Weeping Keel Bolts on Westerly Centaur. Temporary Solution?

[CaptainBob]

My Centaur's keel bolts weep a very small amount and I'm going to have the keels re-seated either this layup, or the next one.

Just a thought though... it's currently dry as a bone having been out of the water for a while. What's the drawback to simply laying a couple of layers of glass-fibre and resin over the top of the bolt heads inside the hull?

Would this be a potential temporary solution - and keep my lockers dry for another season? Some of the originals have a coating over them after all.

Or is this likely to cause more problems down the line?

Ta

 

[chrishelen]

Hi Bob,i woulnt do that,when you re seat them you will have to grind all the fibre glass back off,not a nice job,have you tried nipping the keel bolts up now that they have weight on them?

 

[BlueChip]

Are you a member of the WOA (Westerly Owners Assoiation)?
If so try and get hold of a copy of the article by Surveyor Ed Sawer in one of the magazine back issues, he describes an effective "in the water" of resealing keel bolts.
I dont have the issue number to hand, but back issues are available through the web site

 

[VicS]

Are they studs with nuts. If so and only some of them are leaking could you not remove the nuts and washers and put some sealant such as Sikaflex around the studs.

You are aware of the weakness of the Centaur hulls around the keels fixings and that the whole areas should be strengthened? There are some photos and drawings in the photos section of the WOA discussion group. Presumably somewhere, if you know how to find it, there must be some description of the work which these photos etc illustrate.

It is my understanding that this strengthening is vital if the boat is kept, or has been kept, on a drying mooring

 

[Tarka1]

Get them sorted properly!
I remember seeing a Centaur dried out at Pensarn - the owner was onboard having dinner and the keel broke off!!!
Apparently his bolts had been leaking slightly for a few years and it turned out that the water had saturated and weakened the GRP.
They were lucky they weren't out at sea.
Don't wish to scaremonger but it wasn't a pretty site.

 

[CPD]

Bob, when I picked my centaur up from Chichester, the seller said the hull was always dry as a bone (ie no leaks through the bolts). he used to use her mainly for pottering around the solent, and didnt use her much offshoire at all. Sailing her round to the Crouch we enjoyed some lumpy stuff on 3 occasions, and I noticed water in the vicity of the bolts, not lot, but enough to drown a packet of rice crispies, lurvely. When she came out, the hull/keel joint looked good and as a temporary measure, we scraped away at the joint and squeezed sikaflex (I think 291) along the joint. That worked . . . . for a while. More lumpy stuff meant the keels flexed and the same problem arose (it is more of a nuisance than anything - in no way will the boat sink due to this problem - at least im sure it wont on mine).

She is out again now, and the keels will be dropped a few inches to have the joint repaired and made-good properly. It is very important to note however that the hull on Pipedream has already been strengthened (this is the well known and documented centaur keel issue) by having fillets glassed in to the port/sboard bolt areas.

I suspect that when the hull work was done on mine, that the joint was rushed. My leakage prob only surfaced during heavy bouncy weather, and I fully expect that the joint renewal work will cure the problem completely.

I should stress that I have never regarded my bolt leakage problem as serious, only a niggly thing and I strongly suspect tha if your hull hasnt had any strengthening work, and you keel joints are original, that your problem may be a lot worse than mine.

Good luck with it and pm if would like more information.

 

[PeterGibbs]

You have all the advice here about what to do with reseating the keel. Every keel (bolt) has its time....

The few drops of water - slap a couple of nappy liners down and replace them as necessary when afloat. This will keep the area nice and sweet - almost like a baby's b....

Hope you got the message - do not try to glass over the bolts.
Bad all round!

PWG

 

[chrishelen]

I think the keelbold are studs moulded into the keel,if so youd have the devil of a job replacing them,i could be wrong tho,i usualy am according to my wife.

 

[Grajan]

As a very temporary measure a couple of strands of caulking cotton and some "goop" of your choice wound round the stud after you have removed the nuts and washer and prior to re tightening

 

[cpedw]

I know this sounds like a bodge, but it works for several years and is fairly easy to do when out of the water. There's a rubber strip, about 40mm wide, that's sold for repairing wet suits. Get a length of this long enough to go all the way round the hull/keel joint. Ue a large tube of Sikaflex to stick the rubber in place across the joint. You may need an extra short length of rubber to finish off the leading edge neatly as it's a complex curve.
I've done this on a Westerly Falcon and it has lasted 4 years.
Derek.