Iron Keel Bolts

pyrojames

pyrojames

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Some of you may have seens my post on a severely corroded keel bolt in the PBO forum. Having checked four more, it appears to be a rogue failure, but I need to replace it.

Does anyone know of a forge who can make up keel bolts these days?
 
Blow lamp & a hammer ;)
Alternatively, any steel firm or even a scrap yard, could warm it up with an oxy acetylene torch & give it a couple of taps with a 4 lb hammer on an RSJ for you.
Judging by the shape you could grind 2 sides of the head off a large bolt & you would be left with that keyed end.
 
I'd call that a fishtail, but any compentent blacksmith could replicate that. Unusual for the socket in the keel to be anything other than concentric, are you sure the socket is also fishtail shaped?
 
Last edited:
penfold said:
I'd call that a fishtail, but any compentent blacksmith could do replicate that. Unusual for the socket in the keel to be anything other than concentric, are you sure the socket is also fishtail shaped?
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It's from the forward end of a long keel, but with a cutaway forefoot, so the keel is tapering at this point, hence the "cone" is very lopsided.
 
The problem is not so much the forging (bashing..) of the end to the cone shape/mushroom, but the material. As I understand it P James's boat is quite old, (& pretty!)so likely the bolt is wrought iron. This is much more resistant to corrosion than mild steel.
I see a lot of this in old gates. One lot, dating from 1850, were entirely rivited and screwed together. The stuff doesn't weld easily, other than by heating the two bits and hammering them together. Not practical for exact measurments in a complicated design. Heavy, you betcha..
 
Had real trouble getting a blacksmith to make keel bolts for Juanita. Couldnt do anything for 6 weeks plus. I sourced some 1"wrought Iron from the real Wrought Iron Company. I borrowed a mobile forge bought some smitthy chips and made my own keel bolts. Forged the conical shaped end without a problem. Took about an hour and a half to do them all. Cutting the thread took a bit longer. Very cheap.
 
A couple of years ago I replaced the ten keel bolts of my Hillyard 9 tonner. I bought the 1" round wrought iron bar from The Real Wrought Iron Company and took it along to Steve Capper, blacksmith at Woodlands Farm on Shooters Hill DA16 3RP, to have the heads 'upset'. Steve did a very good job and I would recommend him.

Several of the old keel bolts had failed at the head forging. Steve said that this happened because the metal was not white hot when the forging was done. Just heating the metal with a blow lamp and bashing it to shape will leave stresses in the metal and lots of small cracks where corrosion will start.
 
In the books I read 'black iron' is the material, and bolts dipped in coal tar. What was black iron?
There were very ordinary cup square galvanised 10mm bolts through the skeg on my GRP FV. Drew one for the survey, 30 years in, it was perfect. It soon rusted in the shed. Skeg was well connected to anodes.
 
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