keel bolt torque E 38

anyone know the keel bolt torque specs for a shoal draft E38, 1985?

Keel bolt torque specs.

Here's some specs. I have a 1982 E-38 and my bolts were very loose. From the specs, thay should be 350 foot pounds. I would guess mine were only about 50 foot pounds if that. I'm planning to drop the keel inspect the bolts and re-bed over the winter.

A lot of the E-38s had keel bolt corrosion problems. I'm hoping mine aren't too bad.

Don

http://www.cncphotoalbum.com/doityourself/torquebolts/torquebolts.htm

Well this is not very precise, but the folks at my yard said that you could get a rough approximation by putting a 3 foot cheater bar on the end of a ratchet, and leaning into it all you can by hand. If the nuts can be turned this way they were too loose. If they can't, they might not be tight enough, but they are supposedly close enough.

Specs

Don, You site 'specs' at 350#. Do you have documentation? I would like the docs for the yards use that I'm having work done at for my 38 currently. They are of the opinion that 150# is adequate.

Thanks

FWIW, my E38 manual has a handwritten note on page 1-2: Keel Bolts: torque to 225 ft lbs per Don Kohlman 10-14-87. BTW, this manual, complete with note, is under the E38 docs area on this site. Good luck!

Does anyone know if this would be about the same for any of the larger Ericson boat keel bolts -- ie. from 30 - 46 footers, or would it vary by boat size/model? Also, would it be different for shoal vs. deep keels?
Thanks,
Frank.

Lot of them don't have keel bolts

39's 41's and 46's are all internally ballasted.

Guy

Thanks for that clarification. So what about the 30, 32, 35?
Frank.

If I might offer some suggestions based on some experience in this area - Keelbolt nut torque is a function of diameter and material of the keelbolt. For stainless steel bolts, I would recommend a torque of 175 ft-lb for a 1" keelbolt and 75 ft-lb for a 3/4" keelbolt, using a calibrated torque wrench.

A couple major caveats:
-a good portion of the boat's weight should be resting on the keel, so the top of the keel is snug up against the "stubbie" on the hull. The nuts are not intended to pull the keel up to the boat.
-the bolts must be in good condition. I wouldn't re-torque the nuts on any bolts with visible damage anywhere above the keel, at least not to the above values.

I didn't drop my keel yet, but I did remove all of the nuts and washers.
One of my keel bolts is showing some pretty bad corrosion right were the nut was. With the nut removed I would guess the diameter is down to about 3/4 of an inch. Most all of the other nuts and washers were very badly corroded, but the keel bolts themselves looked good.

I've purchased all new stainless steel nuts and washers from McMaster-Carr. I decided to do a little test on the corrroded bolt. Since the threads are missing I stack 3 washers to get the nut higher on good thread, I also put a visible scratch on the top of the keel bolt itself to ensure I'm not twisting the keel bolt as I tighten. Using a torque wrench I was able to torque the nut right up to 250 Lbs and keel bolt did not twist at all. I think I'm going to go with at least that much torque.

Roger said:

If I might offer some suggestions based on some experience in this area - Keelbolt nut torque is a function of diameter and material of the keelbolt. For stainless steel bolts, I would recommend a torque of 175 ft-lb for a 1" keelbolt and 75 ft-lb for a 3/4" keelbolt, using a calibrated torque wrench.
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This is a good point to bring up. Standard charts are available for different fastener types and the respective torque to use.

It should also be mentioned that over torquing a bolt is probably worst than having it under torqued. Too much torque can cause bolt failure e.g. SNAP! (or pulling or stripping) Not enough torque, and it loosens up and can be retightened. So, just be careful not to use an "as much as I can put on it' approach. If you don't have the right torque wrench (goes to high enough value), you can usually rent them pretty cheap for a day.