Keel extension 26 Cutwater

[BB marine]

While painting the stainless steel shoe on the keel . I found 3 bolts slightly bent with an air gaps of about 1/8" between the bolt head and the shoe. I put a wrench on them to see if they were tight. They seemed tight but I didn't try to drive them in because they were bent and I was not sure what they were threading into . Are they wood lags going into encapsulated wood or machine screws threading into a metal plate? There doesn't seem to be any sealant on them . To the best of my knowledge they have never leaked . When I painted the bottom the seal line between the hull and the keel extension seemed good, but I can run a straight edge between the bottom of the hull (keel) and the shoe about .020". I think when I replace the bolts seal and tighten them this gap will go away. I read a post on Tug nuts, 25' tug that had some of these lags break off and there was a description. I assume it is the same or similar installation on the Cutwater. Are they machine bolts or wood lags ? 5/16 or 3/8 ? Is there a metal plate they screw into or wood? Does the keel extension have an open cavity in it or foam filled ?
Brian Brown
26 Cutwater 26
PORT-A-GEE

 

[ronnieg]

Hi Brian.
The keel shoe bolts are threaded into brass. If they were ot sealed you would be getting water into the bilge.
You could pull them out and replace if you like they are 3/8 x 24 nc.
The keel is filled with a resin base no foam.

 

[BB marine]

Thanks for information. I can see how one of the bolts could leak in the bilge. The bolt with the bonding wire but how can the rest ? What about the ones in the keel extension. I have the shoe primed and ready for bottom paint. If this warrants attention I want to repair it before I finish coat with antifouling. I am posting a few pictures. I thought they were bent but tonight when I went to the boat I realized they are cross threaded and I really didn't see sealant on the bolts. I'm posting a couple pics so you can see what I'm talking about. There is four bolts in front of the keel extension ( bilge area but I only see one coming thru ), and four bolts in the keel extension. Do all of these thread into a brass plate glassed in the hull and keel extension.
Brian Brown
2016 26 Cutwater
PORT-A-GEE


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[ronnieg]

Hi Brian
Yes these are all threaded into brass. The 4 going into the hull are in the bilge area. If there was no sealant on them you would have considerable amount of water in the bilge.
The 4 on the keel extension would be dripping water on to the grpund if they were not sealed. From your pictures it looks like they are all dry .
Feel free to call me if you have any questions

 

[BB marine]

Ronnie,
If you feel this is a good install and I don't have a problem here I'm good with that. We took delivery of the boat last spring and trailered it last season so the most its been in the water is 3 days. Its been in heated storage for 6 months so the fact that it is dry now might not mean anything. I am preparing the boat to be launched and stay in the water for a while. We will be starting the loop in September. The last thing I want is some water intrusion issues.The way the bolts were installed it looked to me that they would be susceptible to leaking. Sounds like I have nothing to worry about . Thank You.
Brian Brown
26 Cutwater
PORT-A-GEE

 

[ALICE J]

I have a R27 and the stainless plate has counter sunk hex head machine screws. The the exposed heads on your bolts, I would be concerned about knocking their heads off :roll: if they were to meet a hard spot, (rock). I also added a half inch plate that extended aft to give me a slightly greater clearance from the prop tip to the hard bottom. There is also one bolt that went into the bilge and had a lock nut on it and was grounded.

 

[BB marine]

Yes I saw the bolt with the bonding wire but I didn't see the other three that Ronnie is talking about. Yes I am concerned about the bolt heads hanging down especially because the bolts are not threaded straight and appear to be cross threaded and not shouldered to the shoe. I wonder why they quit counter sinking the bolts ? If Cutwater thinks this is a good install I will go with it . I'm sure if I have issues with it in the future they will take care of it.
Brian Brown
26 Cutwater
PORT-A GEE