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Swing Keel eyebolt failure, cracked fiberglass

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davidkmeyer
Deckhand

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USA
1 Posts

Initially Posted - 07/07/2025 : 15:16:45

1982 Catalina 25 with Swing Keel.

Cable was pulled up too tight and with lateral movement of keel, the eyebolt that connects the cable failed, dropping the keel suddenly. With the keel down I couldn't bring it into my marina so I left it overnight and found water in the bilge. After hauling the boat, I filled the bilge with fresh water and found some leaks.

I've ordered a new keel hanger kit from Catalina Direct, and the spacer kit but I'd like some advice on the fiberglass work needed.

Here are some photos:

Voyager
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
5369 Posts

Response Posted - 07/09/2025 : 05:37:31

Hello David, thank you for the excellent photos and detailed description of the failure incident of your swing keel Catalina 25. I�m very sorry to hear about it.
I�m not a swing keel owner, so I am not familiar with the pictured areas of your boat.
Aside from the faulty mechanism, it appears that the results are (1) a leak problem and worse, (2) a structural integrity or hull strength problem.
C25 hulls we�re laid up with wa-a-a-ay overkill on thickness and strength. That�s a starting advantage for your repair. It�s not easy to tell from the photographs but aside from the cracks in the hull, are there any missing pieces, or loose chunks of hull?
Either way, before you begin a repair, it�s important to know the full scope of the damage.
For example, could you simply fill the cracked areas with epoxy (kinda like gluing an eggshell back together), or would you have to cut out the affected area of the hull with a sawz-all and rebuild the affected sections by rebuilding the affected structure?
The former approach might be sufficient given the inherent strength of the rest of the hull, but you might sleep better if you rebuilt it.
A good approach might be to clean the surfaces back to the gelcoat so you can get a clearer picture of the damage. Then, if it�s possible, use plaster of Paris and built a plywood form to make a �casting� of the affected sections of the hull. This form would be used if you decided to take the sawz-all approach. The casting would be used to construct a fiberglass and epoxy replacement section of the affected sections of the centerboard trunk.
The former would be a good-sized project while the latter would be a huge one.
There�s a lot to think about.
Perhaps asking a marine assessor/inspector to eyeball the damage onsite would be a good place to start.

Bruce Ross
Passage ~ SR-FK ~ C25 #5032

Port Captain � Milford, CT

Edited by - Voyager on 07/09/2025 05:41:20

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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.