keel bolt broken 75 hunter

External Since: Jun 29, 2004 Posts: 2

The keel bolts are stainless steel cast 1/2" into the lead keel in a
kite pattern (5 bolts). The starboard bolt was heavily corroded
around the nut - I tried to put washers in the corroded area and
tighten the nut on the washers but the bolt broke.
My question is - is there a cheap way to fix this that's not ideal,
but might do the trick? I've thought of drilling out the bolt and
putting a smaller bolt set in epoxy or even molten lead - but I'm
assuming the ladder would require dropping the keel which I'd rather
not do.
Thanks for any ideas.
--jim

External Since: Jun 29, 2004 Posts: 2

Well I'll answer my own question in case anyone is searching.
The guy at Hunter suggested putting in lag screws, which is not ideal,
but pressed for time, that's what I did. I drilled into the led with
a 3/8" bit, and put 1/2" stainless steel 3" lag screws. Note of
caution - use plenty of wd-40 or some lubricant or the bolts can get
hot and bend. Hand tightening the screws is the way to go.
A more ideal solution, which I'll do later, is to drill into the side
of the keel to meet a drill straight down, and put in half inch
stainless steel or bronze bolts. Put the nut in from the hole in the
side and fill the hole.