This is by no means gospel. just my thought.
Attached is a shot of the front-most keel boat washer. As you can see its now
conical in shape. If you take the movement of the bolt due to washer
deformation and the collapse of the surface underneath - you can certainly see
why a tolerance grows and thus allows the keel to drop a little and generate a
crack.
I have also attached a shot of my remedy. 3/4" aluminum blocks that are acting
to spread the load of the keel on the keel floor. If you look around the bole -
you can see the larger flat washer - which is about the same size as the washer
on the original fitting. I had plates made for every keel bolt, significantly
increasing the surface area that spreads the load for each keel bolt. They are
fitted with stainless lock-nuts and washers and were set in epoxy to take up
any surface irregularities.
Hopefully this increased support will prevent and further separation between
the boat and the keel.
Derek Atkin
#4297
