KEEL BOLT MAINTENANCE?

[stevewitt1]

Hey all:

On my C34 it was annual maintenance to check to torque on the keel bolts. I searched the forums and really haven't seen much chat on this topic here. I have seen that the torque specs are 100#. If memory serves me, the 34 was slightly higher like 115# but that could be a memory glitch.

Question: Do you check the keel bolts annually? If so, sitting on the supported keel, in the water, or in slings on the lift?
If it's not required annually, does it do any harm to check them annually?

Side note: Many older Catalina's developed the "Catalina Smile," is this prevalent on the 350?

Thanks in Advance
Steve

[Flagmanmike]

Yes, 350s do develop the Catalina Smile. Catalina had an "official" drawing for repair. Use G-Flex epoxy.
Good luck.

Mike Cronin
FlagShip #314

[wolfe10]

OK a very good question. So, I reached out to Warren Pandy at Catalina. Paraphrased below are some of his thoughts:

Keel bolt torque on the Catalina 350 is 105 to 110 ft/lbs (original torque was 150 ft/lbs on install here at plant).

All 350's had 1” keel bolts with 1 ½” nuts, so torque is the same for all year models.

Preferred method of checking torque is with the boat on the hard, on cradle, on jack stands, etc with typical approx. 75% of the weight on the keel is the better or preferred.

However, if a boat is in the water and it’s not going to be hauled for many months or 1-3 years, it does not hurt to check and tighten the keel bolts then. Better to find some at that time that might be well below spec then than wait for a year to be on the hard.

Here are Mr. Pandy's thoughts on the "smile":

Note: not just the 350……any make or model boat, any year with bolt on keel boat (better than a molded in keel boat), sooner or later can or will develop a hairline crack at the joint.

On other make boats with a cast iron keel, it is an “XYZ Frown” since rust and corrosion has started. But on a Catalina with a lead keel, it’s a smile, because if it is not leaking (from a harder than average grounding, long transport on old trailer with bad suspension, slip with the travel lift at yard,etc) you can just roll the bottom paint right over it or if one wants to go over the top, Dremel out the hairline crack into a ”V” of 1/8” to 3/16” as needed, then do the Boa US procedure with “G-Flex”

Thanks very much, Mr. Pandy.