80-grit paper and proceeding to 120-grit. The new bolts, stainless steel and slightly oversized at 14mm, were screwed in under
high tension after having been treated with Loctite 2701 for maximum adhesion. Now the refitting started. I placed
the keel in the correct position under the hull and carried out a dry run: the bolts slid smoothly home in their holes. Now the hull
was lifted by about 20cm so as to have room to treat the underside of the deadwood and the topside of the keel with Sikaflex’s 215
primer. The following day, two cartridges of Sikaflex 291 were deployed and a filling knife was used to get an even layer of sealant
all over the keel’s top surface.Full torqueAgain, the hull was placed carefully
over the keel until the bolts could receive the nuts. Since the drill made wider holes then necessary I made six stainless steel plates,
7cm x 18cm, 4mm thick, with a 15mm hole in the centre, to cover the drilled holes in the bilge. I tightened the nuts until the sealant
came under slight pressure and started to squeeze out a little. pressure by turning the nuts, and Twelve hours later I applied more
some more sealant – thicker now – came out of the join. The next day I applied full torque to all six nuts,
thereby joining the hull and keel tightly together: freshly-applied sealant would nearly all squeeze out if given full pressure right at the
start. A torque wrench was used to give all six nuts the same tension.Finishing the job
The last thing to do was to fill the space between the new bolts and the holes made by the drilling. I lowered the boat so she rested
on her keel, the weight of the hull acting as a precaution when undoing the nuts. Every other day I undid a nut and filled the space
with epoxy, after which the stainless steel plates were set in place and the nut was tightened with the same tension as before. Once
dry, the excess sealant was easily removed with a sharp filling knife. Thereafter I removed the old excess antifouling from the hull below the
waterline, as well as from the keel, by sanding with a disc sander. Then both the underwater part of the hull and the keel were primed with
Primocon. To finish the job, two layers of Jotun antifouling were applied by roller. Now, years later, the join is still
barely visible, and no rusty water emerges when the boat is lifted out. ■ With thanks to Richard
Johnstone-Bryden for his article ‘Checking keel bolts’ (PBO Summer 2012).The
perfect
gift from
£18.99*Subscribe online atmagazinesdirect.com/CMR5
*When you pay by 6 monthly Direct Debit. Offer open to new subscribers only. Final closing date for all orders 0330 333 45557 days a week from 8am to 9pm (UK time)^ Quote code: CMR5^
is 2nd February 2016. For full terms and conditions please visit http://www.magazinesdirect.com/terms.Give your friend or family member a gift that lasts
all year!Save up to 36 %OO 13 issues home deliveredFree subscriber Rewards
O edition Direct access to the digital