Keel pins snapped
Posted: Sun Nov 27, 2016 7:10 pm
Hi,
While winding up the keel after a club race this autumn, it was just getting near to the top when it started getting a bit stiffer. I carried on and CLUNK- the keel dropped like a stone- something had snapped . I was sat astride the keel box when winding and can confirm, through the seat of my pants, that the keel actually bounced once when it got to its fully down position.
I got the boat up the beach and got a line round the keel- and then got the boat off the water a few weeks later with no problems- now to fix the keel.
There used to be loads of diagrams, photos etc. on this site of the keel mechanism- but many of these images are now gone. Anyone know where I can see them?
I've had the inspection cover off and can confirm to my relief that neither the main rod thread nor the threaded saddle appear to be stripped- in fact it all looks to be in surprisingly good condition and moving nicely- apart from the small part of the linkage that's snapped.
There is little space in there to see- but it looks like the saddle has a simple linkage beneath it consisting of two flat rectangular cross section rods- one each side. These seem to have at the bottom a rod about 8mm in cross section that goes through them and through a hole transversely through the keel- or perhaps a narrower section of keel bolted onto the back of the casting. It's this bottom transverse pin that's sheared- both ends at the same time presumably. It might have been two pins, one each side- it's quite mangled and hard to see. Perhaps one side snapped months ago and it was lifting the whole weight of the keel with just the pin one side- until that finally snapped?
A few questions:
What is/ are this pin/ pins made of?
Where can I get a replacement?
Should I replace the top pins in this linkage while I'm in there?
How do I get the old one out and the new one in?
It looks like it was some sort of peened over pin- perhaps bronze- there doesn't appear to be space in there for a nut and bolt- will I need any special tools, heat etc?
I also can't see how I will knock it out or get the new one in without removing the main keel bolt and lifting the boat off the keel- which is something I'd like to avoid. It looks like with the keel fully down this pin will not be below the hull line and therefore not easy to knock out- nor does it look like I would be able to perform the repair through the access hatch as the hatch only gives access to one side and might not be in the right place anyway.
Could it just be easier (than lifting the boat, removing the keel etc.) cutting access holes in the appropriate place each side of the keel box, effecting the repair, then glassing up the access holes again? I'm better equipped to work with epoxy, laminates etc than I am the heavy work of lifting the boat, moving the keel etc.
While winding up the keel after a club race this autumn, it was just getting near to the top when it started getting a bit stiffer. I carried on and CLUNK- the keel dropped like a stone- something had snapped . I was sat astride the keel box when winding and can confirm, through the seat of my pants, that the keel actually bounced once when it got to its fully down position.
I got the boat up the beach and got a line round the keel- and then got the boat off the water a few weeks later with no problems- now to fix the keel.
There used to be loads of diagrams, photos etc. on this site of the keel mechanism- but many of these images are now gone. Anyone know where I can see them?
I've had the inspection cover off and can confirm to my relief that neither the main rod thread nor the threaded saddle appear to be stripped- in fact it all looks to be in surprisingly good condition and moving nicely- apart from the small part of the linkage that's snapped.
There is little space in there to see- but it looks like the saddle has a simple linkage beneath it consisting of two flat rectangular cross section rods- one each side. These seem to have at the bottom a rod about 8mm in cross section that goes through them and through a hole transversely through the keel- or perhaps a narrower section of keel bolted onto the back of the casting. It's this bottom transverse pin that's sheared- both ends at the same time presumably. It might have been two pins, one each side- it's quite mangled and hard to see. Perhaps one side snapped months ago and it was lifting the whole weight of the keel with just the pin one side- until that finally snapped?
A few questions:
What is/ are this pin/ pins made of?
Where can I get a replacement?
Should I replace the top pins in this linkage while I'm in there?
How do I get the old one out and the new one in?
It looks like it was some sort of peened over pin- perhaps bronze- there doesn't appear to be space in there for a nut and bolt- will I need any special tools, heat etc?
I also can't see how I will knock it out or get the new one in without removing the main keel bolt and lifting the boat off the keel- which is something I'd like to avoid. It looks like with the keel fully down this pin will not be below the hull line and therefore not easy to knock out- nor does it look like I would be able to perform the repair through the access hatch as the hatch only gives access to one side and might not be in the right place anyway.
Could it just be easier (than lifting the boat, removing the keel etc.) cutting access holes in the appropriate place each side of the keel box, effecting the repair, then glassing up the access holes again? I'm better equipped to work with epoxy, laminates etc than I am the heavy work of lifting the boat, moving the keel etc.