Moody 419 keel bolt replacement cost?

[davethedog]

Hello all and have seen a nice boat that we are interested in possibly making an offer on , however the owner has said that the keel bolts may need testing or worst case replacing.

If worst case they need replacing any ideas as to how much the cost would be so I can then look at working out a possible offer figure?

Thanks

Lee

[Moody46CC]

Moody used mild steel for keel bolts on all its models. There was a reason; it escapes me. Anyway, mild steel rusts with any water in the bilge. Most Moodys (including mine) have rusty bolt tops. When tested, the bolts themselves always come out clean.

This topic is frequently discussed on the homeowners website. As a prospective buyer, you can post questions about the model you are interested in. Go to

Thinking of buying a Moody ask a question here | Moody Owners Information Exchange

[robert sailor]

The reason Moody didn't use stainless steel was their concern about crevice corrosion. You can remove single bolts on land or in the water for inspection or even replacement. If there is any sign of a keel bolt leaking then it might be time to haul it and drop the keel.

[Stumble]

Inspecting the keel bolts isn't a terribly difficult process, but to do right does take some heavy equipment. Basically you put the boat on stands, take off the mast, then unbolt the keel and move the hull to a seperate set of stands while leaving the keel in place.

So it's just one more pick than a mast off bottom job. One of the upsides to steel bolts is as soon as you lift the hull away from the keel you will know if they are bad. So long as they pass a visual inspection then you can just drop the hull back on the keel and off you go. With stainless bolts you should have the bolts dye tested (or do it yourself) to check for cracks.

Replacing bad keel bolts has a massive range depending on what you do and the design of the keel.

If you have J bolts into lead then you have to melt the lead away and slide the keel bolts out, replace with new and remelt lead to fill the channels. Frankly I would just send a keel like this to MARS and let them fix it. The shipping costs aren't so high I would trust a local shop to do as good of a job.

If the keel is held on by threaded rod (generally into cast iron or steel) then you just take the rod out and replace it. This is a pretty simple job anyone can do.

[barnakiel]

Yes. Bolts are cheap but the process is costly, if you have to drop the keel.

b.