| Author | Message | ||
     Scott Corder (Pastcommodore) Rating: N/A |
Jeff, I can't address your SS bolt questions, but you seem to have knowledge of those matters anyway. As for removal of the keel, ours went rather smoothly. We were able to clean the resulting surfaces very well. We did not use epoxy when re-attaching for the same reasons you mentioned. I don't recall what we used, but it was probably something like silicon on the interior surfaces and some easy-to-remove glassing and fairing compound on the exterior areas of the joint. The keel is held on entirely by the keel bolts. The remaining adhesion is simply for waterproofing and fairing purposes. Here's a huge opportunity for you: After removing the keel, look at the top surface to locate the official weight of the keel when built. It should be a number stamped in the lead. Although the boat was originally delivered with a keel weight certificate, you may not have received it at purchase. This will allow you to verify what the keel supplier determined the weight to be. The designed weight was specified as 3250 lbs. Secondly, ask to have the keel weighed while it is off the boat. This will allow you to actually verify its actual weight It basically goes without saying that this is a very rare opportunity for you to know the keel's actual weight with confidence. It is not often that we have the keels off our boats. Should you ever feel compelled to pursue further fairing of the keel, you'll want to know how your keel weight will be affected with confidence. The price you were quoted seems quite reasonable given the work being done. |
