Hi, I have a 1990 Hunter 28 shoal wing keel. I just bought the boat and it appears to have a leak in the aft part of the keel. The leak rate is about 10 cups of water a day. Water is seeping in about the aft keel bolt and the aft wall of the keel bilge. It appears the previous owner fiberglassed over the aft keel nut and aft floor. The boat was just hauled out so the keel to fiberglass joint should have been ok although I did not personally inspect the joint prior to bottom painting, I only observed it after painting. Has anyone else experienced this type of problem ? How was your boat fixed ? It is enough to remove and replace only the aft keel bolt ? Does the entire keel need to be re-fitted ? Or can a layer of expoxy-glass be wrapped around the keel/hull joint in addition to replacing the aft bolt ? Thanks in advance, Leo
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28 leak
Leo, did your pre-purchase survey pick up any of this problem? 1. The glassed nut is a signpost of something out of the ordinary. 2. You may want to look at the bottom forward edge of the keel for evidence of a hit. 3. The factory may be able to tell you something as your 28 is not the only 28 of this vintage with a keel leak problem.
Leo, did your pre-purchase survey pick up any of this problem? 1. The glassed nut is a signpost of something out of the ordinary. 2. You may want to look at the bottom forward edge of the keel for evidence of a hit. 3. The factory may be able to tell you something as your 28 is not the only 28 of this vintage with a keel leak problem.
Keel Leak part II
Dave, No the surveyor did not find this problem. I talked to Hunter Marine. They recommended that the keel/hull joint be inspected for cracks. Apparently the keel is held to the hull with stainless J bolts into the lead (1990 boat) keel. The keel/hull joint has a bed on epoxy in between. The repair procedure for the leak involves filling any cracks in the epoxy bedding. One can also add an addition layer of epoxy/glass around the keel/hull joint either in the local area or around the entire keel joint. So, thats what Hunter says.... Has anyone out there actually done this ? Did it fix the problem ? Thanks, Leo
Dave, No the surveyor did not find this problem. I talked to Hunter Marine. They recommended that the keel/hull joint be inspected for cracks. Apparently the keel is held to the hull with stainless J bolts into the lead (1990 boat) keel. The keel/hull joint has a bed on epoxy in between. The repair procedure for the leak involves filling any cracks in the epoxy bedding. One can also add an addition layer of epoxy/glass around the keel/hull joint either in the local area or around the entire keel joint. So, thats what Hunter says.... Has anyone out there actually done this ? Did it fix the problem ? Thanks, Leo
Tighten Bolts
The surveyor should have picked up any keel-hull crack had one been present during the survey. Sounds like water must be getting in through this joint. You stated that there is epoxy between the hull and the keel but this is not standard procedure. Standardly a sealant is used and when the bolts are tightened the sealant is throughly squished out. Also, after a few years the bolts should be retorqued. The sealant should still be okay since it isn't exposed to air so just torquing the nuts on the keel bolts should suffice. At the next haulout one can cleanout the hull-keel joint where the crack is and fill and epoxy it again. Hunter can give you the torque values for the keel bolts. Box/open end wrenches will probably not fit in the space so you'll probably have to make up some deep sockets by cutting the socket in half and welding a section of pipe between the two halves. Not a thing of beauty but this is what it takes - or pay the yard to do it.
The surveyor should have picked up any keel-hull crack had one been present during the survey. Sounds like water must be getting in through this joint. You stated that there is epoxy between the hull and the keel but this is not standard procedure. Standardly a sealant is used and when the bolts are tightened the sealant is throughly squished out. Also, after a few years the bolts should be retorqued. The sealant should still be okay since it isn't exposed to air so just torquing the nuts on the keel bolts should suffice. At the next haulout one can cleanout the hull-keel joint where the crack is and fill and epoxy it again. Hunter can give you the torque values for the keel bolts. Box/open end wrenches will probably not fit in the space so you'll probably have to make up some deep sockets by cutting the socket in half and welding a section of pipe between the two halves. Not a thing of beauty but this is what it takes - or pay the yard to do it.
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