Association Forum - LOOSENING BOLTS ON KEEL HANGER ASSEMBLY

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LOOSENING BOLTS ON KEEL HANGER ASSEMBLY

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tblanco
Deckhand

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16 Posts

Initially Posted - 01/19/2003 : 14:51:08

As a firm believer of "Murphy's Law" I thought I would ask some of you more experience fellows if you have any tips on loosening the bolts on the keel hanging assembly.
Not to worry I'm just trying to loosen them to prepare for removing the keel at a Marina.
My concern is not breaking them or stripping the head.
These bolts have not been removed in over a decade and had some layers of bottom paint and growth on them.
I've been using a small screw driver to clean arround the bolt head to make room for the socket that will be used to loosen.

My question is: Should I use any liquid of some type that could possibly penetrate to loosen it up a little?

Will I need to maybe use some "heat" in the surrounding brass area to expand it and loosen it up some?

I don't know that these are stuck or anything, but I have visions of a broken bolt when I was removing a thermostat in my Toyota and a ten minute fix turne out to be a pain in the "derriere"..

As always thanks in advance to a great group of people.

Tony Blanco
"Iberia"

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OJ
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4382 Posts

Response Posted - 01/19/2003 : 17:44:51

You shouldn't have to use anything too loosen/remove these bolts. I would definitely stay away from heat as you could damage the gel coat and fiberglass. Once you've got the keel safely supported - just back them out. If you feel the need to replace these bolts, make sure the replacements are the same grade.
Good luck!

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Leon Sisson
Master Marine Consultant

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1893 Posts

Response Posted - 01/19/2003 : 20:30:03

Tony,

To clear room in the keel hanger counterbore for the socket, chip away what you can easily, and then try driving the (6-point) socket into the counterbore with a hammer. (Crude but effective!) As for preparing the keel hanger bolts for removal, the good/bad news is I don't know of anything you can do except be sure you're turning them the correct way (normal right hand thread). If they were properly installed the last time, they should back right out.

When I say "properly installed", I mean holes cleaned with a tap, and new bolts thoroughly coated with polysulfide caulk or similar sealant. I think Catalina says to use Lock-Tite. I guess they're worried about the bolts backing out when you don't want them to. I'm much more concerned about them not coming out when you do want them to. I believe that it's very important to coat the entire length of the threads with whatever goo you use. Trying to accomplish that with blue Lock-Tite would worry me. First of all, it's a liquid, and you're asking it to totally soak something you can't see that's uphill from the application point. Secondly, if one could be sure of getting that much Lock-Tite in there, I'd be worried about it locking too well, and breaking the bolts next time. On the other hand, that much polysulfide would not be a problem to get up in there, has much better gap sealing properties, and would not pose a risk of breaking the bolt coming out. That's my opinion anyway. I would be glad to hear contradictory reasoning.<img src=icon_smile.gif border=0 align=middle>

If the keel bolts are stuck, there's not much I know of that you can do to unstick them. Heat is a bad idea because of the risk to the fiberglass. Penetrating oils are unlikely to find their way deep into the corroded threads, but would be worth a try. One long shot would be to smack the head of the stuck bolt a sharp blow with a large hammer to fracture the corrosion crystals. Even that might do more harm than good, if it also fractured the glass fibers and polyester resin matrix surrounding the stainless steel threaded insert. When stainless steel threads get stuck, things go to hell in a hurry. They sort of weld together at the loaded surfaces, and then break apart at the base of the thread. When the bolt starts turning, that wad of welded and broken metal then welds and breaks off more of the thread. The damage snowballs quickly, so that within less than one turn the bolt is hopelessly stuck, and shears off. As you can imagine, when that happens no simple Easy-Out is going to save the day.

Now that I've cheered you up, good luck!<img src=icon_smile.gif border=0 align=middle>

-- Leon Sisson

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Notice: The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.