[C320-list] Repacking keel bolts?

[Clay Carter]

I agree with Art.  When I first purchased my boat, I was convinced water was leaking from the keel bolts until somebody asked if I had tasted it.  Yup...dip your finger into the bilge water and taste it.  Mine turned out to be fresh water leaking from my rear freshwater tank inspection plate whenever I sailed.  (Due to healing--that is only when it leaked)  I keep a dehumidifier going all the time in my shallow bilge 320 and every now and then I have a taste of the bilge to make sure it is not salty.  Has not killed me yet!
Clay CarterHull 225We'll SeaLong Beach, CA

    On ‎Thursday‎, ‎January‎ ‎23‎, ‎2020‎ ‎01‎:‎02‎:‎17‎ ‎PM‎ ‎PST, Art Harden <artstree at aol.com> wrote:  
 
 David:

You have one of the early boats that does not have a deep bilge so keeping water out of there is work. Take you center deck panels out and use a shop vac to get as much out as possible. You may find as I did, that there is trapped water and it takes a while to work down to the bilge. Also if you pull the deck panel in front of the head, you will find a spot lower than the bilge and tends to hold water which migrates to the bilge area with boat motion. 

The in place deck panels also tend to trap the moisture so I keep mine loose and open when not on board with a fan to circulate the air. This past season I was able to keep a reasonably dry bilge with the use of a small wet dry vac. 

It will be a constant battle with the shallow bilge. 

Art Harden
Catalina 320 “Tortuga” #243
937-477-5544

> On Jan 23, 2020, at 2:14 PM, David Veeneman <davidv at veeneman.com> wrote:
> 
> My C320 has a minimal amount of water in the bilge, which appears to be weeping in through the keel bolts. I’m basing my guess primarily on the fact that the keel bolts have rust on them.
> 
> I had the keel bolts re-torqued last May, which reduced the amount of water coming in, but it didn’t completely eliminate it. I’m guessing that the boat had a soft grounding at some point before I bought it that jarred the keel just enough to break the seal between the keel and the hull, and that water is weeping in through there.
> 
> I am also guessing that I’ll need to have the boat hauled out, and that the packing around the keel bolts will need to be redone, and the joint between the hull and the keel will need to be rebedded or resealed. If the bolts are okay, they will need to be cleaned (nuts as well) and re-torqued.
> 
> Here’s my question: Are my assumptions correct about the keel bolts having packing and the keel having external bedding or sealing where it joins the hull? Or am I misunderstanding how the two assemblies are joined together. Before I go any farther down this rabbit hole, I want to make sure I understand how the keel is actually attached. Thanks for your help
> 
> --
> David Veeneman
> Dana Point, CA
> SV Adelante, C320 #131
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