Keel Lock-Pin Hole Repair - Swing-Keel V222

[cookwithgas]

My last trip out to the lake was the first time I actually locked down the keel. Normally I just let it hang down and keep the boat level. The boat is always bone-dry inside the cabin. This time I let the boat lean a lot and it was fun because I locked the rudder in the down position and had no worries about a knockdown. The problem is that I got some water in the boat because of the huge hole that has managed to wallow out over the last 33 years. I had big rubber washers in place so it did not leak before. After about two hours I had a half-inch of water on the cabin floor and a little more in the inside under the seats. The pictures below explain why the water splashed in:

This is the keel pivot bolt I replaced when I first got the boat - it's in good shape and does not leak:


Here is the bad hole for the locking pin:


Here is a pin that fits the keel hole showing how enlarged the holes in the hull have become- this pin has no head on it and it is the diameter of the keel hole:


I guess the obvious answer is to add fiberglass and resin, then re-drll the hole. The problem is that it will be difficult to drill the hole in the exact place to line up with the keel after it is repaired with the boat on the trailer. The other problem is that these areas are very difficult to access - especially the inside hole. One idea I have is to reach up under the boat, apply some tape to the insides of the holes (assuming I can get my hand up in there), then fill them inside the cabin with West Systems epoxy and filler and some glass. After it dries I could simply drill a new hole and hope it is in line with the keel hole. If not, drill it a little larger until it fits, then live with a small leak. If I drill the hole centered with the big hole shown in picture two, it will be pretty close.

I would like to be able to insert a pin from the outside and not have to reach up under the seat and put a nut, then tighten each time I want to lock down the keel or retract it. I plan to put a swinging door on the inside of the big hole that fits tightly and will be slid closed after inserting the pin - this will hold the pin captive and also prevent splashing inside the cabin in the event it does leak a little - any water would be contained under the seats where it can be pumped out with the sump pump if necessary.

Is there a better solution?

Thanks in advance for any help.

Aubrey Scott in Texas

[Bob McLellan]

Another idea would be to get the boat up and drop the keel into place (or you could do this with the boat in the water) and insert a straw or even a dowel into the locking bolt position, then add glass and resin around around the inserted item. Once set up pull the insert or drill into it, if a dowel was used, then you can add reinforcement with additional layers, knowing the correct position for the hole.

[THE CUSCUS]

You can apply some mold release agent (sorta like wax after it dries) to you lock pin, then insert it through the keel as it should be, and then epoxy around it to make you repair. When the epoxy dries, the pin should be easy to remove.
or you could
fix one side, then drill it out using the keel as a drill guide and then repair the other side and drill from the already fixed side.
or.....
just epoxy the holes shut and be done with the lock pin! Unless you're out on the ocean with big waves, you're just asking for trouble with the keel locked. If its locked down and you hit something with the keel it will damage the trunk (could be how yours got the way it is).

[cookwithgas]

OK - here's what I did last night. I got a 7" section of 2X4 and jammed it up in the keel well from under the boat. A 2X4 is the perfect width to fit up in the well. This provided a back for the holes to be filled. I put a drywall screw with a rope so I could pull the 2x4 out when finished.

I put some Elmer's type glue on the wood to provide a mold release. Here's what it looks like from inside the cabin seeing the 2X4 behind the hole:



I then mixed up some West Systems Epoxy and high density filler in a cup adding the HD filler until I got a peanut butter consistency. This is so it would not run. I smeared this over the hole and inside the hole, then covered with a single layer of fiberglass and added some epoxy resin on top. I did this for both sides (the inside was a challenge with my head in down in a hole) and left it for the night to dry.

Here's what it looks like through the inspection hole:



I put duct tape around the inspection hole to keep it free of resin during application. Here is the general location of the hole:



Tonight I will drill out the first hole and just wait till I get in the water next time before drilling the inside hole through the keel.

Happy Sailing,

Aubrey Scott in Texas

[cookwithgas]

Last night I had time to check the epoxy and it is indeed rock-hard. I was able to remove the 2x4 from under the boat with a little coaxing, so the Elmers glue provided adequate release to the epoxy. The reason I didn't get a chance to do anything else is because I helped my daughter put the finishing touches to her mousetrap vehicle project for her high school physics class. Here are a few photos:

,

We got almost 100 feet on the best run last night. I'm hoping she sets a new record.

Happy Sailing,

Aubrey Scott in Texas

[heinzir]

I did a similar repair on my V23 last winter. Here is a link to the discussion:

http://www.macgregorsailors.com/forum/v ... 10&t=14716

[cookwithgas]

UPDATE ** Last week I took the boat out for several hours and ended up with about ten gallons of Joe Pool lake in the bilge. It was splashing through the newly drilled, smaller keel lock pin hole. I was just using a stainless steel pin stuck through the hole to lock the keel in place. Last night I welded up a new solution:




With this I can screw the pin in place and seal the hole. The rubber washers should seal up the hole and prevent the splashing. I welded some stainless bar across the wingnut so I could pull the pin out easier.

I'll let you know how this works as soon as the snow melts here in North Texas.

Aubrey Scott in Texas.

[vizwhiz]

too cool! I need some more "toys"!! (like a welder and a drill-press and a cut-off saw and a sewing machine and a...)

And the mouse-trap car is a cool project!

[Catigale]

(mouse trap car leads me to a threadswipe)

A couple years ago Caitlin came back from school bummed ...

She had built a 12 inch trebuchet model - one of the obnoxious boys at school was building a 2 foot high trebuchet which was 2x the size of hers...and getting in her face about it...

so......off to the hardware store




Bang Bang bang saw saw saw...(like in Monty Python and the Holy Grail...)






...and ....squeak...squeak...squeak....




Are you feeling lucky, punk ????

(we now return your thread to you...)