2015 41DS Keel Joint Rust

[vcirelli]

Hi All,

I'm about to purchase a 2015 Jeanneau 41DS. The boat looks like it was very well maintained, and the surveyor didn't seem concerned about the one thing that worried me a bit. 

There is rust at the keel joint, and it was bubbling a bit when the boat was hauled. The keel bolts and backing plates look shiny and new inside the boat from the top. The surveyor sounded the bolts and said they were fine. However, I had to drop the keel on my last boat, that the surveyor said was all good to go sailing! A week later the bilge had rusty water - the bolts were bad. It was an older boat, 1985 with a lead keel & Jbolts  

None-the-less, I'm a little shellshocked form that experience and would love to hear from the group if this is really a common bit of rust at the joint from the sealant deteriorating from a flexing keel, and it been iron at that.  The broker and surveyor both immediately said they see this on Jeanneau and Beneteau all the time?

The rust is in a couple areas, each about 4inches across.  There are not rust streaks down the keel from the joint... 

Could anyone confirm that they've seen this on their boats, and it was an easy fix?

Thank you!

[bereboot]

I am not a surveyor, but if my keel looked like your picture, i would have the keel removed and treated by a pro

[Charlie-Bravo]

This is one of those things quite common on sailing boats, hulls flex, keels don’t, so something has to give, and as you have discovered with your last boat, quite expensive to drop a keel and have it re bedded, but it isn’t always necessary.

Firstly I would ask the owner/broker to remove perhaps two keel bolts in the area near the rust, and if it is corroding away at keel joint depth there is room for negotiation on price to cover the keel drop etc or reason to find another boat.
An internal moisture survey might detect an unusual reading above the keel if the joint has been flooded for some time.
Both the above suggestions are going to be a lot cheaper than a keel drop.

If the bolts seem fine it may just be a case of cleaning up the joint as best as can be done, allowing to dry, painting and installing a fillet of Sikka or similar sealant around the keel joint, and re do it every couple of years.

Should the owner refuse, walk away, and they may change their tune rather than lose a buyer.

The surveyor will have seen it many times, ………. but never has to pay out if he is wrong about something, they don’t have x ray vision , so it’s your judgment that matters, pulling a bolt or two and moisture survey may give you some idea as to the depth of the issue, and confidence to go ahead or not.

The bubbling on haul out is good reason for a little more investigation .

Good luck

CB

[vcirelli]

Thanks for the replies. 

Much appreciated.