Keel bolts in Sadler 25 - should I check them

[slawosz]

Hi,
as I am planning longer passages I am thinking about taking care of my keel bolts (photo below). They are quite large, 1 inch, stainless steel. I was advised to try to tighten them (if only I will find such large spanner), but I wonder if anyone had any accounts of keel bolts trouble on small yachts. The keel bolts are stainless steel. I am thinking about dropping the keel, but it is main undertaking...

 

[Neil]

Mine were encapsulated in fibreglass; I suppose if there was any movement, the GRP would have cracked. Were your's always exposed?

 

[Tranona]

Provided there is no sign of the keel/hull seal failing then nothing to worry about. checking keel bolts is a hangover from wooden boat days when it was necessary (as I know from experience! I have some nice examples in my workshops showing why.). The only reservation with boats like yours is that the plates under the nuts can corrode as they were often mild steel, but yours look fine in the photo.

 

[jwilson]

The thing with disturbing keel bolts is that you can do a lot of work, often expensively, and almost always on GRP cruising boats find there was nothing whatsoever wrong. Also if a keel was sikaflexed on when built, which is quite possible, actually removing the keel can pull off some GRP on the underside of the hull, leaving you with a slightly nasty awkward repair. Builders of GRP cruisers normally expect the keel to stay on for the life of the boat. They don't usually say "tighten the keelbolts after 10,000 miles".

 

[Praxinoscope]

Are you a member of the Sadler and Starlight Association? Very useful group to belong to where you may get further advice.
My 25 is bilge keel and the bolts are encapsulated so I have left them well alone.