I'm looking at a 79 Cherubini 33 that the owner seems anxious to sell in the water. He has sent me photos of it on stands and there is a horizontal crack that becomes evident only when I zoom in. The crack runs the width of the keel on both sides. I think the bolts look fine from inside the bilge. It is wet but I can't tell if it is from the bolts or somewhere else. I'm not buying without looking at the hull but how can I tell if the bolts are bad? That would be a deal breaker for me. Other treads discuss repair of keel cracks and I have done a repair of a small crack on my old 35 Morgan. I wouldn't mind doing it again if it was worth the effort. Anyone had experience with this. Thanks, Bill
Hull-Keel crack
- Thread starter Willyboy
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Hunter SMILE
Sound like the Hunter SMILE.
The joint between the lead or iron (as the case may be) keel and the fiberglass stub was filled some kind of putty filler and fared over... over time since the iron/lead keel and the firberglass hull have different coefficients of expansion the putty filler and the faring compunds crack and can flake off.
A pic would help but if all else is sound I don't think it's a big deal. You can, when the boat is on the hard remove the nuts from the keel, lift the hull, drop the keel, clean the surfaces and rebed with 5200 but if all else is OK I don't think it's worth the effort.....but that's just my opinion.
Sound like the Hunter SMILE.
The joint between the lead or iron (as the case may be) keel and the fiberglass stub was filled some kind of putty filler and fared over... over time since the iron/lead keel and the firberglass hull have different coefficients of expansion the putty filler and the faring compunds crack and can flake off.
A pic would help but if all else is sound I don't think it's a big deal. You can, when the boat is on the hard remove the nuts from the keel, lift the hull, drop the keel, clean the surfaces and rebed with 5200 but if all else is OK I don't think it's worth the effort.....but that's just my opinion.
I had the same impression you did when I first saw the crack in my Pearson, so I asked and asked, and over several years too as my Hunter 37 had the same crack and a little water seepage when coming out of the water. Everyone says that it's okay, but the main thing is to be sure the keel bolts are tight and not corroded. If its a deep keel, you can always try to rock it back and forth once it's out of the water and look for play in the joint.
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