Keel Bolt Location/Question (New Owner - first sailboat)

[ICW]

Hello to all,

I'm a new sailboat owner (never sailed before so green and ignorant) and have been watching for an inexpensive sailboat for a few years now and finally found one that fit my requirements (size, price, condition, etc). It is a '73 MacGregor Venture 2-24 that has been gutted and has almost all the parts. So here is my question... As I sand and paint and redo everything I wanted to check on the keel bolt but discovered that one of the previous owners appears to have fiber-glassed over the main bolt and then left the locking bolt in while sailing because what I believe is the locking bolt is all bent up as if the keel was banging against it bending the middle back and the bolt-head and nut towards the front arcing the bolt shape.

Can one of you confirm I am interpreting the manual correctly and seeing what I think I see? In the picture I believe "A" is the main keel bolt, "B" is the locking bolt, and "C" is a mystery bolt that I can't figure out. (Picture orientation is bow to the left and stern to the right.) Can one of you guys here offer any insight?

Thank you in advance!

-Mike

[Wyb2]

I think you are right about A and B. C could either be a bulkhead support bolt (is there anything on the other side?) or maybe just holding a rubber bumper inside the keel trunk.

Here is another thread with some pictures of a V22.

viewtopic.php?t=29513

[topcat0399]

A = pivot bolt (silly guy glassed this over, maybe to stop water ingress?)
B = Keel Locking Bolt
C= Keel Bump Stop Bolt (stops unlocked keel from smashing back end of keel trunk)

Many of us that sail in skinny waters rarely lock the keel down,
and in that case the Keel Locking Bolt acts as the Keel Bump Stop Bolt and
the Keel Lock Down Bolt gets all bendy because it gets slammed by the keel regularly.

I have the same boat.

Meat lovers with onion delivered pronto please....

[ICW]

Thank you guys! I have a new Pivot Bolt that came with the boat so I guess part of my project will be to grind down to the existing pin and replace it (and repair whatever he was trying to cover up!). I greatly appreciate the replies. And the point of the "C" bolt make sense now.

[topcat0399]

I'd probably just take a hammer and a sharp wood chisel to that blister of glass.

I try my best to avoid laying a rotary tool to fiberglass inside a boat until absolutely necessary.
I've a bunch of grinding coming up again and I already feel itchy....