Thanks everyone! @ewengstrom your description of removing the keel is giving me cold feet on my original plan - seems like more opportunity to do harm than good, *especially* if I'm entrusting the work to someone else.
When I bought the boat a year ago my conclusion was "just a Catalina smile". The bilge was full of water (on the hard) and the crack was dry. No big deal - I fixed one on my old hunter and they're just part of having a fin keel, right?
What reduced me to panic was realizing that the bilge is leaking and rust is weeping out, which means salt water has reached and is corroding at least one of my keel bolts. At least the antifreeze is rinsing it clean? I saw the Catalina tech note on resealing them, but the outside must be fixed as well or it's just hiding the real problem. Is crack filling with G/flex up to the task?
I think my plan will be to do the following, go sailing, and see how it looks next fall:
1) Reseal the keel bolt(s) from the inside
2) Let everything dry out for a few weeks
3) Grind + seal the crack with G/Flex
4) Torque the keel bolts
Thanks again for holding my hand!
When I bought the boat a year ago my conclusion was "just a Catalina smile". The bilge was full of water (on the hard) and the crack was dry. No big deal - I fixed one on my old hunter and they're just part of having a fin keel, right?
What reduced me to panic was realizing that the bilge is leaking and rust is weeping out, which means salt water has reached and is corroding at least one of my keel bolts. At least the antifreeze is rinsing it clean? I saw the Catalina tech note on resealing them, but the outside must be fixed as well or it's just hiding the real problem. Is crack filling with G/flex up to the task?
I think my plan will be to do the following, go sailing, and see how it looks next fall:
1) Reseal the keel bolt(s) from the inside
2) Let everything dry out for a few weeks
3) Grind + seal the crack with G/Flex
4) Torque the keel bolts
Thanks again for holding my hand!