leaky keel bolts

[dunbarpm]

Here is one for you to think about 'till spring comes - not too far away now. My keel is through bolted up through the floors with nuts on top of the floors. They are good sized bronze, about 5/8ths, and the floors are about 2 inches sided. Well, a couple of them leak right up through the top of the bolt, not bad, but enough.

I have resisted the temptation to crank down on them with my big wrench for fear of making a mess of it and maybe busting a bolt (although I do admit to tweeking them a little, just a little, just to make sure they were not 'loose'). The boat is the Rozinante Swift, and pictures of the floors (out of spec) and the through bolts (also out of spec) are on the rozinante web page if it still is on line

My question is if there are some good ideas out there as to how to get at this pesky little leak. One suggestion is to drill a few small holes perpindicular to the bolts and try to pressure some 5200 in there, but this sounds like a bad idea also and I do not care to weaken the floors. Another scheme is to go get my wrench and my pipe cheater and wait for a good low tide, which will touch her aground at my dock, and squeeze those nuts again.

On the other hand, it is just a little leak, just enough to keep the bilge sweet as they say, but I dislike the dampness through the hull and truly believe old wood boats don't really have to leak.

Any thoughts appreciated
Pete dunbar, Oxford MD

[Canoeyawl]

I would undo the offending nut, remove the washer, wrap a strand or two of cotton around the bolt, wax the threads and reassemble...tightening them up "just right"

[dunbarpm]

ah, I love simple solutions.

[Dayton Eckerson]

I love simple solutions too, as long as they are real solutions and do not mask more serious problems. How old are the keel bolts? When was the last time you pulled one for inspection? Has the leaking increased over time? Under the best of conditions, keel bolts can last 20 years or more; under the worst conditions (galvanic corrosion, stray current from neighboring boats, etc.) they they can be eaten away in just a few years. If your leaking is due to wasting of your keel bolts, you need to address that issue. If the leaking is due to oversized holes for your bolts, then the caulking method described above will probably be OK. But don't assume this is just an innocuous leak without further research. Good luck!!!

[Canoeyawl]

bronze keel bolts last a long time...

[Dayton Eckerson]

Pete--
One more thought: DO NOT, repeat, DO NOT go for the injection of 5200 into the keel bolt hole option you mention in your original post. That method may very well stop any leaks you have, but it will also make your life a living nightmare when it comes time to change out your keel bolts. Those bolts are a b#*ch to remove under normal conditions; adding 5200 to the mix will require you to call in the jackhammer & dynamite squads. BTW, please tell us about your gorgeous boat!!! Is she a Rozinante? When was she built? How long have you had her?

[dunbarpm]

Yes, Swift is all Rozinante, built in MA in the mid '80's. Cedar on oak, copper riveted. I've posted a picture on my profile link. Just took possession this last Fall, nice boat. Sails beautifully. There is an article in December's Tidewater Times about getting the boat to Oxford

the only deviations from LFH's spec uncovered so far are the through bolts for the keel, over size siding of the floors (2") I presume to take the keel bolts, and a nice clean plywood rework job of the cabin top by Brooklin Boat yard folk.

Other than a hundred odd little winter jobs (like running lights), I have been working up a self tending jib with a club similar to Michael Reid's Rozinante up in Maine.

thanks for your interest.

[dunbarpm]

oh, and although LFH referred to the rozinante as a canoe yawl, "canoeyawl"'s lovely boat is probably as close to a canoe yawl as I've ever seen. She looks quick and nimble - I haven't sailed a boat up onto the beach like that since my old leeboard Meadowlark days.

[Jay Greer]

Having built two Rosinantes over the years as well as several H28's, I would agree with another poster's reccomendation of removing the nuts, washers and applying a thread of bee's wax impregnated candle wicking around the bolt just under the washer. An old remedy that has always worked for me is to pour hot tallow down alongside the keel bolt. Works like a charm!

[JormaS]

Jay, what do you mean by pouring "down alongside" the keel bolt? Please elaborate. I´ve been wondering what to do with my weeping keel bolts, too. I have tallow in stock.

[uncas]

Have had to deal with this on Uncas...It was more than just a drip...Did not want to unbolt the keel bolts because of their age...Went the other way...Put in four more new ones alongside the ones which are 57 yrs old and tightened them down...Seems to have worked....Add to this some calking etc when she was on the hard...Everything tightened up quite nicely
I check the bilge every week or so and have a bilge counter...She pumps approximately 15 sec. every four to five hours...not bad for an old woodie.

[Jay Greer]

If your boat has been in dry storage over the winter. There is often some shrinkage around the keel bolts. A slight cup dam can be made of epoxy and micro ballons around the bolt and hot tallow poured in. It will find it's way down along side the bolt. The dam is then chisled off and bee's wax impregnated candle wicking wrapped around the bolt prior to putting back the washer and nut.

[JormaS]

Thanks Jay. The dam-trick will work on top of the floor. Now my leaks are from between the floor and the keel. But maybe I can still find a dam solution. The leaks started a few years ago and I then poured ten gallons of raw linseed oil into the bilge. That took care of the problem for two years but then the leaks were back. Tallow would certainly be more effective but I can´t think of pouring that into the bilge!