Thank you, Dennis, for the thorough explanation. I had come across the "C&C smile" in the list. My first instinct was that it's related. When I see the close-up photos of your 35-1, I can recognize it's the same kind of crack (same general width and depth).
However, the cracks have different shapes. The cracks of your 35-1 are only present at the front of the keel, and they are at an angle, actually resembling a smile. The cracks on the 38-3 I visited are perfectly horizontal and extend all along the keel. Does your 35-1 have a deep bilge, like the 38-3 I visited? If it doesn't, that would explain the difference. As for the washers, they are present under the bolt nuts. Visually, they do not seem degraded to me. But I'm not confident that a problem is always visually detectable. One of the items in the album I linked originally is a video. The camera gets quite close to the bolts. Here's the link again: https://photos.app.goo.gl/6RCU4JpoorAXvxe99 Thank you, Olivier On Thu, May 9, 2019, 20:02 Dennis C. via CnC-List <cnc-list@cnc-list.com> wrote: > Probably a simple case of the "C&C smile". This has been discussed ad > nauseum on this list. Many of us on this list have experienced it and > repaired it. > > In its most frequent occurrence, properly torquing the keel bolts and > epoxying a couple layers of glass tape over it will fix it. Here's some > pics of the smile on my 35-1: > > http://www.cncphotoalbum.com/doityourself/smile/index.htm > > That smile was fixed by torquing the keel bolts, digging out some crumbly > stuff at the hull/keel interface, filling the dug out areas with epoxy > glass, layering 4 inch biaxial tape over the hull/keel joint, fairing and > painting. 20 years and 14,000 nautical miles of sailing in all conditions > later, it has not recurred. > > Many of us on the list have similar experience with the smile. > > Very infrequently, more action is required. This involves dropping the > keel and resealing the joint. There may be a void or two or a structural > weakness around one or more of the keel bolts. Again, this has only been > observed infrequently. There are folks on this list that have experience > with that. > > Again, the most common occurrence is fixed by properly torquing the > bolts. Here's a link to the torque specs posted on the C&C site: > http://www.cncphotoalbum.com/doityourself/torquebolts/torquebolts.htm > > It was hard to tell in your pics, what is under the keel bolt nuts? > Another critical piece of fixing the smile is stainless washers or plates > under the nuts. Many early C&C's had steel plates which degraded allowing > the keel bolts to become loose. > > Dennis C. > Touche' 35-1 #83 > Mandeville, LA > > On Thu, May 9, 2019 at 6:25 PM Olivier Chatot via CnC-List < > cnc-list@cnc-list.com> wrote: > >> Hi all, >> >> I'm considering buying a C&C 38 Mk3, but I've noticed something on the >> keel that worries me. >> >> There is a horizontal crack on both sides of the keel. The cracks stretch >> almost the full length of the keel. It's present at the same depth on both >> sides, but it's more noticeable starboard. (see drawing) >> >> The cracks are at the same depth as the keel bolts in the bilge (see >> photo). The keel bolts seem to be all in good condition. >> >> The crack is approx 43 cm (17 inch) lower than the base of the belly of >> the hull, measured from the outside. >> >> Drawing, and photo&video of the bilge here: >> https://photos.app.goo.gl/6RCU4JpoorAXvxe99 >> >> By the way, this C&C 38 has the wing keel option. >> >> Have you seen something like this before? >> Do you think this is superficial, or structural? >> In your opinion, is it a deal-breaker for the purchase? >> >> Any opinion, comment and advise is greatly appreciated. >> >> Olivier >> _______________________________________________ >> >> Thanks everyone for supporting this list with your contributions. Each >> and every one is greatly appreciated. If you want to support the list - >> use PayPal to send contribution -- https://www.paypal.me/stumurray >> >> _______________________________________________ > > Thanks everyone for supporting this list with your contributions. Each > and every one is greatly appreciated. If you want to support the list - > use PayPal to send contribution -- https://www.paypal.me/stumurray > >
_______________________________________________ Thanks everyone for supporting this list with your contributions. Each and every one is greatly appreciated. If you want to support the list - use PayPal to send contribution -- https://www.paypal.me/stumurray
