I recently had a Legend 40 surveyed and all went pretty well except for these two rusty cracks in the hull/keel joint. One wraps around the trailing edge of the keel about a foot on either side, the other is on the port side a 1-2 feet behind the leading edge of the keel. There was a small but steady stream of clear(not rusty)water draining from a spot on the port side of the rear crack for the duration of the short haul(about 40 min). There was no water in the bilge. How concerned should I be? Clean it, seal it, paint it and go on? Or would this require dropping the keel for a full inspection, rust remediation and sealing procedure?
How concerned should I be with these rusty keel cracks?
- Thread starter micksbuddy
- Start date
That is something to work out with the yard.. get an estimate to fix it and get the owner to lower his price by that amount. I wouldn't leave it alone.. but not so bad if you are in fresh water..
kinda open it up and clean it out and let it dry as best ya can.. get the yard to torque the keel bolts just to be sure there are no loose ones.. Then rust killer and then fairing compound (thickened epoxy).. then bottom paint as usual..
kinda open it up and clean it out and let it dry as best ya can.. get the yard to torque the keel bolts just to be sure there are no loose ones.. Then rust killer and then fairing compound (thickened epoxy).. then bottom paint as usual..
Was there any evidence of the boat being grounded? I would inspect the bottom of the keel if still possible.
There were no indications that there had been a grounding.
The boat is currently in salt water and would continue to be if I buy it.
The boat is currently in salt water and would continue to be if I buy it.
Keel Cracks
To me it looks as though the keel stub joint has been compromised from some sort of hit. A marine surveyor can tell you for sure. To do it right the yard needs to open up the joint by separating the keel from the boat, clean the joint and re-bed followed by an epoxy seal then bottom paint. That way you know for sure the problem has been fixed. Water leaking from these cracks is a sure indication that something happened to the boat.
Most keel stubs have pockets where water can accumulate, but not leak into the bilge. Cracks like those in your photos tells me that sea water is leaking through the stub seal and into these pockets. Nothing serious, but a reseal repair called for.
A boat of your size, this type of fix can cost at least $5K. Whether you can negotiate that is between you and the seller. If this is the boat you want, take that into consideration.
To me it looks as though the keel stub joint has been compromised from some sort of hit. A marine surveyor can tell you for sure. To do it right the yard needs to open up the joint by separating the keel from the boat, clean the joint and re-bed followed by an epoxy seal then bottom paint. That way you know for sure the problem has been fixed. Water leaking from these cracks is a sure indication that something happened to the boat.
Most keel stubs have pockets where water can accumulate, but not leak into the bilge. Cracks like those in your photos tells me that sea water is leaking through the stub seal and into these pockets. Nothing serious, but a reseal repair called for.
A boat of your size, this type of fix can cost at least $5K. Whether you can negotiate that is between you and the seller. If this is the boat you want, take that into consideration.
Walk/Run away from this boat
Hello, what you are seeing on this boat is what happened to my 1988 Hunter 40. Moisture has gotten in between the keel joint. As the keel is made of iron it will rust. Once it starts to rust the Keel starts to break away from the boat which allows more water in. In the end the only thing that is holding the keel on are the keel bolts. The only way to fix this is to drop the keel, re-bed and then re-seal the keel. This will cost you about $20,000 to repair!! I would walk away from this boat and only look at boats with lead Keels.
If you find this hard to believe check out my blog site. I did dropped my keel on my boat to correct this problem.
http://myzingara.blogspot.ca/
Hello, what you are seeing on this boat is what happened to my 1988 Hunter 40. Moisture has gotten in between the keel joint. As the keel is made of iron it will rust. Once it starts to rust the Keel starts to break away from the boat which allows more water in. In the end the only thing that is holding the keel on are the keel bolts. The only way to fix this is to drop the keel, re-bed and then re-seal the keel. This will cost you about $20,000 to repair!! I would walk away from this boat and only look at boats with lead Keels.
If you find this hard to believe check out my blog site. I did dropped my keel on my boat to correct this problem.
http://myzingara.blogspot.ca/
Born,
It looks like you did all the work yourself, your expenses consist of a couple of visits from the travelift and materials. How did that amount to $20,000? Also, you mention that at some point the only thing holding the keel in place is the keel bolts. Aren't the keel bolts the only thing that always holds the keel in place?
Thanks for the blog it was well done and very informative. I own a H31 and my next boat will be a H37 or a H40. The keel design on each of these boats is the same, so I'll probably have to do this project at some point in my life.
Thanks again.
It looks like you did all the work yourself, your expenses consist of a couple of visits from the travelift and materials. How did that amount to $20,000? Also, you mention that at some point the only thing holding the keel in place is the keel bolts. Aren't the keel bolts the only thing that always holds the keel in place?
Thanks for the blog it was well done and very informative. I own a H31 and my next boat will be a H37 or a H40. The keel design on each of these boats is the same, so I'll probably have to do this project at some point in my life.
Thanks again.
The cost of $20000 is if you wear to have a so called professional do the work. The estimates that I got started at around $15000.
A keel is held on by both the keel bolts and the adhesive. If a keel is properly bedded and sealed you could hang the boat in a travel lift sling, undo all the keel bolts and the keel would remain attached to the boat. In my case the rust had allowed the keel to separate from the boat. You can see this in the pictures before I cleaned the keel. There is rust on the keel and if you look at the underside on the boat there is rust there as well.
As for the number of times I had the travel lift in it was 8 times.
They say you learn from experience and my experience after this project is not to buy a boat with and iron keel!
ps. I still have the keel bolt drill if you ever need it
A keel is held on by both the keel bolts and the adhesive. If a keel is properly bedded and sealed you could hang the boat in a travel lift sling, undo all the keel bolts and the keel would remain attached to the boat. In my case the rust had allowed the keel to separate from the boat. You can see this in the pictures before I cleaned the keel. There is rust on the keel and if you look at the underside on the boat there is rust there as well.
As for the number of times I had the travel lift in it was 8 times.
They say you learn from experience and my experience after this project is not to buy a boat with and iron keel!
ps. I still have the keel bolt drill if you ever need it