Nicholas123
N/A
Has anybody heard of keel bolt problems with these boats?I am getting very conflicting advice.
Macwester 27
- Thread starter Nicholas123
- Start date
Jcorstorphine
Well-Known Member
Dont think they have keel bolts.
I could be wrong> But I did not think the Macwester had keel bolts. I was sure the bilge keels are moulded with the hull and then filled with ballast. Westerlies such as the Centaur do have keel bolts and they are knowns for having problems.
J
Correction!
As I said at the begining, I could be wrong and I was wrong, sorry for duff info.
I could be wrong> But I did not think the Macwester had keel bolts. I was sure the bilge keels are moulded with the hull and then filled with ballast. Westerlies such as the Centaur do have keel bolts and they are knowns for having problems.
J
Correction!
As I said at the begining, I could be wrong and I was wrong, sorry for duff info.
Last edited:
[448]
...
The Mac 27 has separate cast iron ballast keels bolted to the moulded stub keels with I think 5 or 6 stainless studs about 1 inch diameter.
I sold mine last week. The survey found nothing wrong, but did say it might be a good idea to drop the keels after nearly 40 years for a look see.
Dave
I sold mine last week. The survey found nothing wrong, but did say it might be a good idea to drop the keels after nearly 40 years for a look see.
Dave
Otter
Well-Known Member
Depends who did the moulding, ours were encapsulated.
Jcorstorphine
Well-Known Member
half right
Looks as if I was half right, I was sure the couple I looked at were encapsulated
Looks as if I was half right, I was sure the couple I looked at were encapsulated
chinita
Well-Known Member
Time to worry is when you find one keel bolted and the other encapsulated!
dmmbruce
Well-Known Member
Nicholas123
N/A
Can you show photo's of yours then if that is the case because I have yet to see one MACWESTER 27 that has encapsulated keels?
Mackwester 26 yes.Macwester 27 No.
Nicholas123
N/A
Sounds reasonable but I would like to hear experiences from people that have actually dropped Macwester 27 keels.Not least because there is a thread round here somewhere where any sort of stainless steel below the water line is described as almost invariably fatal.
It is quite amazing how much confusion there is over this subject.
Jcorstorphine
Well-Known Member
Keel bolt corrosion
Stainless is used on the Westerly Centaur as well but as far as I can see, the problems on those boats were not due to corrosion but due to flexing of the keels due to insufficient strength in the stub keels. As far as I can make out from the various articles on Stainless under water, it is important that it can either get a plentiful supply of oxygen or is totally sealed. I think the worst situation is where water can seep onto the stainless but there is no replenishment of the oxygen in the water.
As one poster has said, might be a good idea to look at the bolts on a 40 year old boat, however perhaps you should contcat the Macwester Owners Association first, you may need to join to get into their archives.
Stainless is used on the Westerly Centaur as well but as far as I can see, the problems on those boats were not due to corrosion but due to flexing of the keels due to insufficient strength in the stub keels. As far as I can make out from the various articles on Stainless under water, it is important that it can either get a plentiful supply of oxygen or is totally sealed. I think the worst situation is where water can seep onto the stainless but there is no replenishment of the oxygen in the water.
As one poster has said, might be a good idea to look at the bolts on a 40 year old boat, however perhaps you should contcat the Macwester Owners Association first, you may need to join to get into their archives.
yodave
Well-Known Member
Like Jcorstorphine I could well be wrong here, as I don't have a Macwester 27.
All the keels that I've seen look like the one in this photo. As I understand it... the original encapulated* stubby keels, clearly visible in this photo of a MkIII (see below) were extended (the dark line shows the join). So as a layman to a certain extent you might argue that 27's have both types of keel *. NOTE: Apparently my understanding as stated above is wrong - please see Nicholas123's comment below.
I'm not going to speculate on the tech/spec side of things, I just thought that a photo might help forum members see the issue.
Good luck!
All the keels that I've seen look like the one in this photo. As I understand it... the original encapulated* stubby keels, clearly visible in this photo of a MkIII (see below) were extended (the dark line shows the join). So as a layman to a certain extent you might argue that 27's have both types of keel *. NOTE: Apparently my understanding as stated above is wrong - please see Nicholas123's comment below.
I'm not going to speculate on the tech/spec side of things, I just thought that a photo might help forum members see the issue.
Good luck!
Last edited:
alexrunic
Well-Known Member
we have several Macwester in our club and from what i've seen the 26 and 28's have encapsulated keels and the 27 has bolted on cast keels.
Nicholas123
N/A
Like Jcorstorphine I could well be wrong here, as I don't have a Macwester 27.
All the keels that I've seen look like the one in this photo. As I understand it the original encapulated stubby keels, clearly visible in this photo of a MkIII (see below) were extended (the dark line shows the join). So as a layman to a certain extent you might argue that 27's have both types of keel.
I'm not going to speculate on the tech/spec side of things, I just thought that a photo might help forum members see the issue.
Good luck!
The photo you have posted shows a cast iron shoe bolted onto the hull molding.God only knows where you are getting the idea from that there is anything encapsulated about it!
yodave
Well-Known Member
Nicholas123: Please look at the first line of my comment I said "Like Jcorstorphine I could well be wrong here".
I made it clear that I don't own a Mac 27. I'm no expert, but like most in this forum I'm only trying to help with what limited knowledge I have. It's the process of crowd-sourcing of knowledge (that inherently includes misinformation) that makes forums a valuable source of information for members seeking help.
I was referring to the 'hull molding' when I mentioned encapsulated ...because as a novice/layman I understood the hull molding included an encapsulated keel/weight.
I shall edit my original entry to point out my error.
I made it clear that I don't own a Mac 27. I'm no expert, but like most in this forum I'm only trying to help with what limited knowledge I have. It's the process of crowd-sourcing of knowledge (that inherently includes misinformation) that makes forums a valuable source of information for members seeking help.
I was referring to the 'hull molding' when I mentioned encapsulated ...because as a novice/layman I understood the hull molding included an encapsulated keel/weight.
I shall edit my original entry to point out my error.
Jcorstorphine
Well-Known Member
Bit of a strong reply
You response to a previous posting by Yodave is out of order and I for one will not bother to help you with any information in the future.
You response to a previous posting by Yodave is out of order and I for one will not bother to help you with any information in the future.
Nicholas123
N/A
I don't blame you for your assumption.The Lazy Kipper who said he owned a Mac 27 stated categorically that his Mac 27 had encapsulated keels.I have yet to see any evidence that any of them had that is all.
In actual fact I went & had a look at two Mac 27's on Sunday & was struck by how thin the fiberglass was around those keel stumps & also by the fact that they were obviously hollow.Something quite surprising to me considering their exceptional displacement.
Maybe there are Mac hulls out there that were molded with ballast built in but if that is the case then there are two radically different designs.
No offense intended.Sorry if I have caused any.
Nicholas123
N/A
A sad loss.
