1980's Beneteau Keel bolts - does this sound right

tonygolder said:
This is a great thread, thanks to people who have contributed. I am just about to look at replacing the bolts on my First 305. When i look at them onboard at the moment they look just like the images of these 345's and i wouldn't have thought it possible to get a socket on them, let alone doing anything other than twisting off the rusty heads.

After a quick google, finding a link to a location to find and order the correct bolts seems to be my initial problem. Can anyone recommend any suppliers?
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Why do you think you need to replace your keel bolts? It really is a very rare thing to do. Even if the heads look grotty invariably there is nothing wrong with the bolts/studs themselves. if you really are worried then suggest you remove one and assess its condition. sourcing new ones is the least of your problems as if you have one out and that indicates replacement is necessary then you have a sample. Almost certainly you will, be able to order through a Beneteau dealer.
 
If the bolts are rusty you need to stop the leak, get a watering can put dye in it then water and keep watering until you find the leak. The most common leak is a deck fitting which will need to be removed and resealed, so start with watering the deck fittings. It not unusual for where the leak appears is not from where it is so panels may need to be removed to find it particularly by the deck fittings.
 
Re: 1980's Beneteau Keel bolts

wully1 said:
I was stunned when I changed the keel bolts in my ( much missed) First 38. I couldn't believe how short they were but after getting the spec and drawings from Beneteau, they were the correct length. Thinking about it, the length isn't the strength in the bolt - it's the cross sectional area. And as long as plenty of that is in the keel all should be good.
Anyway, the keel - or anything else about that boat- never gave me any cause for concern.
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I just bought a Beneteau First 38, 1984 and they surveyor gave a three star recommendation to change the keel bolts. It only looks like surface rust to me. My insurance is forcing me to change the bolts before I can start sailing it. Anyways, I have no choice but to change them so I am happy to know that the job is not too difficult.

I am about to order the keel bolts from Beneteau but they gave me conflicting number of bolts needed. I wanted to order 11 bolts but they told me that I needed 14. However, in the torque schematic they sent me I only see 8 bolts. Do you remember how many bolts there should be in total for a long keel Beneteau First 38?
 
Re: 1980's Beneteau Keel bolts

Not sure if you have done your work already...I wrote something on this thread...dated 12/6/17, look backa few pages, after having gone through changing my keel bolts on the first 345...take a look...if you have questions, I can tell you about the experience....
 
Re: 1980's Beneteau Keel bolts

As a point of interest ...

We recently changed the nuts/plates in a Feeling 1090 .. I was initially minded to use stainless A4, but after throurough research, came to the conclusion they were unsuitable in this application.

The sockets the studs are in are cast iron, as our 1090 has a full depth cast iron keel. Stainless into cast iron is a no-no. The stainless will be fine, the cast iron will get attacked.

The best solution with cast iron sockets in the keel was galvanized nuts and plates. Finding these in M22 was not easy, but all done now.

tl;dr; you can't always upgrade to stainless.
 
Re: 1980's Beneteau Keel bolts

rszemeti said:
As a point of interest ...

We recently changed the nuts/plates in a Feeling 1090 .. I was initially minded to use stainless A4, but after throurough research, came to the conclusion they were unsuitable in this application.

The sockets the studs are in are cast iron, as our 1090 has a full depth cast iron keel. Stainless into cast iron is a no-no. The stainless will be fine, the cast iron will get attacked.
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Don't know where you get this idea from. Although there is a small difference in potential, in this case it is irrelevant and the other key ingredient to cause galvanic action - that is an electro;yte is missing. Tens of thousands of boats have stainless keel bolts in cast iron - it is pretty much standard practice and doubt any of them have ever seen the cast iron being "attacked".

You may use either stainless or mild steel for keel bolts/studs into cast iron. The downside of steel is that it rusts in damp bilges so need protection. Even then rust rarely causes a structural problem. It is mostly cosmetic and once the nuts are removed the studs are usually perfect.

The thing to watch out for with bolted on iron keels is the keel/hull seal failing and allowing seawater to get at the studs/bolts which may cause corrosion - crevice corrosion in stainless or simple rust in mild steel.
 
Lots of documents in this thread are not accessible anymore:(. Does anyone have the specs for 1978 Beneteau First 30 keel bolts/studs?
None of the Beneteau dealers reply. It seems my safety and my boat are of no interest t o them.
 
Rocinante0241MG said:
Lots of documents in this thread are not accessible anymore:(. Does anyone have the specs for 1978 Beneteau First 30 keel bolts/studs?
None of the Beneteau dealers reply. It seems my safety and my boat are of no interest t o them.
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Welcome to the forum

I doubt any records exist for a boat that old. The current Beneteau dealers are unlikely to know anything about a 45 year old boat! There is nothing unusual about the keel bolts in terms of size and material. What is your problem? In general keel bolts do not give problems as many of the posts on this thread show.

If you post your problem ideally with pictures you will get advice.
 
Rocinante0241MG said:
Lots of documents in this thread are not accessible anymore:(. Does anyone have the specs for 1978 Beneteau First 30 keel bolts/studs?
None of the Beneteau dealers reply. It seems my safety and my boat are of no interest t o them.
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I cannot tell you the precise specification but Beneteau used high tensile carbon steel bolts in boats of that age. Equivalents would be 8.8.
 
The limiting factor is I suspect the compressive strength of the GRP, not the tensile strength of the bolt. I suspect you are far more likely to pull the bolt head and deform the sqaure washer into the GRP than you are to exceed the tensile strength of the bolt.
 
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