marina that is going to spend the time to do the job right.