a crack appeared on my keel I don't have a photo at the moment but very similar to these. in the spring I plugged the typical keel smile with 5200 but the crack extended to the back of the keel. I am told that I should drop my keel and redo the joint???
Keel separating?
- Thread starter Noah1981
- Start date
yes easy to seal but is it durable and can it hide a structural problem it does not seem normal to me that it opens like that
Ideally, you would drop the keel, inspect the bolts and re-bed - a lot of work. It doesn't look too bad though and you can probably just dig out the crack, re-fill and re-torque as has been already said. However, in the second picture, it looks like the crack has extended into the hull - you will want to fully investigate that and make sure it is solid when you're done.
That crack into the hull area is an "ear" in the top of the keel.casting. It spreads the keel loads out much better than a conventional keel stub.
Are you getting water coming into the bilge area is a key question. Manufacturers sealed the keel to the hull with 5200. Never use two part epoxy in the sealed area as it would be heck removing the keel.
What year is your boat would be helpful to know if your keel is either cast iron or lead. A magnet would tell if you do not know
Former Hunter dealer
What year is your boat would be helpful to know if your keel is either cast iron or lead. A magnet would tell if you do not know
Former Hunter dealer
Very typical of Hunters with iron keels. Hunter advised me 20 years ago to open the crack with a Dremel, fill it with 5200, and glass over it with a couple of layers of cloth. I did. Also tried re- torquing the keel bolts, but could never get them to move, even with my 3 foot torque wrench. Crack hasn't opened again in 15 years. Sometimes have a little smile when hauling out and just regrind, fill and paint.