Keel bolts 322 oday

[Gzito]

Hello all
I have been reading posts on this forum for about 6 months and I finally just subscribed.

I purchased an oday 322 1987. Sept 2013. Love the boat the layout cabin cockpit everything about it, but I had no idea
About the keel issues until I read about it on this forum.

Fortunately for me the previous owner put a lot of time and work and left nothing for me to do.
The only modification,if I can call it a modification, is he had the keel to stub glassed for better support and additional strength.
In addition the bilge is bone dry,all the bolts are in great shape, and there is no sign of a seem at the keel stub.
I sailed her all last season and a 2 week trip up and down the long island sound. Best vacation ever , wife and kids agreed.
I can't shake the thought of the keel issue and its preventing me from having complete confidence while sailing.

Question 1. I'm wondering if the glass job at the keel stub is enough support to help in the prevention of the keel falling off ?
Question 2. Has anyone actually torqued the keel bolts to spec. If I'm correct 280 fp and 160 fp for smaller bolt ?
I want to do it but I need to be sure of specs. I realize over torquing can damage the keel stub.
Thanks

 

[jibes138]

To be safe, measure your bolts. Get the diameter and count the number of threads per inch. Then refer to a bolt torque chart to get the appropriate torque for that size bolt. If your OEM manual gives the specs I'd use those, otherwise here is a good table to get your torque. Keep in mind if the values are in inch pounds and convert to foot pounds as needed. http://www.engineershandbook.com/Tables/torque3.htm

 

[Gzito]

Thanks jibes.
In addition I found some other blogs with the specs. I did more searching in these forums it's great to have all that info and knowledge at hand.

 

[Capn Pete]

280 and 160 are the correct numbers. I've done it before, shortly after buying the boat in '04.

Would I trust a glass job alone to hold nearly 2 tons of ballast in the event the bolts failed? Not really.

Pete
s/v EmmieLou (O-322)
Staten Island, NY

 

[Gzito]

Thanks Pete
I figured the little bit of support I might get would help.

And thanks for confirming the numbers.
Did you have any thing extra done to your keel stub for peace of mind other than the bolts being torqued?

 

[jibes138]

I think the best fix for the thin section at the bottom of the keel stub is to add glass to the inside of the keel stub and running the glass up over the radius of the bilge turn, then maybe glassing in some cross bracing to hold it all in place in event the secondary bonding is weak. I'd be careful of too much torque causing compressive failure of the laminate. It really comes down to calculating the clamping force, dividing it by the square inches of the backing plates and then comparing the PSI result to the compressive strength of the material. 280 foot pounds is an awful lot of torque and a huge clamping force of over 16000 pounds on each bolt.

http://www.repairengineering.com/bolt-torque-chart.html
http://www.fiberglassafi.com/fiberglass-properties.htm

The low end of the fiberglass chart for compressive strength is 15000 psi. Using a safety factor of 2 you don't want to apply more than 7500 PSI to the laminate. If you have fairly large backing plates on each bolt and they sit flat measure the square inches and see what you get for PSI.

 

[The Tanqueray]

Can't get enough torque

I think the best fix for the thin section at the bottom of the keel stub is to add glass to the inside of the keel stub and running the glass up over the radius of the bilge turn, then maybe glassing in some cross bracing to hold it all in place in event the secondary bonding is weak. I'd be careful of too much torque causing compressive failure of the laminate. It really comes down to calculating the clamping force, dividing it by the square inches of the backing plates and then comparing the PSI result to the compressive strength of the material. 280 foot pounds is an awful lot of torque and a huge clamping force of over 16000 pounds on each bolt.

http://www.repairengineering.com/bolt-torque-chart.html
http://www.fiberglassafi.com/fiberglass-properties.htm

The low end of the fiberglass chart for compressive strength is 15000 psi. Using a safety factor of 2 you don't want to apply more than 7500 PSI to the laminate. If you have fairly large backing plates on each bolt and they sit flat measure the square inches and see what you get for PSI.

I bought a high quality torque wrench (350 pounds) and a 12 inch extension. I then added a 3ft section of pipe for leverage but still can't get 250 ft pounds.
My bilge is bone dry and I've been out in a lot of very brisk conditions this past winter in the Bahamas. I should add that I've had the 322 for 9-months now and couldn't be happier.
One of the best "comfort" discoveries was removing the backrest from the port side settee (now kept against starboard hull in v-berth). That made a very very roomy lounge.