I need to put new keel bolts in the keel of my Catalina 27. I have received some info from catalina on what to do. Essentially I need to drill holes from the top down through the bilge, and then for each hole, drill a larger diameter crossing hole from outside the keel, so they intersect. Then I would place a threaded SS bolt from above, and screw it into a threaded piece of SS placed below. They recommend 1/2 inch diameter threaded SS rod from above, and below a 1 1/4" diameter 3 " long SS rod with a threaded hole to accept the rod from above. I am not sure at this point whether the keel is lead or iron. I am trying to find that out. What would I need to drill these holes, and how hard would it be? I was told elsewhere a magnetic base drill would be necessary. I would appreciate any information.
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Gerry, GMJ Marine
keel
It sounds like you're not making much headway. This is generally a job that's better left to a yard or other professional to do. As far as your keel goes, take a hammer and screwdriver and gouge it into the keel material if it's not wrapped in glass. If it is try drilling a small hole, not to deep. Lead is soft and what happens when you try one of these steps should tell you what you need to know. If you gouge it ,you should get a scar fairly easy. If you drill, it should be easy to drill. Now , the keel bolt holes should be just large enough to slip the new bolt down into the keel. You don't want to much slop here.If you follow what Catalina recommends (1/2") then a 5/8" hole should work, allowing enough clearance to thread the bolt into the keel. For the 1 1/4" rod be sure to put a shallow countersink at the start of the threads. This will make it easier to start the keel bolt into it when you thread the two together. Also, once you're done and are sure everything is snugged up tight and torqued, I'd find some way to bung up the threads that are exposed in the keel below the 1 1/4" rod so that the keel bolt can't back off and loosen. You could use a hammer and chisel against the threads to nick or gouge them. Don't forget to put some sealant around the keel bolt when installing it. When you're done , patch up the lateral holes in the keel with epoxy and fillers as well as the gouges or dill tests that you did to determine what you had for a keel. Again, good luck. Hope all goes well.
It sounds like you're not making much headway. This is generally a job that's better left to a yard or other professional to do. As far as your keel goes, take a hammer and screwdriver and gouge it into the keel material if it's not wrapped in glass. If it is try drilling a small hole, not to deep. Lead is soft and what happens when you try one of these steps should tell you what you need to know. If you gouge it ,you should get a scar fairly easy. If you drill, it should be easy to drill. Now , the keel bolt holes should be just large enough to slip the new bolt down into the keel. You don't want to much slop here.If you follow what Catalina recommends (1/2") then a 5/8" hole should work, allowing enough clearance to thread the bolt into the keel. For the 1 1/4" rod be sure to put a shallow countersink at the start of the threads. This will make it easier to start the keel bolt into it when you thread the two together. Also, once you're done and are sure everything is snugged up tight and torqued, I'd find some way to bung up the threads that are exposed in the keel below the 1 1/4" rod so that the keel bolt can't back off and loosen. You could use a hammer and chisel against the threads to nick or gouge them. Don't forget to put some sealant around the keel bolt when installing it. When you're done , patch up the lateral holes in the keel with epoxy and fillers as well as the gouges or dill tests that you did to determine what you had for a keel. Again, good luck. Hope all goes well.
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afiore
Thanks Gerry
It appears to be a lead keel, from the fact that its not magnetic, and from reading around that most old C27s are lead. Since the keel appears solidly attached, I will probably hold off on this repair until next year. I would rather sail the boat for a season and see if I like it, and what other problems arise. Since its lead, I assume I will have a much easier time drilling it compared to iron.
It appears to be a lead keel, from the fact that its not magnetic, and from reading around that most old C27s are lead. Since the keel appears solidly attached, I will probably hold off on this repair until next year. I would rather sail the boat for a season and see if I like it, and what other problems arise. Since its lead, I assume I will have a much easier time drilling it compared to iron.
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Brian
Keel Bolts
After a few efforts to eliminate the Catalina smile, I called Catalina Direct and was to add 1/2 inch ss lag bolts from the bildge into the lead. Since the last repair the smile has not reappeared, so I have not installed the lag bolts. My marina operator is a great mechanic and does hull repair, so I consulted with him. He took me on a short tour of the yard and pointed out many other makes of boats with the same repair. My concern about this method that you are describing is not from a structural point, but how difficult it would be to get the intersection points of the vertical and horizontal rods, so that they could bolt together. A couple of thoughts--could you use lags bolts as was recommended to me by Catalina, or what about drill right through to the botton snd installing some recesed ss washers and nuts. I hope this helps. Good luck.
After a few efforts to eliminate the Catalina smile, I called Catalina Direct and was to add 1/2 inch ss lag bolts from the bildge into the lead. Since the last repair the smile has not reappeared, so I have not installed the lag bolts. My marina operator is a great mechanic and does hull repair, so I consulted with him. He took me on a short tour of the yard and pointed out many other makes of boats with the same repair. My concern about this method that you are describing is not from a structural point, but how difficult it would be to get the intersection points of the vertical and horizontal rods, so that they could bolt together. A couple of thoughts--could you use lags bolts as was recommended to me by Catalina, or what about drill right through to the botton snd installing some recesed ss washers and nuts. I hope this helps. Good luck.
A
afiore
Just hire a psychic
Just kidding. I read in an article on sailnet that the way to make the bolts meet is to drill the holes through from above into the keel, then fill the holes with water. Then use a small 1/8" or so drill bit to drill a sounding hole from below, outside the keel. You may need to drill a few of these holes, but eventually you will hit the hole you are looking for, and water will pour out. Then you can enlarge the hole with a bigger bit. I think drilling straight through to the bottom of the keel would be pretty difficult, if I read you correctly, and it would require a 4 foot long drill bit. I have seen the lag bolt repair idea, but many people (in internet forums, and one guy at a marina) scoffed at it. I guess the thought is that in soft lead, a lag screw is not going to have a whole lot of strength, and may pull out easily if you run aground.
Just kidding. I read in an article on sailnet that the way to make the bolts meet is to drill the holes through from above into the keel, then fill the holes with water. Then use a small 1/8" or so drill bit to drill a sounding hole from below, outside the keel. You may need to drill a few of these holes, but eventually you will hit the hole you are looking for, and water will pour out. Then you can enlarge the hole with a bigger bit. I think drilling straight through to the bottom of the keel would be pretty difficult, if I read you correctly, and it would require a 4 foot long drill bit. I have seen the lag bolt repair idea, but many people (in internet forums, and one guy at a marina) scoffed at it. I guess the thought is that in soft lead, a lag screw is not going to have a whole lot of strength, and may pull out easily if you run aground.
A
afiore
Here's a link
To the sailnet articles: http://www.sailnet.com/collections/articles/index.cfm?articleid=caseyd0039 http://www.sailnet.com/collections/articles/index.cfm?articleid=caseyd0040
To the sailnet articles: http://www.sailnet.com/collections/articles/index.cfm?articleid=caseyd0039 http://www.sailnet.com/collections/articles/index.cfm?articleid=caseyd0040
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Gerry, GMJ Marine
keel bolt sistering
Glad you found some other corroborating information to what I passed on to you. One thing I would suggest, if you hadn't already thought of it, is you should only have to drill and fill one hole with water to locate the side window. Once you've located one completely then you should be able to find the others just by careful measuring from inside to outside. This leaves less stray holes to deal with. Good luck this season.
Glad you found some other corroborating information to what I passed on to you. One thing I would suggest, if you hadn't already thought of it, is you should only have to drill and fill one hole with water to locate the side window. Once you've located one completely then you should be able to find the others just by careful measuring from inside to outside. This leaves less stray holes to deal with. Good luck this season.
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