Shark bite on my keel !

[John Paoletti]

I recently bought a 1993 Hunter 23.5 and discovered what looks like a shark bite taken out of the keel (center board) !!Now, I'm assumming that we don't have sharks in Lake Michigan - although you never know what's swimming around those nuke plants. The previous owner must have backed into something, or someone!I wondering if any of you have (A) removed the keel off your 23.5, (B)is it as simple as unscrewing the hex bolt next to the mast support, (C) did you encounter any problems re-attaching it?If you would share your keel repair experiences with me, I'll promise to keep you all posted on shark sightings in Lake Michigan }~~~~<"

 

[Dave Condon]

removal

The last thing I would do is to remove the keel. You did not tell us how much damage to the keel. Can you describe.Crazy Dave

 

[Dave]

It's Easy!

John,You're right. Just remove the bolt from the keel trunk, near the mast, That's all thet holds the keel. However, you'll have to raise the boat off the trailer a few inches to slide the keel out. I'll leave the method of raising your boat up to you. I've pulled mine out a few times in order to do a thorough job painting the bottom.Don't forget to put some bedding around the keel bolt hole during re-assembly.Dave

 

[John Paoletti]

It's Easy ... Responde to Dave

Dave, Thanks for the help on removing the keel. I actually removed it yesterday, and plan to reinstall it this weekend. You mentioned " Bedding" around the keel bolt. What exactly do you mean ??