How tight swing keel bolt?

Sep 3, 2012
195
Hunter 285 Grand Rivers Ky
Today I pulled the keel bolt in my 1984 Mac 22. I used a simple bottle jack under the boat to take the weight off the bolt, used a 15/16" ratched and socket and an open end/box end wrench.

Got it apart and everything looked ok, perhaps a little surface rust, but no deep grooves or cracks, so, started putting it back together and wondered just how tight should this be?
 
Mar 20, 2012
3,983
Cal 34-III, MacGregor 25 Salem, Oregon
Today I pulled the keel bolt in my 1984 Mac 22. I used a simple bottle jack under the boat to take the weight off the bolt, used a 15/16" ratched and socket and an open end/box end wrench.

Got it apart and everything looked ok, perhaps a little surface rust, but no deep grooves or cracks, so, started putting it back together and wondered just how tight should this be?
if its original, you should have thick cup washers with rubber washers between the washers and the keel trunk... upon reassembly, the rubber should be lubed with silicone grease and the bolt/nut should only be tightened enough to compress the rubber snugly against the shank of the bolt so it seals out the water. so it doesnt take too much to do that with the cup washers doing their job.
 
Oct 16, 2008
512
MacGregor/Venture 25 Mesa AZ
On mine, it would not over tighten as the threads only go so far which prevents going too tight. But it is snug. Don't have any idea if it is original.