I own a 25' Hunter 1976 with a lead keel 1800lbs. Does anyone know if a keel should have some degree of flexibility even though it's attached to the hull with 8 bolts? Sky scrapers, bridges etc. need some degree of flexibility to function properly, I imagine so does a keel. Any input appreciated, engineers welcomed.
Keel flex
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I am not at all familiar with this boat, but I do agree with the earlier statement. If you have some flex in the keel, something is wrong. Is it the keel itself flexing, or does it flex in relationship to the hull. I would be it is the latter, and there is something wrong with the keel to hull attachment. Does it have keel bolts or is it encapsulated.
Why do I ask?
I ask as I am concerned about the status of my keel. It is lead so the keel itself doesn't flex however when I bought the boat there was a space between the keel and hull. I asked a pro. if the space was bad and he didn't think much about it. But to take precautions, I cranked down every single keel bolt as tight as I possibly could save one that wouldn't budge and then I added 5200 to the inside of the space then covered with Marinetex then covered with pure glass. I noticed that the marinetex slightly cracked when the boat was moved to another location. I intend to launch her this week, I'll monitor the keel by first taking very light sails then I will snorkel under the vessel to check to any structural stress.
I ask as I am concerned about the status of my keel. It is lead so the keel itself doesn't flex however when I bought the boat there was a space between the keel and hull. I asked a pro. if the space was bad and he didn't think much about it. But to take precautions, I cranked down every single keel bolt as tight as I possibly could save one that wouldn't budge and then I added 5200 to the inside of the space then covered with Marinetex then covered with pure glass. I noticed that the marinetex slightly cracked when the boat was moved to another location. I intend to launch her this week, I'll monitor the keel by first taking very light sails then I will snorkel under the vessel to check to any structural stress.
Hull may flex
It is correct that we want no flex of the hull-keel joint, or of the hull around the joint. But some flexing of the joint may occur. I remember discussion of this topic on another model. (check th archives). Certainly the joint is stressed if the boat is being moved on the hard, since it usually rests substantially on the keel. The glass can deflect, even a little bit under these loads, or in a grounding event, leading to the kind of crack you describe. Hunters from the early years have thick glass (around 5/8ths to 3/4ths of an inch for your model) and very solid grids of glassed in beams to hold the keel and maintain hull shape. So the discussions here have tended to agree with your pro - it's likely a cosmetic problem and not much of a worry! David Lady Lillie
It is correct that we want no flex of the hull-keel joint, or of the hull around the joint. But some flexing of the joint may occur. I remember discussion of this topic on another model. (check th archives). Certainly the joint is stressed if the boat is being moved on the hard, since it usually rests substantially on the keel. The glass can deflect, even a little bit under these loads, or in a grounding event, leading to the kind of crack you describe. Hunters from the early years have thick glass (around 5/8ths to 3/4ths of an inch for your model) and very solid grids of glassed in beams to hold the keel and maintain hull shape. So the discussions here have tended to agree with your pro - it's likely a cosmetic problem and not much of a worry! David Lady Lillie
JC II Comments
Here are some comments by JC II on this subject in the archives. JC owns an early h25, and workied with his Dad, John Cherubini during the design and production runs of the Cherubini Hunters. David Lady Lillie
Here are some comments by JC II on this subject in the archives. JC owns an early h25, and workied with his Dad, John Cherubini during the design and production runs of the Cherubini Hunters. David Lady Lillie
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