Prospective Catalina 30 (1987, MkII tall rig) keel issue

[Qorgyle]

Hey folks, looking for a second (or third or fourth) opinion on this keel "repair". As you can see, the crack was quite extensive, and then "fixed" with some combination of materials that I am very dubious about. The black stuff in the middle is also soft to the touch, making me suspect whatever was in there before, isn't.

Anyone seen anything like this? Also, how could this have happened? Bad blocking on the hard, or could this have been dropped?

I'm very interested in this boat, but this is a bit of a mystery and also not one of the things on a TODO list that I can start addressing myself, so I'm just a wee bit wary. Most of the remaining items seem much more typical (hose replacement, needs a new battery charger, stuffing gland has an overly fast drip, etc).

I think the bolts in the keel look fine, for what it's worth. Don't know if they're torqued to spec, though. Something else for me to ask the owner.

Anyway, thanks for any thoughts on this. I've previously had a Catalina 25 and really enjoyed it - looking for more room for my family of 4 and this one came along.

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

Appears to be the usual “Catalina smile” crack found on that vintage boat. search that term and you will find lots of info on causes and cures.

 

[Qorgyle]

Appears to be the usual “Catalina smile” crack found on that vintage boat. search that term and you will find lots of info on causes and cures.

Mmm, I did, and most of them are far smaller (8" or less) and on the forward part of the keel. At best I'd expect to see both sides since I believe the problem is the lateral forces and vibration on the entirety of the keel - this is just in the back.

 

[Tally Ho]

Using a flexible fairing of some sort over the stub / keel joint (soft to the touch) may be a good idea. As Don said, cracks in this area are common, so if faired with something flexible can prevent it from cracking.

If the keel bolts are torqued properly, the joint should be OK.

I don’t see anything that would make me too nervous.

Can you find out if the yard made those repairs and ask them about the repair? It may help you sleep better if you know who did it and what all they did.

Greg

 

[dmax]

Yeah - it's not the usual Catalina smile which as you say affects the forward part of the keel joint. Hard to figure out the stress that would cause the aft section to separate (back stay too tight?). However, it doesn't look bad and the keel bolts look good. Be aware that a 1987 will have plywood in the bottom of the keel stub (where the keel bolts come through) - if water gets in there, the plywood rots and the floor of the stub can collapse - take a good look at all of the keel bolts (especially the aft ones in this case) and make sure the nuts and washers have not sunken into the fiberglass, which could cause what you're seeing. If you do buy it, I would clean out that repair as it doesn't look well done and re-torque the bolts as was said. Most likely not a problem - Catalina has built a lot of boats and no reports of a keel ever falling off.

 

[jssailem]

I assume this is the area of concern.

That is not a Catalina Smile issue. It looks more to me as running aground damage or the boat sitting on its side with the keel supporting it.

If you are up to a project, and the boat is otherwise in good shape and the price is right, this can likely be fixed. It will mean removing the bottom paint and opening up the area to inspect the integrity of the keel and fiberglass. It is going to take some time. It will take some money. You will learn new skills.