Socket for tightening keel bolts

[billandalita]

Thanks for the thoughts. I think however, the Mark II's most aft keel bolt is located actually under the cabin sole with no way to reach it except perhaps with a universal, as mentioned by Ken.  But the angle to the torque wrench will be extreme.  I will look at it again tomorrow (and take a pic) when down at the boat.
Bill

[Jim Hardesty]

If I remember correctly, I used a universal designed for impact wrenches on the most aft keel bolt.  Happy to say that all of the keel bolts were tight this spring.  First time I took up quite a bit, then got a little from some at each check.  Something I don't understand.  Now that I have everything it's a quick check so I'll just check it every spring.
Jim

[Clay Greene]

True also of the Mark I boats - the aft keel bolt is under the cabin sole and hard to reach. 

[Breakin Away]

Grey Pneumatic 2036XD socket works for me also. Before I tighten the nuts, I need to replace one of them per my surveyor's recommendation. What is the spec on the nut? 3/4"-10? Or finer thread pitch? Also, what grade of SS is recommended? If you have a recommended source that would be great also.

While I have the forward-most nut off, I'd like to clean out the rust stains from that front part of the keel sump. What works well for this? CLR? RydLyve? FSR? Oxalic acid?

[Noah]

I have read that rust stains COULD be due to oxygen starvation around the keel bolt washer, due to gel coat partially sealing--and the remedy is to chip away sny gel coat "suffocating" the washer then clean it off with a SS wire brush or CLR--and it will cease to rust. Urban myth?? Anybody?

[Breakin Away]

My bolt shows a very interesting rust pattern. It's not rusted at all where the bottom of the bolt meets the washer. It is rusted on exposed flat surfaces. So it does not appear to be crevice corrosion. And the other keel bolts are not rusted at all.

I have some thoughts on possible cause, but too little time to write them now.

First tings first, I need the spec on the nut for proper replacement. I've searched all over here and on the wiki and can't find any specs. Am I the first person who decided to replace a keel nut?

[Stu Jackson]

First tings first, I need the spec on the nut for proper replacement. I've searched all over here and on the wiki and can't find any specs. Am I the first person who decided to replace a keel nut?

http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,8027.msg55778.html#msg55778

I did a search on keel+bolt, fifth hit down.  Not so hard.  What search phrase did you use?

[KWKloeber]

Stu, Yeah but that search doesn't provide a clue to answering the question about the nuts....

Breakin'....

The C-30 has UNC 3/4" -10 nuts, not UNF (fine.)  I'd venture a W.A.G. yours are the same <wink>

Most good hardware stores have 3/4" UNC s/s nuts, but I don't know if you'll get 316 grade or if they even know what grade they are.

My go-to source when looking for info on fasteners and oddballs, McMaster-Carr, has 316 and also 316 extra-wide nuts, which are also extra high -- the benefit being more thread engaged and the load spread wider (not that I'm saying you need to do that, but I would use them if I was replacing nuts - why not go better when you can?)  The downside is you need another (1-1/4" socket.)

https://www.mcmaster.com/#hex-nuts/=2rsigq8llyiw8btt4x

-ken

First tings first, I need the spec on the nut for proper replacement. I've searched all over here and on the wiki and can't find any specs. Am I the first person who decided to replace a keel nut?

http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,8027.msg55778.html#msg55778

I did a search on keel+bolt, fifth hit down.  Not so hard.  What search phrase did you use?

[Breakin Away]

Update: I have had no luck finding the required keel nuts at local brick-and-mortar stores. The closest thing I found was at a True Value store near my workplace, but it was 304 stainless, and I think an alloy mismatch between keel bolt and nut is asking for trouble.

I will probably end up going to McMaster-Carr via mail order. It's a shame to place such a small order, but that's all I need right now. I'm stalling on ordering because I know that the next day I'll think of some other $1 item that I need. 

On a related topic, I fumbled one of my battery nuts into who-knows-where when disconnecting my battery cables for the winter. My local hardware store, which is unfortunately rather poorly run, told me "we had them, but someone bought the whole box about a month ago" (...and why haven't you ordered them back in???). 3/8"x16 SS was too exotic for my nearby Home Depot store, which stocks nothing larger than 5/16" in SS. Another Home Depot store further away had them in little plastic packets, but they were so cheap (thin) that they had about 2 threads tapped into them, and I could easily imagine rounding off the corners, since on a battery you usually need to angle the wrench upward to avoid short-circuiting between the posts. I finally found a Lowes that had a bin full of 3/8"x16 SS with thickness and quality that was equal to the original battery nuts. I bought three in anticipation of my next fumble.

I really regret the loss of local mom and pop hardware stores, but the ones that are left seem like they're too shell-shocked and cash-strapped to even try to compete (won't even replace depleted stock). I am becoming disgusted with the way Home Depot is cutting back on their variety of low-profit items (like fasteners, where their display gets smaller and smaller each year), now that they've managed to kill off the mom and pop shops that used to carry these ordinary items.

[Craig Illman]

I'd need to comment that both the Ace hardware a few blocks from my home as well as the one a few blocks from my Marina carry a large selection of SS fasteners, not necessarily 316 for your keel bolts. We also have locations of Tacoma Screw that can be helpful.

Craig

[Ron Hill]

Guys : Look at "Fastenal.com" for all of your odd ball stainless/bronze nuts/bolts.

A thought

[Breakin Away]

I had checked there too, and used them to buy 100 SS piano hinge screws a few years ago. They have the nuts, a little more expensive but not significantly so.

Fastenal has the advantage of more locations nearby (no shipping charge if I can pick up), but the closest location that has the nuts is 2+ hours away. Maybe I should call a nearby one and see if they can order it in for me to pick up. It's silly to pay a big shipping charge for one nut.

[Ron Hill]

Breaking : I've had them order for me and they called when the items were in at their store.

A thought

[Breakin Away]

Sometimes I'm just too dense. The Fastenal store that's 2 hours away is the only one with one single nut. I hadn't noticed that the website lists a pack of 3, and everyone has them in stock.

I only need one, but more than happy to carry a couple spares.

[Breakin Away]

OK, I now have three new nuts, as well as lock washers and flat washers. Although the front-most nut is clearly the worst, there are a couple of others that are starting to show erosion in spots, and the lock washers underneath also look bad. So I'll use all three.

My question is on what else to do. Is there any reason to try to make things water-tight, perhaps with butyl tape bedding? My bilge is 100% dry on the hard, and mostly dry afloat, except for the occasional air conditioner drainage in the front compartment, and packing gland water in the aft compartment. Is there some benefit to preventing water from getting into the crevices between bolts, nuts, and washers? Currently there appears to be no bedding present.

By the way, I'm curious why the front-most nut corroded worse than the others. It is exposed to ion-free condensate water, and I wonder if the limited solubility of metal ions caused a gradual erosion in the nut and washers. It's ironic that deionized water could be more corrosive than water with a small amount of ions, but I have stainless steel cooling baths in my lab with manufacturers' warnings not to fill them up with deionized water for this very reason.