Leaking Keel Bolt

[_m_miles]

I recently shipped my Beneteau 331 from Chicago to New York. She has been in the water for about two months and I now have a small leak in what used to be a bone-dry bilge. After some exploration it appears to be around one of the forward keel bolts.

I assume that the keel caulk cracked during transport, and my plan is to wait until she's hauled out in October, then remove and replace the existing caulk.

Do I need to worry about the bolt (e.g., corrosion?) Any thoughts are appreciated.

[wingssail]

Originally Posted by _m_miles

I recently shipped my Beneteau 331 from Chicago to New York. She has been in the water for about two months and I now have a small leak in what used to be a bone-dry bilge. After some exploration it appears to be around one of the forward keel bolts.

I assume that the keel caulk cracked during transport, and my plan is to wait until she's hauled out in October, then remove and replace the existing caulk.

Do I need to worry about the bolt (e.g., corrosion?) Any thoughts are appreciated.

A bigger concern I would have is why the bolt started leaking. Generally bolt-on keels are completely bedded in sealant the bolted down tight. So I wonder how that bedding could start leaking. Is there a possibility that the bolt is no longer tight? The calking you might see around the keel to hull joint is not what keeps water from coming into the boat around the keel bolt, it's the bedding of the keel itself.

Since one critical danger in fin keel boats is the possibility of keel failure, I'd recommend a very thorough inspection during a haul out, including, possibly, unbolting the keel and dropping it down to facilitate inspection. I know this is a big job and one which you might like to avoid, but this is nothing to fool around with. Think Cheeki Rafiki.

Regarding the shipping of the boat. It is possible that too much of the boat's weight was resting on the keel. Or oppositely, the keel might have been hanging un-supported during the road trip. Either way this could cause some temporary deformation of the bottom of the boat and could cause the seal to be broken. That perhaps would be good news, but even then the proper fix is to lower the keel and re-bed it. Calking around the keel to hull joint is only a temporary fix, if it works at all.

[daletournier]

First establish that the water is actually coming from the keel bolt, water can get into the bilge through a variety of ways.

[gamayun]

After MANY years of this issue that seriously drove me bat-stuff crazy, I was recently doing work on my fuel tank in the aft cabin when I unearthed (literally) a small section where sprayed insulation had oozed down to a low point that would allow water to accumulate behind until it was high enough to spill over the top. I tracked the source of water from the drain of the cockpit scuppers, which explains why this would not happen while the boat sat still at the dock and me staring at the keel bolts daring them to leak. Seriously. This took like 8 years to figure out. In the meantime, I did a lot of work on the keel-to-hull joint so I suppose it was all for the best. I do wish you well. And let us know what you find out. It might save someone else from giving up too soon!