Sebastien, I borrow a torque wrench and the associated sockets and extensions from the local bus company garage (any heavy equipment mechanic will have the stuff). The torque wrench I borrow is about 5' long as my 3 largest keel bolts are 1-1/2" dia and take a 2 -1/4" socket and need to be torqued to 600 ft. lbs. I do them one at a time on the hard by undoing them, cleaning them and lubing them with Tef-Gel to make sure the stainless steel nuts don't gall on the bolts. I usually have to lie on the cabin sole with my back up against a settee face to push hard enough to get to 600 ft lbs. The torque wrench I borrow is a micrometer type so it clicks when I reach the desired value. I don't go right to 600 right away, I usually start out at 400 lbs on the largest bolts and then go up 100 lbs at a time until I reach the desired torque.
Scale what I'm doing to your boat and you won't have any trouble. Borrowing the tools for a weekend is easier than buying them. You can get Tef-Gel here: http://ca.binnacle.com/product_info.php?products_id=8658 Ken Heaton & Anne Tobin S/V Salazar - Can 54955 C&C 37/40 XL - Hull # 67 Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia On 4 December 2012 00:19, Dennis C. <[email protected]> wrote: > Sebastien, > > There is much debate on whether to torque on the hard or in the water. > Logic would favor on the hard because that's probably how they were torqued > at the C&C factory for original construction. > > Yes, one bolt at a time. > > Generally, most torque without lubrication. Just simply back the nut off > a couple turns then torque to the specified torque. Some do, however, > lubricate the threads before torquing. If so, then decrease the torque > specification by 10%. > > I've always torqued my keel bolts on the hard without lubrication. > > Dennis C. > Touche' 35-1 #83 > Mandeville, LA > > ------------------------------ > *From:* Sébastien Lemieux <[email protected]> > *To:* [email protected] > *Sent:* Monday, December 3, 2012 9:56 PM > *Subject:* Stus-List Retorquing keel bolts > > Having noticed the "smile" on my keel, I was planning on doing "something" > about it this spring. First retorquing the bolts is now on my #1 list of > todos! > > I have bought last year a 250 lbs/ft torque wrench but did not come to use > it as I had too many unanswered questions on the process of torquing keel > bolts. Should I only retorque bolts when on the hard? I assume it is done > working on a single bolt at a time. I've read the procedure is: remove the > bolt, lubrify, torque back, is this correct? Then what type of lubricant > should I use? How does one reaches the bolts at the bottom of the bilge > (about 2' deep)? Is it possible to apply enough torque 2' wrench? Is > there anything special I need as far as the socket is concerned? > > Thanks in advance for any advice! > > Sébastien Lemieux > Merlot X - C&C 30 mk2 1987 > Mooney Bay - Lake Champlain > > On Dec 3, 2012, at 10:15, Rick Brass wrote: > > I note that you’ve not retorqued the keel bolts in 7 years, and I would > suggest the this probably needs to be done before you try anything else.. > > My owner’s manuals don’t specify an interval for retorquing, but I try to > do it every two years or so on both boats. The exception is the bolt under > the mast step on my 38, which can only be accessed when the mast is out. > That bolt was retorqued in 2005, and again in 2011 when the boat was > rerigged. > > If you have a resilient sealer (like 5200) between the keel and the stub, > you will get a tiny bit of side to side motion in the keel when you go > sailing. Over time, the torque on the keel bots can be reduced, lateral > motion can increase, and you end up with the smile, and potentially with > leaks. IMHO, torquing the bolts should be the first step in any cosmetic > attention you give to the exterior of the hull to keel joint. If the yards > that worked on your boat didn’t do this, that might be the reason the > repairs were not successful. > > My owner’s manuals (admittedly for boats older than your 35-3) indicate > that C&C originally used thickened epoxy in the layer between keel and > stub, and that the bolt torque would force the sealer into the hole around > the keel bolts. I suspect that the thickened epoxy gave a hard layer of > sealant that in combination with the fairly high torque on the bolts > minimized the side to side motion of the keel. > > I guess I have been pretty luck vis-à-vis keel problems on my boats. On > Belle, I fixed the smile the first winter I had her, and have torque the > boats fairly regularly since. No smile when she was hauled for bottom paint > last November – after 14 years or so that I’ve owned her. Imzadi had a > slight smile when hauled for engine work this past summer, but then she has > a layer of 5200 in the keel joint. Maybe it’s time to torque the bolts > again. > > > Rick Brass > *Imzadi* -1976 C&C 38 mk1 > *la Belle Aurore* -1975 C&C 25 mk1 > Washington, NC > > > *From:* CnC-List [mailto:[email protected]] *On Behalf Of *Tim > Goodyear > *Sent:* Sunday, December 02, 2012 2:54 PM > *To:* [email protected] > *Subject:* Stus-List Keel stub cracks > > Hello all 35-3 owners - I'm looking for some advice, especially from those > who have re-habbed their keels on this model... > > I was checking on Mojito this morning, and noticed beads of moisture in > two areas; a spot at the top of the keel trailing edge and an 8" hairline > crack on the port side at hull / keel stub (almost exactly where the mast > step is internally). Would this have been enough for you to go ahead with > major keel surgery? > > Rear of keel > I've been trying to resolve this for a while; two separate boat yards have > had a go at if, and the area is now solid fiberglass / epoxy, but still a > tiny crack / area of moisture. There was water in the bilge just aft of the > rear keel bolt (I removed the floorboards and sponged the area dry). Water > would not normally stay in that area, but the boat is tilted back a little > on the stands. I have not had the keel bolts torqued in 7 years (since I > bought Mojito). > > Mast Step area > This is the first year I've noticed moisture in that area; there have been > hairline cracks in the antifouling before. The mast is stepped and I can't > access that area through the mast step, which appears sound. > > Thanks, > > Tim > Mojito > 1984 C&C 35-3 > Branford, CT > > _______________________________________________ > This List is provided by the C&C Photo Album > http://www.cncphotoalbum.com > [email protected] > > > > _______________________________________________ > This List is provided by the C&C Photo Album > http://www.cncphotoalbum.com > [email protected] > > > > _______________________________________________ > This List is provided by the C&C Photo Album > http://www.cncphotoalbum.com > [email protected] > >
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