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So after much discussion I went to check the bolts yesterday and realized the aft bolt is impossible to tighten.  The bolt is so far aft in the bilge I am not able to get the socket over over the bolt.  I tried every combo of flex socket and extension I had with no luck.  Has anyone with a MK11 had better luck?

Hi Marc, I had noticed the fairing around my prop strut required some repair every year.  this year I sandblasted the are and this is what I found.  I am not sure if it was leaking but I normally had some water in the indents around the strut.  I have a Mk11 and they leak water around the rear lockers every time it rains so it common to have water there. 

When I realized how crappy this area was I ground the crack/seam back even further and re-glassed the area starting with with a 1, then 3, then 6 then 9, then 12 inch layer of glass.  Faired smooth and repainted.  I will know better when the boat comes out next to see how it stands up.

KK, I agree the net effect will not be the same.  And I do not know how to compensate for the difference.  I am going to boat today to check bolts.  My plan is to start at say 50 lbs see what moves.  I will note the tourqe at which each nut turns and work my way up to 110.  I will post my results.  I will check again when the boat is blocked in the fall and note the outcome again.

I just read the post from Indian falls from a couple years ago when he lowered and then re bedded his keel.  Interestly enough he reports he lifted the keel using the bolts with no problem.  I guess mechanical advantage works!

2nd wish, thanks for the reply.  Can you explain how you calculated the mechanical advantage (MA).   I used a simple MA formula of circumference /pitch to calculate MA.  If the keel bolts are are 1 inch their circumference is 3.14 inches.  The thread pitch is 8 per inch or .125.  3.14/.0125 = a MA of 25.  With a applied tourqe of 100ft/lbs my math says that would apply 2500 lbs of lifting force. 

Would I be lifting the keel up? Or pulling the boat down?  Maybe I don't understand something.  So worst case scenario if I tourqed the nuts to the reccomened torque with the boat in the water does that mean they would still be a little loose?  If that is the case I would do it now, and then check again when the boat is hauled in the fall.  It's not a big deal either way, my keel shows no sign of movment so I can wait.  My only concern is the balance of the boat so the load on the boats was equal and being in the water seemed like the best way to do it. 

I just got my new socket to fit my keel nuts.  I have read several posts saying keel bolt tourqe should be checked while the boat is in the cradle.  I don't understand this concept.  It seems to me that unless you are able to balance the boat perfectly on the keel checking the tourqe in the cradle may not be accurate.   We have a fin keeled boat and in my experience we are not able to balance boat in cradle.  The angle of the fin keel puts more weight on the bow because the boat wants to tip forward.  My understanding is this would put unequal load on the keel boats.  The front of the keel is under some compressions and the rear is under some tension. 

It seems to me that checking/adjusting the tourqe in the water is the most accurate way to ensure the tension is equal and accurate.  With the keel in its natural position the torque would be equal because the load is equal.

Just my thoughts.  Can someone offer an explanation that concurs or dissents. 

The rotten care was dug out and replaced with plywood and epoxy and a couple layers of fiberglass.  fortunately the repair ins not visible and easy to do.  The cover was replaces, all holes in the cover and deck were cored with epoxy and the joint around the cover was caked to prevent water from draining down the channel.

Many Mk11 owners have written about how the companion way cover drains right onto your seats when it rains.  I decided to fix it this year and caulk around the seam.  I also have been trying to drill out and fill every deck fitting with epoxy to prevent water damage in the event a fastener leaks.  When I removed the cover to drill and fill the holes I found the screws had been leaking and caused significant damage to the core material in the cover.  Thankfully it's and easy fix and you won't see the repair because it on the bottom of the cover.  I have done about half the fittings on the boat over the last couple of years, but after seeing this damage and realizing how lucky I was it was an easy fix I will spend the next coupe of weeks doing every remaining deck fitting.  My rough math says I have just over 75 holes left to fill.  I have done about half already.   Its amazing how many fastens are in your deck.  I did the enclosure snaps yesterday, that was over 30 holes.

I understand the bail on the anchor roller is not the best solution.  But I have flown my asymmetrical from it many times in way more wind then I should have with nothing broken yet. 

Hire a diver, guaranteed it went straight down.

The keel hull joint on Mystic shows no signs of movement and does not leak.  My only issue is the fairing over the joint has been touched up several times and and has a couple of spots that need to be redone again.  I am thinking I will blast the sand/walnut blast the area 10-12 inches above the joint and do a complete repair so it looks uniform  prior to paint this year.

What I was considering is doing a 4, then 6, then 8 inch wide layers of glass over the joint then fairing everything smooth.  I would then reapply barrier coat in blasted area and paint.  I was thinking I would use g flex expox to account for the "flexing" of the joint.  I would also do the area behind he strut mount at the same time in a similar fashion.  Most the mark II's have some cracking or separation behind the area where the strut is mounted and require frequent refairing as well.  

The only downfall I can see is if I ever had to separate the joint in the future.  
It's a bit off work but I would think this would keep things looking good for many more years.

Can anyone share their thiughts or see a negative impact.

Thanks in advance!

Hi Mick I concur with Roc.  The only time I get water in the boat is when it rains and the side panels from our enclosure are off.  I also notice the stuff in the aft cockpit lockers will be wet after I wash the boat.  The lip is not very high and factory foam does little or nothing to seal out the water.  It's even worse if you have a crap built up around the lip, the water backs up quick and runs into the locker. 

Tapping the pump to keep it running may not indicate it is not working.  When you tap the top you "trick" the pump into thinking it has not reached its cut out pressure.  If I remember correctly the little rubber diaphragm and spring are under the top of the pump.  I used to tap mine with a wrench to get the pump to "work" to make it easier to bleed the system on my old C30.  Pull the pump out and test first to see if it really is not working.  My old C30 was plumbed with the filter after the pump and the internal filter in the pump was full of crap.  Pulled it off, cleaned the internal filter ( screen really) and re plumbed properly.  Never had an issue after that.

Good luck

We normally bring the cushions home, I take them all apart. Wash all covers in home machine and foam in kiddie pool with a mild beach mix, kids love stomping on them to squish water out.   Everything gets put back together and we add bounce sheets inside the covers.  Smells great.  Removing all cushions allows use to leave all lockers open and clean the boat really well before we put it away.

Your boat should have a strainer in the raw water system.  I close the thru hull and start the boat, I dump in three or so gallons in the strainer, it uses this in less then thirty seconds.  I put one gallon directly into the holding tank.  One gallon in the v berth tank.  We have strainer in our lake water system as well, it also feeds the head.  I dump another gallon our two in there and run all the lake water discharges, hot and cold.  Yes, I use lake water in my hot water tank.  Then everything's gets blown out, except the holding tank and engine system. 
We removed the aft tank years ago.

Don't forget the shower and ice box drains.