Keel Bolt Maintenance Bulletin

[jfoster]

This was originally seen by me on the J/24 list. Copying their URL link directly yields a long link likely mangled by word wrap in your email reader. So here is a multi step way to get there.

Go to the Waterline Systems web page.

http://www.waterlinesystems.com/

Then click on the Howto/DIY tab near the top of the page

http://www.waterlinesystems.com/DIY/default.php

Then click on Keel Bolts-Read This

http://www.waterlinesystems.com/HowTos/KeelBolts.pdf

Save the PDF file for future reference.

Your thoughts on this?

 

[Philpott]

but I maintained my keel bolts!!!

Well, thank you, John, for that informative notice regarding the maintenance of keel bolts. Since I have recently become somewhat of an expert in this area, I'd like to respond. First of all, I have maintained the 8 stainless steel keelbolts on my Cal 20 religiously. Yes, with all the fervour that that word suggests, I have taken up the long board on the floor of my cabin every 6 months since I bought Dura Mater. I apply rust remover even though there is never any rust. My boat is so dry! Then I scrub each bolt with a toothbrush until it shines and spray them with that anticorrosion stuff purchased specially for this purpose, smugly covering them up again. So, I had no worry about my keel until 9pm Friday evening before the Corinthian race when Matt Peterson of Fast Bottoms called to tell me that my keel bulb had fallen off somewhere. Since I had sailed the Olympic Circle the day before, and because I wanted to sail in the race the next day, I argued with him. Oh, silly Matt, you must have scrubbed the bottom of the Cal 20 next to me in the Berkeley marina. The owner of that boat doesn't clean his keel bolts like I do. The owner of that boat has hair growing from his rudder. The owner of that boat doesn't love his boat the way I love mine. Surely you are mistaken. Well, Matt responded, my diver doesn't make such mistakes, but if Fast Bottoms' business card was jammed in my port side winch, then my boat had lost a good portion of its keel. Instead of climbing into bed for a good night's sleep before the race, I drove down to the marina to find (damn!!!) that business card in Dura Mater's port winch. What to do? Sail with no keel? Maybe not such a good idea. So, dear John, I offer another perspective for those sailors who might think that pampering their keel bolts will make them immune from bad things that go bump in the water. The good news is that Yellow Jacket's Mike Farrell made a call to Dave Morris of Moonshadow fame, who had a spare Cal 20 keel sitting in a corner of a yard down in half moon bay. Dave brought the keel up the next day and unloaded it @ Cree's marine center. I am told that Dura Mater will reacquire the new keel within the next week, and we will be back in business. I sure hope so, because I'm tired of riding around on other people's boats. I miss being alone on my own boat.

 

[BobJ]

Oh no, the dreaded Simpson disease - it's spreading!


"I miss being alone on my own boat." This is probably the only place you can post that and most readers will nod with understanding.