Keel Bolts and Helm Wheel Bearings 35s5

[Santisimo]

I am in the process of buying a 1989 Beneteau 35s5. Six of its eight keel bolts are rusting to the point of flaking off and I don't think they have enough integrity to be extracted. Can anyone share any details/photos of replacing keel bolts on your Beneteau? The bolts appear to be ordinary steel bolts. Has anyone used stainless steel replacements? Did you do the work in the water or out? What do you use as a protectant on your keel bolts? Liquid electrical tape, oils, coatings, etc?Also, there is a lot of fore/aft play in the destroyer wheel at the point where the shaft that holds the wheel enters the pedestal. I think because of the diameter of the wheel and the limited foot room behind the wheel, excessive forces are transmitted to these bearings and they are worn out. Can anyone share info/photos on the bearing replacement process and if there are larger/oversize bearings available. The manufacturer is clearly not Edson, so I am a little lost here.Thanks in advance........

 

[Mac]

Been there

When I bought my '84 First 285, I had the same concerns. The keel bolts were flaking large pieces. I talked to Beneteau and was assured that the bolts themselves, no matter how ugly the nuts were, had a lot more structural integrity than I perceived. I wire brushed them to bare metal and coated them with anhydrous lanolin. Paint just didn't seem to hold up in the bilge and lanolin is hydrophobic by nature and coats every crevice and seals to the gel coat really well. It stays soft so its nothing to later remove the bolts. Although Beneteau states you can remove them "one at a time" in the water (love to see the guy that does this all at once in water)I prefer to just do it on haul-out. I also have concerns about breaking the keel to hull seal when doing it in the water and not being able to see the break. Its easier to just do it once, reapply the 5200 and not worry about it again. Beneteau has a full methodology on doing it in the water if you want. Contact parts..Good luck.Mac