I'm considering the purchase of a Hunter 30 with a Shoal Keel (currently own Catalina 30T with fin keel). Pictures of the boat show a crack in the fairing and the keel/hull connection. I'm familiar with the "catalina smile" on my current boat. Is this a common problem with a Hunter I can perform a simple repair or should I be concerned about a bigger issue.
Keel to Hull Connection
- Thread starter Driftin II
- Start date
Almost all boats with a bolted-on keel will have some cracking at the joint.
Some photos would be helpful, but if the faring has some cracks, but overall pretty tight (no gaping cracks), I would consider it fairly normal, especially on an older boat (you didn’t mention the year).
My own O’Day 322 was some cracking in the faring. A few years ago, I ground out a bit and found the joint tight. I refaired the area and went sailing.
Curious about the change in boats of the same size…newer Hunter?
Greg
Some photos would be helpful, but if the faring has some cracks, but overall pretty tight (no gaping cracks), I would consider it fairly normal, especially on an older boat (you didn’t mention the year).
My own O’Day 322 was some cracking in the faring. A few years ago, I ground out a bit and found the joint tight. I refaired the area and went sailing.
Curious about the change in boats of the same size…newer Hunter?
Greg
Changing due to water depth in our slip. My 1985 Cat 30T with fin keel drafts 5.25ft. Projected water for Lake MI is 5 ft-ish. Shopping for something with less draft that fits our budget. Found 2 Hunter 30's that check all the boxes. Need to stay with a 30 due to length allowed in our slip (we own it). Grand Haven Yacht Club, Grand Haven MI.
Attachments
Gotcha. I am spoiled down on the south end of the lake… my marina is about 25’ deep and no river or bar…directly out of the break-wall to open water"
The first photo looks a bit concerning, but it is dark so I can’t really see what is in that dark spot. The other photos don’t look bad.
You could ask the seller to have that area ground out and if nothing more concerning in there, refair and move forward.
Greg
Abnormal to have cracks in the keel stub joint, IMHO. Usually an indication of the joint being compromised. Until our boat struck a rock, the joint was crack free. Dropped the keel, cleaned and re-bed the stub joint with 3M-5200. After putting everything back together, no leaks, no cracks after thousands of cruising miles. That was in 2004.
Did you ask the current owner of the H30C Shoal Draft Keel
if they were aware of any keel strikes.
I assume your target boat is on the hard.
If so, get a good torque wrench and verify your reading against
the specs for the boat. If they are close without tightening,
you're probably OK with an application of epoxy fairing compound
like Total Boat "Total Fair" 2 part compound.
Here is a discussion on the subject:
chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/file:///C:/Users/sea7k/OneDrive/Pictures/Pictures/Keel%20Bolt%20Information%20(2).pdf
if they were aware of any keel strikes.
I assume your target boat is on the hard.
If so, get a good torque wrench and verify your reading against
the specs for the boat. If they are close without tightening,
you're probably OK with an application of epoxy fairing compound
like Total Boat "Total Fair" 2 part compound.
Here is a discussion on the subject:
chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/file:///C:/Users/sea7k/OneDrive/Pictures/Pictures/Keel%20Bolt%20Information%20(2).pdf
Hi Terry - did you notice any signs of water intrusion when you dropped the keel?
I agree with @Tally Ho, cracks are very common in keel-hull joints, but I'm not sure if they're not signs of trouble further down the line due to water intrusion in the joint. I see boats everywhere, on the hard, with joints that weep after rain. To me, that's a sign that the keel-hull joint is starting to come loose. How deep water is intruding into the joint is the big question, and I'm not sure if it's readily obvious how much water is getting into the joint without serious excavation.
Keel-hull joints are one of the most mystifying parts of sailboat maintenance for me and other sailors. There isn't a lot of information out there on how to maintain them. I suspect the first and most important part of maintaining the joint is to make sure that keel bolts are torqued, but how much torque to put on them isn't obvious. Since the keel-hull connection is loaded in opposite sides on each tack, I think it's important to maintain enough tension on the bolts to keep deflections in the joint on the windward side of the connection to a minimum.
The mfg's stay kind of silent on the issue (with some exceptions - I've seen specific recommendations from J-Boats and Hunter, but the torque values recommended for similar diameter bolts are very different). Most sailors I know never torque their keel bolts, and I think that's because there just isn't a lot of good information out there about the issue. There's a lot of concern about breaking the bolts or crushing the laminate, from what I've seen.
Good morning. No. We purchased our 1991 model in 2002. Before striking the rock in 2004 there were no cracks or leaks in the stub joint. After the strike a crack was created in the forward part of the stub joint, which allowed about a pint of water to flow into the bilge every15 minutes. Our yard, with my involvement, did the repair as I described in my earlier post. There did not appear to be any sign of joint water intrusion prior to the incident. I've hauled the boat twice since then to redo the bottom paint and the repair appears to be as secure as when it was done and no signs of any water seeping from the joint.
No expert here, but if properly installed and sealed, the joint should remain crack and leak free regardless of flexing and time. While common, as you say, a compromised joint that allows water to enter the stub cavity over time presents a future risk, especially with sea water. Our lead keel weighs almost 8K pounds and I've sailed her pretty hard over the years since. Again, if installed and sealed properly, it should remain so over time, at least until such an incident occurs. Uncertain as it might seem, attempting a crack repair from the outside without dropping the keel to do an inspection and a more permanent repair, seems to me a fools errand, IMHO.