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Have you checked the keel lifting eye bolts! There is no mention of the need to check the keel bolts in my Parker 285 handbook which is a serious omission. You can see from the attached that Sunflower's bolts are in need of replacement. If they had broken it could have done serious damage to the boat. If they had broken when I tried to take them out then I would have to drill and tap new holes in the keel which is not easy to do.

I am surprised to find that Bill Parker fitted carbon steel lifting bolts. I think this was because he thought that stainless steel bolts would cause the cast iron to corrode due to galvanic action. However, he fitted stainless steel shackles and wire which is equally likely to causes corrosion. The keel is cast iron and this is less susceptible to corrosion than the steel eye bolts. The corrosion can be minimised by lifting the keel when not sailing and keeping it well-greased.

I am fitting M16 lifting eye bolts which I am getting from Baseline Maine at a cost of £9.60 each. The keel weighs 320kg and the bolts have a SWL of 700kg. I think this gives an adequate safety margin because there is no risk of dropping the keel onto people below.

Hi
I have been a bit apprehensive about the bolts for a while. How difficult was their removal?
Thanks
Bob S
Teal 285/74

Hi Bob,

I’ve always managed to get my bolts in and out every 2-4 years.

Get a stout metal tube of diameter about the same or a tad smaller than the eye diameter. Length can be a couple of feet. The longer the better. Then squeeze one end of the tube in a vice to make it oval and able to slip over your eye bolt. Drill a hole in the other end to accept a tommy bar. Then you have plenty of leverage to get the bolt out. If your tube is not so stout, drill a hole through the oval end so you can pass a bolt through the hole and through your keel bolt eye. This will give you extra purchase.

For easy removal next time, smear coppaslip grease over the threads of the new eye bolt.

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A couple of photos that I have to highlight how important it is to check keel bolts regularly...

The first photo shows a single bolt that sheared off when I tried to remove it...very lucky it didn't fail while in service!


Second photo shows the twin bolts that I had drilled and tapped as a result of the sheared bolt. These ones are now checked and replaced regularly. I went for M14 and figured that the 480kg WLL was ok given that there are two now.


James

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Hi Michael,
Yes I have also wondered if the stainless steel shackle and lifting strop is adding to the corrosion of the eye bolts?

What about if we fixed a small anode on top of the keel, do you think this would delay the corrosion?

Peter (Zephyr)