I was all set for a similar job on my 88 Hunter 355. The man I bought it from said water was coming from the keel bolts . I was exposed the joint and found it was tight all the way around In talks with a buddy we thinks it’s likely something mundane like a leaky hose ! My plan is to get the bilge bone dry then splash her and keep her in the sling run the engine work everything that uses a through hull and see what’s what. Fingers crossed
Awesome tenacity and the eye for detail!! Not seen all videos so was not sure why work was needed in the first place but think you mention it. You noticed a 'smile' in the front between keel and hull due to flexed washers giving away. I guess the water entering had messed up the surface so bad it could simply not just be sealed and tightened? You will have some great peace of mind once done knowing you did not take any shortcuts:)
Exactly, there was a smile at the front and rear that seemed to imply some keel movement. Furthermore, this model/year of boat was known for not having removed the mold release wax from the bottom of the keel stub, leading to poor adhesion of the sealant. I wanted the peace of mind. I'm paranoid about crevice corrosion after finding some hidden about on my last boat. In hindsight, the adhesion between the keel and stub was just fine, and I would have been 100% OK to just dig out and replace the weathered sealant at the front and rear, make the backing plates, and re-torque. There was no sign of the keel bolts corroding (no weeping rust stains or anything like that). So while this was a good "preventative maintenance" project, it was unnecessary.
Very useful lesson, thank you - I would not have thought to check the hull was completely horizontal..one thing i was wondering was whether it is strictly necessary to smooth the surfaces with epoxy, do you have any thoughts on that?
During the keel removal I ended up pulling chunks of fiberglass off the bottom of my keel stub, so the surface was VERY uneven. What I didn't want to have was areas where the sealant gets pressed completely out, and other areas that have half an inch or more of sealant between the keel and stub. I think some variance is normal and expected, but to a limit. If I had managed to preserve the bottom of my keel stub during the removal step, I would have left it as-is.
I'd be interested in finding out how the backing plates you made work out for you. It's always better to spread the load as best you can and your idea is a good one I would think. When there's keel bolts close together I wonder if making large backing plates to cover the bottom of the hull around those bolts would add even more strength? Thanks for sharing your experience and I also couldn't agree more even as expensive as it can be always be sure to have extra supplies on hand before going into final assembly. I'm not sure what yard work you have left to do before splash day. Is there a plan to glass the keel to the hull, to spread the load out even further? Now that I think about that, aren't keels designed to flex a little and my idea might end up making it to rigid? I don't really know if that would work, just thinking out loud really. Fair winds, following seas, safe travels and God Bless...
@@PreacherwithoutaPulpit I'll post an update after a few months of sailing. I expect the plates will work well, the only things I'm worried about are rust (made of 304 instead of 316 SS), and potentially they are too thin to adequately spread the load. Both options should be pretty easy to detect. I considered joining adjacent plates to have a single plate with two holes, but I didn't trust my design chops enough for that one. I don't think the difference will be significant. And for glassing the keel in - that's how it was before. The sides were intact and in good shape. The front and back had delaminated. My guess is due to the fore and backstay tension the boat gets pulled into a bit more of a banana shape - so the fore and aft sections of the keel stub are most likely to separate.
I was all set for a similar job on my 88 Hunter 355.
The man I bought it from said water was coming from the keel bolts .
I was exposed the joint and found it was tight all the way around
In talks with a buddy we thinks it’s likely something mundane like a leaky hose !
My plan is to get the bilge bone dry then splash her and keep her in the sling run the engine work everything that uses a through hull and see what’s what.
Fingers crossed
@@109jeanmarc I hope it's a simple fix. Keel bolts were not fun!
Thanks for sharing your experiences!
Awesome tenacity and the eye for detail!! Not seen all videos so was not sure why work was needed in the first place but think you mention it. You noticed a 'smile' in the front between keel and hull due to flexed washers giving away. I guess the water entering had messed up the surface so bad it could simply not just be sealed and tightened? You will have some great peace of mind once done knowing you did not take any shortcuts:)
Exactly, there was a smile at the front and rear that seemed to imply some keel movement. Furthermore, this model/year of boat was known for not having removed the mold release wax from the bottom of the keel stub, leading to poor adhesion of the sealant. I wanted the peace of mind. I'm paranoid about crevice corrosion after finding some hidden about on my last boat.
In hindsight, the adhesion between the keel and stub was just fine, and I would have been 100% OK to just dig out and replace the weathered sealant at the front and rear, make the backing plates, and re-torque. There was no sign of the keel bolts corroding (no weeping rust stains or anything like that). So while this was a good "preventative maintenance" project, it was unnecessary.
@himanakai you only knew the condition of bolts after stripping them of old Sikaflex so it all had to happen for peace of mind:)
Very useful lesson, thank you - I would not have thought to check the hull was completely horizontal..one thing i was wondering was whether it is strictly necessary to smooth the surfaces with epoxy, do you have any thoughts on that?
During the keel removal I ended up pulling chunks of fiberglass off the bottom of my keel stub, so the surface was VERY uneven.
What I didn't want to have was areas where the sealant gets pressed completely out, and other areas that have half an inch or more of sealant between the keel and stub.
I think some variance is normal and expected, but to a limit. If I had managed to preserve the bottom of my keel stub during the removal step, I would have left it as-is.
I'd be interested in finding out how the backing plates you made work out for you.
It's always better to spread the load as best you can and your idea is a good one I would think.
When there's keel bolts close together I wonder if making large backing plates to cover the bottom of the hull around those bolts would add even more strength?
Thanks for sharing your experience and I also couldn't agree more even as expensive as it can be always be sure to have extra supplies on hand before going into final assembly.
I'm not sure what yard work you have left to do before splash day.
Is there a plan to glass the keel to the hull, to spread the load out even further?
Now that I think about that, aren't keels designed to flex a little and my idea might end up making it to rigid?
I don't really know if that would work, just thinking out loud really.
Fair winds, following seas, safe travels and God Bless...
@@PreacherwithoutaPulpit I'll post an update after a few months of sailing. I expect the plates will work well, the only things I'm worried about are rust (made of 304 instead of 316 SS), and potentially they are too thin to adequately spread the load. Both options should be pretty easy to detect.
I considered joining adjacent plates to have a single plate with two holes, but I didn't trust my design chops enough for that one. I don't think the difference will be significant.
And for glassing the keel in - that's how it was before. The sides were intact and in good shape. The front and back had delaminated. My guess is due to the fore and backstay tension the boat gets pulled into a bit more of a banana shape - so the fore and aft sections of the keel stub are most likely to separate.
@@himanakai
Thanks for the reply and info.
If I'm ever in your situation I'll remember it.
Fair winds, following seas, safe travels and God Bless...