How to maintain laminated keel bolts - Jeanneau Sun Shine 36

[bil56]

to remove the mechanical screws from my Gibsea, I cut pieces of pvc pipee, glued with putty, filled with penetrating oil for several days, before unlocking with a wheel disassembly cross with extensions ...

[chris95040]

Could just be the lighting playing tricks but looking at the scraped part of the nut, is that bronze? If they are bronze bolts in a lead keel and you've only got greenish corrosion (not pink) you've likely got nothing to worry about.

[bil56]

Originally Posted by chris95040

Could just be the lighting playing tricks but looking at the scraped part of the nut, is that bronze? If they are bronze bolts in a lead keel and you've only got greenish corrosion (not pink) you've likely got nothing to worry about.

no, not bronze bolts on this boat

[Manateeman]

Once upon a time not only were the keel bolts bronze but bronze structural members bolted the frames to the keel. We’ve seen wood boats where everything was bolted together with bronze. Everything.
Alas, this was long ago when they were called yachts.
Sorry...I was reading the manatees a bedtime story.
My bad.
Mark

[bil56]

on the Sunshine36, studs screwed into the keel, plates and nuts, light lamination over

[tkeithlu]

Hey, Sonni.

I took a look at your bolt photographs and think that the situation could be much worse. Salt water got hold of the washers and plates but there does not appear to be much involvement of the bolts and nuts.

If you have not already done it, and we'd like an update, choose one bolt, remove the nut, and pry up the plate. Hope that what you find underneath is healthy steel and intact threads. Clean up with a fine wire brush on a grinder.

Then, a couple of issues. First is determining the right torque for those bolts. Try this:

https://www.google.com/search?q=bolt...1cQ9QF6BAgDEAE

Remember that correct torque is a funcion of the bolt you are torquing, not the job that it is doing. Do not over-torque; you would be deforming the bolt, and you do not want to damage one of these bolts. Replacing one means dropping the keel. Do one at a time.

The second is preventing the problem from recurring. That means sealing the plates and the space between the plates and the bolts. The fiberglass was an attempt at this, and failed. Not-quite-permanent goo such as 3M 4200 would work, and others on the forum may have suggestions.

Do keep us informed, and good luck with it.

[avaroa]

laminated keel bolts are standard on my 1991 So 36

[double u]

Originally Posted by Uncle Bob

This is an example of lipstick on a pig. It is not laminated keel bolts, but an attempt to repair or hide a problem that should have been repaired instead of covering up. Fix it correctly and all will be well.

boats came from French yards that way, don't know about the Sunshine, the GibSea 37 definitely came like this original from the yard (had 2 on the base), looked exactly like these pics

[Uncle Bob]

Originally Posted by double u

boats came from French yards that way, don't know about the Sunshine, the GibSea 37 definitely came like this original from the yard (had 2 on the base), looked exactly like these pics

I gather that you consider that to be acceptable? The pics show what I consider to be neither good practice nor good workmanship, your opinion may differ.

[double u]

Bad practice, no doubt! Just wanted to affirm, that it was not a repair, but original.

[bil56]

yes, many french boats (others too?) have laminated keel bolts, I don't like that, you can't see if there is moisture or rust underneath ...
it is possible to remove this lamination to ensure better check

[Rumrace]

Seems the sealing of keel bolts is a dealer issue. Apparently they were instructed to bury the bolts in glass. Running down the stairs and curing resin in a finished boat poor practice. Burying steel devoid of oxygen, bad practice. Truth is the nuts are doing nothing. They are not stopping the keel from falling off. They just compressed adhesive to the correct position. 80’s fibreglass was arguably better than the 90’s when we started to care about the environment.
Clean the bolt and tag mount with naval jelly and rinse. Paint it with hot krylon and go sailing.

[Rumrace]

That huge bill at the bottom of the option list is the dealer assembling you boat. You can ship a Jeanneau with the keel attached but according to the factory it never happens. The larger cradle drives up shipping costs and it’s one of the profit centres for dealers.
The skill set of most dealer crews is higher than the factory. They follow exact instructions for just about every brand made. A broker in SanDiego carried Catalina Barvaria and Jeanneau. They all arrived the same with a week of commissioning the boat including installing the keel. So it may be bad practice from the factory. I assume they felt a lot of us accept a little water in the bilge. This water could would rust the stud giving the keel less lateral strength and banking on epoxy to hold 5 tons +. Better to bury the studs in glass then stand in water and unfortunately still be curing when the happy new owners expose themselves to an atmosphere requiring portable air.
I think you’ll find this practice wide spread amongst the brands. Jeanneau are threaded studs into the cast iron. I don’t think it’s realistic to ever change one and certainly not with the keel on.
Be happy it’s not a thin skin chopper gun keel with tiny black spots leaching lead.

[fourlyons]

Originally Posted by Rumrace

That huge bill at the bottom of the option list is the dealer assembling you boat. You can ship a Jeanneau with the keel attached but according to the factory it never happens. The larger cradle drives up shipping costs and it’s one of the profit centres for dealers.
The skill set of most dealer crews is higher than the factory. They follow exact instructions for just about every brand made. A broker in SanDiego carried Catalina Barvaria and Jeanneau. They all arrived the same with a week of commissioning the boat including installing the keel. So it may be bad practice from the factory. I assume they felt a lot of us accept a little water in the bilge. This water could would rust the stud giving the keel less lateral strength and banking on epoxy to hold 5 tons +. Better to bury the studs in glass then stand in water and unfortunately still be curing when the happy new owners expose themselves to an atmosphere requiring portable air.
I think you’ll find this practice wide spread amongst the brands. Jeanneau are threaded studs into the cast iron. I don’t think it’s realistic to ever change one and certainly not with the keel on.
Be happy it’s not a thin skin chopper gun keel with tiny black spots leaching lead.

Actually they are bolts going through the hull into the keel and people can and do pull and inspect them. Even with the boat in the water, one at a time.

[Rumrace]

So this model has bolts not nuts on studs? That would be fantastic. I thought I saw nut on stud in pictures.
The Manatee bed time story made my eyes heavy