Hi glad to help out. We had a few areas leaking when we bought ours. The main areas we had to fix were the port toe rail, which we removed and re sikaflexed before bolting it back down and we had a leak through the loom for the instrument panel which was mounted above the sliding hatch. Not sure if this was standard though. It really caused some damage to the headliner which we replaced. We completely solved this by removing the instruments, re glassing and replaced with Tac Tic instruments. The mast leaks internally we never really fixed but it used to only let in a small amount which we could control by sponging. If it is leaking externally down the mast the boot is probably the culprit as you suggest rather than the sail track. Can't think of anywhere else it could be.

At least it's lead! My last keel was cast iron. Maybe worth lifting the hull and re-sealing with fixtech 15 and then re-tension keel bolts......its going to coat some boat dollars!

Beautiful see if you can get fixtech 15 sealant if not use sikaflex or similar. You will have peace of mind now that your doing the job complete ! most polyurethane sealents are paintable but it's worth using a epoxy undercoat over your new repairs before the Antifoul. Have fun.

Hi all, do not use any flexible sealant in its entirety , by all means use it around every bolt penetration and use a solid epoxy glue for the remainder which has a decent work life. EPIGLUE is an old favourite ad chopped fibre if gap in areas exceeds 8mm . Definitely lube the bolts and it looks like a mobile hoist is available so when refitting see if the operator will let you in the boat so he can lower the boat onto the keel as much as possible .
Tighten the bolts to a prescribed torque , clean up and stand back and look if all is plumb and walk away , If the torque setting is not available do them up as hard as you can and again when all has cured.
The reason why you should not use flexible sealant 100% is because it is always flexible and it will wobble over time .

Cheers

skillinacan said..
Hi all, do not use any flexible sealant in its entirety , by all means use it around every bolt penetration and use a solid epoxy glue for the remainder which has a decent work life. EPIGLUE is an old favourite ad chopped fibre if gap in areas exceeds 8mm . Definitely lube the bolts and it looks like a mobile hoist is available so when refitting see if the operator will let you in the boat so he can lower the boat onto the keel as much as possible .
Tighten the bolts to a prescribed torque , clean up and stand back and look if all is plumb and walk away , If the torque setting is not available do them up as hard as you can and again when all has cured.
The reason why you should not use flexible sealant 100% is because it is always flexible and it will wobble over time .

Cheers

I think it's too late one time poster ......but I do like your theroy. my question would be using the glue and chopped fibre how would you remove the keel in the future if needed to be?

I remember a story from NZ about sikaflex keel on a yacht apparently they had to bolt the keel to the ground to remove the seal after the bolt where removed I think it was on a 60 foot racer maybe a Volvo

cool mate it should last your life time. Note you should glass up the keel joint if you use that method well that's what I would do to keep the water away from the talc . Happy sailing soon.

I like flexible!

I wouldn't recommend bolting a skin fitting with only polyester unless it was glassed in.

polyurathine is flexible perfect for compressing fittings. your advise I don't recall from previos experence works as I was a marine travel lift operatrer for many years.