I have a 1989 Hunter 30 with a fixed bulb/wind keel. When I took it out of the water last year there was a small horizontal crack about 2 inch and it looked like it was between the bottom of the hull and the where the keel connected on the port side. I had the yard expoxy and vc 17 over it. When I pulled the boat out this year the crack was much longer (about 6 inch and on both sides. What do you think the issue is and what should I do?
Hunter Keel Question
- Thread starter vela
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It could be one of three things... First, the material that Hunter used to fair the hull-keel joint has fallen out/shrunk. Second, the keel bolts need to be tightened or replaced. Third, the keel support structure in the boat has weakened and needs to be reinforced/repaired.
Is there any rust discoloration of the crack? If not, then it may just be that the fairing compound used to fair the hull-keel join is either missing or has shrunk.
However, if there is any noticeable corrosion or rusty staining, then you probably need to drop the keel and have a look at the keel bolts. These bolts are almost 20 years old and may be in need of replacement at this point in time. Rust colored stains at the hull-keel join would indicate that the ballast or bolts are rusting badly. Is your keel iron or lead??
This is a photo by Maine Sail of what can happen to keelbolts, and why I say they need to be inspected.
Might also be worth looking in the bilge to see if there is any noticeable change in the hull and stringers that support the keel and keel bolts. On some of the older Catalinas, the keel bolts passed through a piece of glassed-in plywood, and on many boats the plywood got wet and rotted out...leading to the classic "Catalina Smile". Something similar could be happening on your boat.
My suggestion would be to have a surveyor come out and do an inspection of the area to start with...and work from there.
Is there any rust discoloration of the crack? If not, then it may just be that the fairing compound used to fair the hull-keel join is either missing or has shrunk.
However, if there is any noticeable corrosion or rusty staining, then you probably need to drop the keel and have a look at the keel bolts. These bolts are almost 20 years old and may be in need of replacement at this point in time. Rust colored stains at the hull-keel join would indicate that the ballast or bolts are rusting badly. Is your keel iron or lead??
This is a photo by Maine Sail of what can happen to keelbolts, and why I say they need to be inspected.
Might also be worth looking in the bilge to see if there is any noticeable change in the hull and stringers that support the keel and keel bolts. On some of the older Catalinas, the keel bolts passed through a piece of glassed-in plywood, and on many boats the plywood got wet and rotted out...leading to the classic "Catalina Smile". Something similar could be happening on your boat.
My suggestion would be to have a surveyor come out and do an inspection of the area to start with...and work from there.
If he is correct in that it is between the hull/keel stub connection and the connection of the keel bulb, then it's a pure fiberglass crack and needs a major repair job. My keel had this after a running aground.
I had a little saturation of water comming in into the bildge but that was it. The yard grinded out the outside all the way though and layed fiberglass. Then they grinded out the inside and layed fiberglass to "Secure" the patch. Then they layed fiberglass all the way around to give the whole keel a much stronger stub.
I fear this is what you need to do also. I don't think I would have the same people do the repair as they should have done that from the beginning. If you loose your keel, it's a good chance you will loose your life, so have it fixed properly by a highly respected professional, not a "lets just insert some expoxy" guy.
I had a little saturation of water comming in into the bildge but that was it. The yard grinded out the outside all the way though and layed fiberglass. Then they grinded out the inside and layed fiberglass to "Secure" the patch. Then they layed fiberglass all the way around to give the whole keel a much stronger stub.
I fear this is what you need to do also. I don't think I would have the same people do the repair as they should have done that from the beginning. If you loose your keel, it's a good chance you will loose your life, so have it fixed properly by a highly respected professional, not a "lets just insert some expoxy" guy.
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