We have a 36 Islander. The visual part of the keel bolts are in various stages of being rusted from where the exposed threads above the nut has deteriorated to where there is only a coating of rusty coloring. Does anyone have knowledge about this? Is my keel about to fall off? There is a visible " Catalina smile" ( a slightly more than hairline crack Where the leaded keel is attached to the hill about 18" long) however there is no evidence of rust. Thoughts anyone ?
Rusty Keel bolts
- Thread starter RichardAldrich
- Start date
Anything to do with keel bolts, I am keeping watch for. From the seaworthy offshore sailboat: check the keel bolts, if there are any, from inside the boat. Look for rust, powdering, fracture lines, and any other signs of deterioration. (That was page 29). (Now page 30) HOW TO FIX: you can have keel bolts examined by X ray or ultrasound equipment, but it is very expensive. A cheaper way is to have a boat yard pull one out, if that's possiable, or undo all the nuts and raise the boat off of the keel to expose the legend of the bolts. There is no other way to check the condition of the bolts. Stainless steel bolts may corrode as fast as mild steel if water gets in and oxygen is absent. Bronze or money bolts are likely to last the lifetime of the boat, but they can sometimes suffer from electrolytic corrosion.
Sorry for referencing a book but, it has helped me a lot and I am totally new to sailboats. I wanted you to know what this author has noted and where I found it.