Keelbolt torrque

[tartan30cirrus]

Hi all.

I have 6 1.5" keelbolts holding my hunk of lead to the boat and have found the fwd most nut to be loose by hand! I have been wondering about the other nuts. Tartan recommends 350 ft-lbs torque. My boatyard mgr thinks torquing the bolts while in the water could gall the threads and says to wait until back on the hard in fall. Meanwhile just tighten up the loose bolt. What should I do?

Cheers,
Clint

[Tim]

Keel? We don't need no stinkin' keel...

I agree with your boatyard guy. Tighten the loose bolt by hand (you can use a wrench to snug it up), but actual torquing to the factory specs should best occur with the keel supported. You definitely don't want to risk galling the threads.

In the meantime, just keep an eye on all the bolts. One loose nut does not mean your keel is moments from dropping off, fortunately.

[tartan30cirrus]

I will wait. I do want t know the signs of loose keelbolts. My understanding is they are:

-larger than normal separation between keel and hull
-more water in bilge than usual
-what else?

I have none of these so far. Good to know the signs. "signs...signs....everywhere are signs..."

Cheers.

[Tim]

If you're worried, try sticking a wrench on the nuts to see if you can move any of them. If each is snug, and stays that way, you've little to worry about through the summer.

The truest sign you keel may actually be coming loose is an increased gap or signs of more significant cracking at the keel-hull joint. Most boats crack at this joint through the normal stresses involved, so you probably already have signs, but if changes significantely you will know there is a larger problem at hand. Retorquing is part of the normal maintenance process in an older boat with that sort of keel design, and finding a loose nut is not that uncommon, since retorquing is rarely done (as doing so never enters most people's minds...).

Be prudent, but don't worry too much about it, at least lacking any serious signs of a true problem.