Minor Keel

[Chris87]

I own a 1986 Pearson 28-2. Today when I went to launch my boat from getting it's bottom painted, the marina put the boat in the sling and noticed minor keel separation. They tightened the bolts which seemed (their words) very loose. However, as we went to pick it up again, the keel seemed to be a 1/8" more separated than before... Additionally, the keel isn't separated at the bow which would make sense from bottoming (keel smile); instead, it's separated from the stern. So we dropped the boat and I started tightening the bolts, even more, about 1/4 turn more, and still nothing. As we lifted the boat again, still noting - this time when we blocked the boat, I noticed a small crack along the fiberglass. Please see attached pictures and kindly recommended what's going on. I'm freaking out thinking this is going to cost me thousands.

 

[dlochner]

Additionally, the keel isn't separated at the bow which would make sense from bottoming (keel smile); instead, it's separated from the stern.

Has the boat been grounded?

The most serious damage on a hard grounding is at the aft end of the keel, where the keel joins the keel sump. A hard grounding forces the aft end of the keel up and into the hull which can delaminate the hull and break tabbing and structural members in the cabin. In a grounding the keel acts like a big lever at the point of impact, pulling down on the front of the keel and pushing up on the aft end. If the boat has been grounded hard then it needs to be inspected by someone knowledgeable about grounding damage.

Pearson, like most builders in the day used a polyester fairing compound to seal the hull keel joint. Polyester fairing compound is fairly brittle and tends to shrink over time. If you are lucky, that is the problem. The fix is to remove the old loose polyester fairing and replace with an epoxy fairing compound suitable for underwater.

 

[berner73]

Well first, nice boat! The Pearson 28-2 is a great sailboat.

In regards to the keel, was the boat back on the hard resting on the keel for each attempt at tightening the bolts? Can you post a picture of the bolts from the interior. 1/4 turn is not insignificant, and that’s after the initial tightening. That seems like a lot of movement to me. Did the yard put the sealant around the joint? To dlochner’s point, what do you know about the history of the boat? Is there any indication of a grounding/contact on the leading edge of the keel and was the boat professionally surveyed prior to purchase? Had you noticed any unusual egress of water into the bilge lately?

You may want to do a search here for “keel hull joint” or “rebed keel”. Check Sailnet too. It may be an unsettling read at first. There are some scary stories out there but it’s not always necessary to rebed - but if you plan on keeping the boat, the piece of mind in doing so now may be worth it. We had the job done 6-7 years ago for just that, piece of mind. It’s been some of the best money we’ve spent on her.

Best of luck with the outcome.