# problems with keel bolts on beneteau



## michael white

We are considering purchasing a Beneteau, but when looking at a 375 Beneteau, we noticed that the joint between the hull and the keel had been caulked and not overly well. The Broker seem to blow this off, but later we have noticed a number of concerns shown on the internet over this very problem. In addition there are few positive comments concerning Beneteau's reaction to owners problems once pas the 2 year warranty period.

This is stopping us with purchasing an Beneteau and would have been looking at vessels between 37 to 42 ft.

Has any one had problems with Beneteau, as I would hate to pass on a boat that we really like, if this is not the problem it seems to be.

Backup would be a 40 to 42 ft Catalina.


----------



## MarkofSeaLife

Be very careful about reading bulltwaddle into internet hate groups against Beneteau.

If you dont want to buy any Beneteau between 37 and 42 feet then go buy something else.

As for the specific problem of keel bolts thats more internet lies that are fueled by a simple human dislike of being wrong.

People see some rust etc on the bolts and think they have rusted through, so on their next haul they decide they will replace them. New bolts from beneteau cost about $2,000 and take three weeks to order. So if you haul the boat and pull the bolts to check them and find them deficient then you need to wait for three weeks for the replacements to arrive. If you are in a yard that costs for the time laid up its not worth it. So people buy the bolts before thye haul, and then pull the old bolts, realise theres nothing wrong with the old but say "well, ive got and paid for the new ones, so may as well not waste them" and put in the new ones.

Then when anyone asks they say they replaced the keel bolts. People ASSUME they were required to.

Thus keel bolt problems on the internet circulate.

But, as I say, if you are not happy with the brand theres plenty of others.


Mark


----------



## Dog Ship

A local fellow here on Vancouver Island ran his Bene aground, not sure how hard, but it pulled the keel bolts down into the frame work of the boat. It was a $40,000 repair job. 
He sold it immediately after it was fixed. 
If you are not prepared or able to fix it properly I would walk away and seek out another boat with less problems, whether it be another Bene or not.


----------



## svHyLyte

MarkofSeaLife said:


> Be very careful about reading bulltwaddle into internet hate groups against Beneteau.
> 
> If you don't want to buy any Beneteau between 37 and 42 feet then go buy something else.
> 
> As for the specific problem of keel bolts that's more internet lies that are fueled by a simple human dislike of being wrong.
> 
> People see some rust etc on the bolts and think they have rusted through, so on their next haul they decide they will replace them. New bolts from Beneteau cost about $2,000 and take three weeks to order. So if you haul the boat and pull the bolts to check them and find them deficient then you need to wait for three weeks for the replacements to arrive. If you are in a yard that costs for the time laid up its not worth it. So people buy the bolts before thye haul, and then pull the old bolts, realise theres nothing wrong with the old but say "well, ive got and paid for the new ones, so may as well not waste them" and put in the new ones.
> 
> Then when anyone asks they say they replaced the keel bolts. People ASSUME they were required to.
> 
> Thus keel bolt problems on the internet circulate.
> 
> But, as I say, if you are not happy with the brand theres plenty of others.
> 
> Mark


Good Gravy Mark--you'll scare the fadoodle out of the poor sod with commentary like that. To begin with, I'm sure the reference to "$2,000" was a typo. I'm sure you meant $200 considering that Beneteau's Keel Bolts cost roughly $16.00 - $20.00 (USD) each and most yachts have only 16 - 20 bolts (worst case $400 USD). The balance of your commentary is, of course, correct. Ninety-nine percent of the time, folks see a bit of rust on the bolt heads or washers and get all bent out of shape for no good reason. Likewise the joint between the keel stub and the ballast keel. If the workmen that do the routine bottom work on a boat are all thumbs (or dumb as door-knobs), they'll make a hash of the seam. Skilled workmen (or patient owners) will clean the seam and lay in new caulking compound, which will look very nice. In either case, however, the joint is not effected by what the seam looks like. Our boat is a 1986 and I have looked at, literally, dozens of ballast keel bolts, once extracted, over the years and have yet to see a single one where the ballast keel/keel stub was compromised and there was any wasting of the keel bolts at all. I replaced 8 of my own keel bolts some while ago because of the accumulation of rust on the heads and, once they were extracted, had I not already purchased replacement bolts, I would simply have vigorously wire brushed the originals, treated them with Osphoe, and reinstalled them with a good moisture protection coating such as several coats of Pettit RustLok and been good for another 26 years.

As for the original poster, doo a search on Beneteau and Keel Bolts. There is no shortage of discussion of the matter here abouts.

FWIW...


----------



## SloopJonB

Depends VERY largely on whether the keel is iron or lead. If iron it's not much of a job and can even be done in the water, one at a time with a good torque wrench.

If it's lead - BIG problems. 

All this has been covered in detail a number of times here.

By the way, there is just as much trash talk about Catalinas as Bennies on the Interweb.


----------



## Dog Ship

Michael, your post is titled problems with keel bolts but you have only mentioned the gap in the keel joint. 
What do the keel bolts and the area around them look like? 
Is there any indication of a grounding on the keel?


----------



## Faster

michael white said:


> We are considering purchasing a Beneteau, but when looking at a 375 Beneteau, we noticed that the joint between the hull and the keel had been caulked and not overly well. .......


As indicated already above, the entire situation may be being overstated. At this point what you're seeing could be as minor as a bad fairing job around the joint. Evidence of water intrusion; visible indication of leakage past the joint such as a wet bilge not attributable to rainwater, or 'rust' stains in the keel bolt area MAY be an indicator of more serious problems or could just be a routine tightening and cleanup.

On a boat that age, the prudent thing to do would be to drop the keel, inspect the bolts (most carefully in the area normally passing through the keel sump fiberglass) replace/repair/rebed as required for future peace of mind. The costs of such a job can typically be used as a negotiating tool, even if buyer and seller share the burden to some degree - as long as you use a reputable yard or get/do the job properly one way or the other you're good for another 25-30 years or more...


----------



## CHM

Just replaced mine on a 43' Beneteau. No sign of failure in any of these bolts or much difficulty removing them (except for one). I could've left them alone, but they were pointed out as needing replacment at the original survey and I was nervous.


----------



## Summmitfun

If you are serious about the boat, pick 2 bolts pulled and inspected as part of the purchase agreement. That way you will know what is going on with the keel. If there is corrosion on the bolt threads or shank, then there are other problems. If the corrosion is confined to the heads, then all is good.
Mike


----------

