I need to tighten my keel bolts on my 1987 Cat 30 tall rig, fin keel. Cannot find specifications anywhere! Any help out there as to where I can find torque specs? Thanks!
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Just did them
When I had to do mine I called Catalina Yachts and they gave me the torque recomendation. With the boat hauled out and sitting on the keel the torque is 120 lbs pounds for a Catalina 30 1980. They should be similar but if not sure then you could call Catalina Yachts at 818-884-7700. I also know if the nuts and washers are not properly sealed water can seep down them and cause corrosion between them or water can seep under them and cause the wood under the glass to rot then you have a worse problem. After I cleaned the studs I bought new nuts and washers and sealed them with 4200 between the washer and the bilge floor, between the washer and the nut, and after I torqued them I sealed the top of the nut by the threads. That prevents and bilge water to get in them if you do not have a dripless packing. Hope this helps, John
When I had to do mine I called Catalina Yachts and they gave me the torque recomendation. With the boat hauled out and sitting on the keel the torque is 120 lbs pounds for a Catalina 30 1980. They should be similar but if not sure then you could call Catalina Yachts at 818-884-7700. I also know if the nuts and washers are not properly sealed water can seep down them and cause corrosion between them or water can seep under them and cause the wood under the glass to rot then you have a worse problem. After I cleaned the studs I bought new nuts and washers and sealed them with 4200 between the washer and the bilge floor, between the washer and the nut, and after I torqued them I sealed the top of the nut by the threads. That prevents and bilge water to get in them if you do not have a dripless packing. Hope this helps, John
Be Careful..
If I'm not mistaken the changeover from a keel stub laminated with marine plywood to a solid fiberglass stub was in late 1988 early 1989. You probably have a keel stub that has marine plywood in it and it's wet and starting to compress. Keel bolts don't normally "get loose" and need to be tightened. If they are loose it's most likely a rotting core starting to compress and therefore making the nuts seem loose. Tightening will only be a short term fix. The long and short of it is that you will eventually need to, from the inside, dig out your keel sump, get rid of all the wood and re-laminate with fiberglass. Catalina can send you directions on how to do this but I would advise having a boat yard do the job. You can tighten this year but there is water intrusion either from above through the holes in the stub leaking bilge water into the core or below leaking seawater into the core. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but I had to do this job on a C-30 I owned as well and there is NO other fix if you want it done right..
If I'm not mistaken the changeover from a keel stub laminated with marine plywood to a solid fiberglass stub was in late 1988 early 1989. You probably have a keel stub that has marine plywood in it and it's wet and starting to compress. Keel bolts don't normally "get loose" and need to be tightened. If they are loose it's most likely a rotting core starting to compress and therefore making the nuts seem loose. Tightening will only be a short term fix. The long and short of it is that you will eventually need to, from the inside, dig out your keel sump, get rid of all the wood and re-laminate with fiberglass. Catalina can send you directions on how to do this but I would advise having a boat yard do the job. You can tighten this year but there is water intrusion either from above through the holes in the stub leaking bilge water into the core or below leaking seawater into the core. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but I had to do this job on a C-30 I owned as well and there is NO other fix if you want it done right..
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