In the middle of October 2007 I had Wina 11 craned out for winter storage ashore. The reason for this was two fold, firstly I wanted to have a full survey and valuation for insurance purposes as I had no idea of her value.

Secondly, I was uncertain of the condition of her keel bolts and was not able to withdraw any due to lack of ground clearance during her restoration.

The surveyors report indicated no movement of the keel where it joined the hull and no indication of corrosion where the bolts came through the Oak floors inside the hull. That was fine, but it did not give me peace of mind knowing that the bolts were mild steel and that Oak and mild steel are not a good combination. The acid in Oak attacks mild steel and my Surveyor suggested that I withdraw two. The one nearest the engine and the other at the forward end of the iron ballast shoe. I knew that I would have to mutilate them to get them out as they would have to come out from the top inside the boat. I calculated that the longest one was about 27 inches long and the shortest about six inches shorter. I had ten inches of ground clearance, sufficient to get a hydraulic bottle jack underneath. Drifting them through until the bottom nuts were clear of the counter bores in the iron ballast the nuts were cut off and the bolts then jacked out through the top. The bolts were 3/4 inch diameter. All that, and I need not have done it. The aft bolt had lost just over 1/16 inch diameter for two inches where it came through the Oak floor and the forward one nothing. The end product was two mutilated keel bolts which needed replacing and not forgetting my peace of mind.

The measurements for the replacements were carefully checked and drawings made for manufacture. The material was changed to Aluminium Bronze and the bottom nut arrangement modified. As they would have to be inserted through the top I could not guarantee that the bolt head could be peined over successfully to stop it coming off so opted for a 3/16 pin to be inserted through the nut and bolt to captivate it. Since the nut is in a counter bore it can not come out. These are now to hand and awaiting fitting.

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