Claims
Keel damage after grounding
| Sign | What it usually indicates |
|---|---|
| Smile crack at the hull-keel joint | The joint has worked; sealant failure at minimum |
| Cracked or crazed tabbing on internal floors | Structural loading has reached the grid |
| Weeping or rust-stained keel bolts | Water in the joint, possibly for some time |
| Keel bolts that will not hold torque | Compressed or damaged laminate under the backing plates |
| Deformed or lifted floor pans | Serious structural event |
| Leading-edge crush damage only | Often the least significant part of the loss |
Insured impacts and pre-existing keel conditions
Striking the bottom is a sudden accidental event, and navigational error is not itself an exclusion in most Australian marine wordings. What complicates keel claims is condition: if the joint was already weeping, if a previous grounding was repaired cosmetically, or if a survey recommendation about keel bolts was never actioned, the insurer will argue that the pre-existing state caused or contributed to the damage.
- Pre-existing smile cracks documented in an earlier survey.
- Keel bolts never inspected on a boat old enough to need it.
- A previous grounding repaired without structural inspection.
- Survey recommendations about the keel joint left outstanding.
- Encapsulated keels where water has been in the cavity for years.
Keel inspections after grounding
- Check the bilge immediately and keep checking it for the next several days.
- Notify the insurer even if nothing appears wrong. A notified event with no claim costs you nothing; an unreported one is hard to attach later.
- Get the boat lifted and inspected rather than relying on a diver's look.
- Have the cabin sole lifted and the floors and keel bolts inspected and photographed.
- Keep the full report — including the parts that found nothing — as your baseline.
Encapsulated, bolted and lifting keels
Bolted keels
The bolts, backing plates and floors are the claim. Ask specifically whether bolt torque was checked and whether any bolt was withdrawn for inspection.
Encapsulated keels
Damage is to the laminate and the ballast cavity. Water entering the cavity can sit there for years, and by the time it is found the insurer's argument about gradual deterioration is a strong one.
Lifting and swing keels
These add a mechanism — the lifting ram, the pivot pin, the cable and the case — each of which can be damaged in a grounding and each of which may attract a wear exclusion. Check how the policy treats the lifting gear as distinct from the keel.
Read the wording before you need it
Almost every disputed marine claim turns on a definition, an exclusion or a condition the owner had never read. The PDS guide explains which sections decide claims.
Related guides
- Boat Insurance Claims Australia: Incidents and Disputes
- Grounding Boat Insurance Claims Australia
- Rudder Damage Insurance Claims
- Pre-Purchase Survey vs Insurance Survey
- Boat Insurance Exclusions Explained
- Product Disclosure Statement Guide for Boat Insurance