Keel ripped off from bottoming??

[Reighnman]

Saw this article last night in my news feed. Don't know anything about bolted on keels but seems like you'd have to really hit something hard to rip the keel off OR the condition of the bolts would be that of complete rust which I would think the owner would notice. Now that's me Assuming things and we all know that adage. Too top it off they didn't have insurance! From the article they didn't have much but to open yourself to such a liability for so little doesn't make sense. For my 19 located in NJ it cost $125 and that covers up to $500k in damages and more importantly salvage and fuel spill clean-up. Might have been a blessing that it happened now and not in open ocean or during a storm.

www.tampabay.com/sold-everything-to-sail-the-world-boat-sank-next-day

[brackish]

An blurb from the Columbia YOA:

Like many older fin keel boats, some C-28 owners have had to replace corroded keel bolts. Here is some info on the bolts for this boat from a manual dated January 1972.

There are seven keel bolts. These are lag bolts installed from the top. (3/4" DIA X 9" LG LAG STUD. DRILL .656" DIA X 5" DEEP USING C-28 KEEL ATTACHMENT JIG FOR POSITIONING HOLES. USE LAG END OF STUD AS TAP TO THREAD KEEL. APPLY KEROSENE TO HOLE AND STUD DURING TAPPING OPERATION. USE CAM-TYPE STUD DRIVER. LEAVE 4" MIN. OF STUD PROTRUDING FROM TOP OF KEEL. - 7 REQUIRED.)

Also concerning the nuts: 3/4" NC HEX NUT & 3/4" ID X 2" OD PLAIN WASHER - HOT DIP GALV STEEL DRILL 13/16" DIA THRU HULL USING SAME KEEL ATTACMENT JIG FOR POSITIONING HOLES AS IS USED TO DRILL KEEL. (SEE DETAIL) - 7 PLACES

This (28) was Columbia's first entry into fin keels and was a skeg on skeg design that was changed three times during the 9 years the boat was in production.  The last design seemed to have some encapsulated wood between the molded skeg and the bolt on section.  Maybe this boat was one of those and that is a recipe for disaster.

I owned two Columbia's.  A 24 challenger with an encapsulated ballast similar to Compac's design and a later model 8.7 (28.7') which was an Alan Payne design with a much different bolt on keel design.  Never had an issue with that bolt on design and that boat spent a lot of time bouncing on the bottom.  I suspect rotted core material and corroded keel bolts, but at any rate sad for the couple for that to happen.

[Vectordirector]

These two should go immediately buy a lottery ticket.  No one is that stupid and lucky at the same time.  They were aiming to be prime candidates for a 2018 Darwin award. 

Hard to believe that all that support they had at the marina didn't clue them in to the fact that the "dream" would have most likely gotten them killed if they had gotten further off shore. 

I pray that this couple doesn't have children.

Vectordirector

[captronr]

I admit it's easy to Monday morning quarterback, and I ain't the smartest guy in the world by a long ways, but a little common sense here might have helped (A LOT!)

Ok, a nearly 50 yrs old boat, costing $5,000.   HMMMMM?  How many other  sailboats cruising the oceans do you suppose are out there costing only $5,000?

Survey prior to purchase?  Never sailed before?  Do you suppose they even looked the boat over before buying it?

Insurance?  My guess is any marine insurance company has it in their books "All ocean capable sailboats over XX years old REQUIRE  a successful survey before we will insure it."  So to me the question of insurance is pretty mute. 

Maybe they should put it on Ebay:  "Nice big sailboat, free to good home.  You pay to have it moved."  Maybe they will find someone as gullible as they are.

Ron 

[captronr]

Thinking about this more:  reminds me of the somewhat old video of "the bow fell off".  These guys could do a video of "the keel fell off" and maybe get a few bucks back.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWPwlMv8lNI

Ron

[tmw]

In the picture, it looks like there is a dingy tied to the stern of the boat--think they maybe could have used that? (e.g. to save their stuff they lost on the capsized boat).

[Jasmid53]

Very funny. Almost stopped watching half-way. Glad I didn't it gets so much better.

[AislinGirlII]

..and cue the gofundme music..

http://www.tampabay.com/news/Couple-whose-dream-boat-sank-in-John-s-Pass-raises-11-000-to-get-back-on-the-water_165411030