KEEL REPAIRS

[GIGADIVE]

I was wondering if anyone had any additional tips or information about drilling exploratory holes to determine if water is present (under the fiber glass) where the Keel Stub Wood is located in the bilge of a 1977 Catalina 30‘. I want to make sure the wood REALLY NEEDS the repair before I go through all the work of removing/repairing the old stub wood. I do have a "Catalina Smile" in the front part of the Keel (hull side) that has been previously filled or caulked with something, and no water is present in the bilge. The keel nuts are a bit rusty because the previous owner(s) allowed water to stand for long periods of time in the bilge. My thinking is that I may be able to simply retorque the Keel nuts (down), then fill in the Catalina Smile (crack) in accordance with the Catalina-Yachts drawing/repair procedure. I have heard someone mention to drill 1/8" diameter holes near the keel bolts, just above the stub wood area in the bilge, to see if water comes out? Does anyone have any recommendations on how many holes, how deep, and where I should drill these exploratory holes? If no water is present, that's a good thing right? Can I assume the wood removal and repair process is not warranted at this time? Also, I'm trying to find a couple (2) Anchor chain caps (for the anchor chain/line that goes through the deck). There is a name stamped on the cap entitled "MARINIUM". I have attached an example photo to this email that I got from West Marine (the difference is that their part is chrome and mine is aluminum). The Catalina Yachts Parts Department (in Woodland Hills) doesn't have the part. Any idea where I can find them?

 

[John]

Keel stub

Most keel stubs are wet, Ive seen lots of boats and most older catalins have the C smile . The keel works loose and leeks and cant dry but wont rot with out air . The ply wood is nasty stuff for a keel stub .Most boats leek from the inside out. Most smaller out board catalins keels are much dryer (no shaftpacking nut)less water inside.The keel stub can stay wet thru the life of the boat if the bolts can be tite.you are ok, Ive seen two C30s both 70s boats with the keel glassed on and laged bolted two years later.Newer boats have teak keel stub much sweeter . You could drill 3" holes around the bolts with a deep hole saw a remove the wood then dry it out and fill the holes with glass and glass over the top like the catalina fix. If you want to no if your keel is wet you could tap it with a screw driver handle if it sounds hollow or dull you are eather delminated or wet .The puddy they fill around the wood with is very soft and dose not stick to the wood very well.I like to rip the wood out in the fall and fill the holes with alcohol and let it dry the alcohal will suck some water out of the wood and help clean the glass . catalina tells you the wet keel stub must be removed and glassed back with 6 layers of 24 OZ roveing and mat but most keel bolts wont sit flat on the keel with out the 11/2" thick wood so ive been useing mohgany deck lumber to take up the space and i drill the 3" hole around the bolts in the new wood so it cant get wet. six years ago i sent catalina my keel fix with the holes drilled in the stub and they shot it down . Now ive seen my pics on the net with the hols drilled in the stub .So i think they changed there way of thinking .On the C 30 the last bolt is way under the moter. and it hard to work under there .You could raise the moter with a basket ball .Remove the air put it under the moter and pump it up you could get some room to work On the larger DSL moter i remove the exoste flange to lift the moter . John

 

[Bob Moretti]

Some thoughts

I'm not sure that I understand fully what John is trying to describe in his response. But here are a few things to consider.The consensus of C30 owners is that the "smile" is not necessarily related to keel bolt torque. The smile results from the way the boat is wrongly blocked in most yards.Tightening the keel bolts, therefore, may not affect the smile at all. Most of us fill the smile with fiberglass putty, then finish off the seam with a strong, flexible caulk like 3M 5200. I did this 4 years ago, and it still is intact.Furthermore, tightening the keel bolts runs the risk of crushing the wooden keel stub, and making it easier for it to become saturated with water if it isn't already. Why not drill a series of tiny holes, and see if the sawdust you get is damp or wet. If it is, you know the wooden stub is wet. Many, many owners know this to be true of their boat, and sail it anyway without problems. To my knowledge, there aren't any reports of keels falling off C30's. This may be because the product used to glue the keel to the stub is so incredibly strong. When the keel bolt nuts are removed, and the boat is raised, the keel doesn't drop off. It actually requires a good deal of work to separate the keel from the stub in this situation.If you don't like the idea of a wet keel stub, you can try drying it out in the off season. Then you can drill a series of larger holes in it, and inject epoxy into them. If there are enough of these holes filled with epoxy, it seems reasonable to think that the epoxy will act as a spacer in the same way that the wooden stub did. This may be what John was referring to. Of course it doesn't completely address the question about the rotted areas immediately surrounding the keel bolts.

 

[Karios]

Question

In your message you refer to the Catalina Yachts drawing repair procedure...can you direct me to that procedure. our C-30 also has the Catalina smile and needs to be tended to this year. Thanks for your response. Kairos