keel crack

[David]

Recently hauled my C27 due to a persistent leak into the bilge sump. On the stands, nothing was apparent; however, with the bilge sump full of water and the boat lifted in the slings, water would leak from a "V" shaped crack in the aft portion of the keel stump. The "V" crack is symmetical with the bottom about 2 inches down on the stump and the crack extending up each side of the stump.Has anyone else had this and what did you do to fix it?

 

[Peter18012]

Reverse Catalina Smile

Cat 27s frequently have a problem like this, but usually it's the FRONT of the keel that begins to separate from the hull. It's called the "Catalina Smile". Repair can be any number of things, depending on how bad it is. If you've got water entering the bilge area, it means you're probably pretty bad. The "V" is where the keel is bolted to the hull with keelbolts bedded into the lead of the ballast in the keel. If the boat a '77 or earlier, the bolts are mild steel, and usually very corroded. If a later boat, the bolts are stainless, and usually they are in better shape. If the bolts and nuts are OK, the fix is to re-torque the nuts, and fill the "V" with epoxy. If the bolts and nuts are badly corroded, you may be able to remove the nuts, clean the bolt threads and replace with stainless nuts, then re-torque. If the bolts themselves are bad, the fix becomes more problematical - replacing the bolts. Call Catalina, they have a whole procedure, with drawings and specs, that they can provide you to correct the problems.

 

[Jim Branch]

You Hit Something!

Sailing in San Francisco Bay, I hit a submerged piling and the keel was driven aft forming a "V" crack as you describe. The yard manager said that area is the weakest in the keel/hull interface and the most difficult to repair. The first repair attempted by the yard was from the inside and it didn't hold. I ultimately had the yard drop the keel, and strengthen the area from both the outside and inside. Very costly, but never had another problem even after several other minor collesions with submerged objects.