Hi Jeremy,
Moody keel studs (not bolts except in the Moody 33's) are a cause of concern to many surveyors because they were carbon steel rather than the austenitic stainless steel used by most modern boatbuilders. This inevitably leads to rusting when seawater gets into the bilge (e.g. when withdrawing the log transducer to clean weed off it) which always looks a lot worse than it is. Provided the keel / hull joint remains sound, there is rarely a problem below the backing plates in the bilge to which the nuts on the studs tighten - many studs have been withdrawn to show their load carrying parts are pristine. However, if the keel/hull joint fails, admitting seawaterthrough the joint to one or more studs, they will start to corrode and this will also risk letting seawater get to the tapped holes in the cast iron keel.
You can read more about this issue here:
To remove most of the saloon sole is a simple screwdriver job. At the aft end you will have to move the companionway ladder out of the way, which is simple and at the forward end you will have to either remove the saloon table, which involves taking it in half because the mast compression post passes through the middle of it, or unscrew the table from the sole and lift it up the compression post, propping it in place clear of the sole enabling you to lift the sole boards.
I believe the M376 is one of the models with the fuel tank ahead of the engine and that at least one keel stud is under the tank. Some models have studs under the engine, but I think not the M376 - can't be sure of that.
The best way to diagnose a failing keel joint is to watch the joint when the boat is being put down kn her keel after lifting out. If water squeezes out of the joint, it is failing - the joint material should be fully bonded to both the grp hull and the cast iron keel. It's quite likely for any water oozing out to be rusty as the top face of the keel will rust if the joint starts to detach from it. This doesn't mean that it has failed all the way in to the studs, but it does mean that the joint will need attention in the next year or two.
If you access the top ends of the studs in the bilge, it's quite likely they will be rusty although that is most often a matter that can be put right by wire brushing and painting. However, if you look in the bilge when the boat is afloat and observe any water leaking up a stud hole, for me that means the keel/hull jont needs remaking now.
An alternative to addressing all this yourself is to make an offer to the vendor, subject to him adressing the issue to your surveyor's satisfaction. If you go this way, it will be interesting to see what your surveyor recommends.
Peter.
