Peter:
I’ve seen a couple good responses to your note below, but I
want to add the following observation: the problem, as I understand it, is that
C&C did not do a good job “mating” the keel stub and the keel. The smile is
the result. On my Custom 42 (Custom meaning not a full production model), I
suspect the Bruckman shop adapted a keel from another boat, because my boat has
a lead “shim” between the keel stub and the keel, so I get two smiles. She’s a
very happy boat. A friend of mine is a nautical engineer who interned at C&C
in the ‘70s, and he opined that the recurring smiles (and another less common
issue in my case) are cosmetic, not structural, so not worth worrying about.
In light of the nature of the issue, the best way to address it in my view was
the proposal to unbolt the keel, lift the boat (or lower the keel) to get
access to the joint, fill in any voids, and re-mate the keel and keel stub
properly using West System with colloidal silica or something comparable that
will produce an exact match and help spread some of the load. You can then
glass the old smile seam. Dennis’ suggestion essentially accomplishes much of
the same thing without the extraordinary effort, but his method will only
reduce – not eliminate – the underlying “bad mate” problem. On the other hand,
his fix has worked for a long time, so in his case it appears to be good enough.
The bottom line: how much effort do you wish to expend on a cosmetic issue?
Matt Wolford
C&C 42 Custom
From: Peter W. via CnC-List <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, December 29, 2025 1:53 PM
To: cnc-list <[email protected]>
Cc: Peter W. <[email protected]>
Subject: Stus-List Is this the beginning of C&C “smile”?
Hi to all,
This pic is of my 30-2’s leading edge of keel — early 90s vintage. Since 2003,
boat has spent 6 months or so in the yard each season.
Since 2003, the boat has never been in a collision of any kind - bottom, pier,
another vessel— nothing.
So, is the (inevitable) “smile”?
As an initial remedy, I have instructed the yard to re-torque the keel bolts
(never done since new). I’m hoping this solves problem.
That said, Can anyone share the experience of “dropping” the keel and
re-bedding the joint?
Thanks and HNY!!
Pete W.
Siren Song
1991 C&C30-2
Irvington, Va.
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