thompsondockside.com

1955 offshore

Keel is held on with 9 Carriage haed brass bolts and 18 Brass screws.

Remove nuts from inside of hull and push bolts up

We used a pair of vise grips to remove the bolts. Remove all the screws as well.


Bolt at the Stem/keel junction is heavier than the rest.

Once all the fasteners are removed the keel should just lift off
[IMG]http://i71.photobu
cket.com/albums/i133/beadmaker/IMG_0447.jpg[/IMG]

Seem is clearly visable. This area needs to be cleaned and sealed and then recaulked. Also back-butter the keel with caulk when reinstalling,clean up and repaint.
Karl.

Some clarifacation on my pictorial.
The carriage bolts were spaced about 2 feet apart with 2 screws spaced evenly between them. The screws were different lengths depending on the thickness of the keel. None of the bolts or screws were inset or covered with putty. Although some of the bolts were bent none of them were broken and none of the screws were broken. I have no reason to believe that this keel had ever been removed before so I believe that this is the way that it came from the factory. I will now be on the hunt for new bolts and screws which given the size could be a problem. Most likely will not find a local source.
Karl.

Great pictures! Just says it all. All of my bolts are broken but still in place. I started to take the nuts off from inside and each bolt pulled out with the nut still on. I'll be looking for new bolts also. THANK YOU

Also each carriage bolt seems to have a couple of wraps of fabric or string just under the head. Is this a possible seal between the bolt head and the keel?

Karl, are those keel screws the ones that are supposed to be silicon bronze? Try Jamestown Distributors http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/ I switched to them when it became difficult to find specialty fasteners locally.

Do they make a silicon bronze carriage bolt or does plain bronze do fine there?

George

I have used Jamestown before. I just like to try and deal locally if possible.
I believe that just plain bronze will work just fine.
Karl

Yes, you can get silicon bronze carriage bolts. I have obtained them thru www.boltdepot.com and www.classicboatconnection.com

Andreas