Restoration of 1981 C-22 swing keel #10580

[CloudDiver]

Hi Everyone,

I'm Luke in San Diego, CA and I just bought hull #10580 on Sep 26th from Dana Point, formerly named "Miranda" and before that "Little Explorer" I believe...

A big Thanks to Capt Don, he let me take measurements off of his trailers so I could get the bunks set up on my trailer (the boat did not come with one). I bough a used tandem axle galvanized trailer for $300, great deal huh? Not really. The frame is worth every penny of 300 I paid... no rust, solid I beam construction; but everything else, and I mean eveything besides the frame was rusted to failure. So after a week of 'laser surgery' with my plasma cutter I got off the old rusted U bolts, axles, springs, wheels etc. $2000 later I have new 3500 lb galvanized axles on 2000 lb springs, new hubs, aluminum wheels and tires, galvanized U bolts, rollers, etc.

Long and short of it is I spent $800 on the boat and $2000 on the trailer!
In Dana Point we craned the boat out of the water with lifting straps (more on that later) on Sep 26th and the boat fit perfectly on the trailer. It towed the 90 miles home flawlessly so I got my money's worth from the new trailer parts and its rock solid. At the end of the day I won't be trailering the boat very far but everyone always says how much better a tandem is than a single axle. Also, if I ever decide to keep the boat in the water full time and sell the trailer I'll get my money back and then some. A $150 upgrade to a set of 3500 lb springs makes the trailer capable of taking a 3 ton boat. You get a 25 ft (maybe more) power boat on this thing easy, the bunks are totally adjustable as well as the keel rollers.

 

[CloudDiver]

Once I got it home I was able to slip it into my garage.... yes, I have it inside. I'm blessed to have a 37 ft deep garage with a 10 ft overhead. My door is only 8 ft high so the mast has to come off and I store it hung up on a 60 ft fence down the side of my house. Otherwise the hull clears the door frame with about 3 inches on either side and plenty over the top.
I don't back the trailer all the way in with my truck, thats just way too hairy. I have a bit of an incline on my driveway, not too severe but enough to make backing up a trailer into the door a real PTA. So I back it up to the door, chock the wheels and drop the trailer. Then I use a Warn winch and a couple of snatch blocks with anchors bolted into the concrete all the way on the back wall of the garage to gently pull the trailer into the space in a controlled fashion. Sounds complicated, but its really not. A little time consuming to do for every sail so when the rehab is done my ideal situation would be to keep the boat at a marina on the trailer, stick up, and ramp launch or crane launch.

For now I have it inside and I can do my work in a climate controlled space with direct and easy acsess to all of my tools, power, and coffee!

 

[CloudDiver]

For the last two weeks since I got it into the garage I have been cleaning the boat out and removing all the hardware, getting prepared to lift the hull off the trailer so I can drop the keel. Later I will flip the hull over to do the bottom and once repainted flip back over and restore the cabin.
I am amazed by how much STUFF can come out of one little boat. Luckily I have an evelvated 4 x 8 platform at the back of the garage that makes a great place to store all of the interior cushions and cockpit cushions. I can also fit all of the wood-work up there too and probably the pulpits as well. Big Tetris game really. I won't need to touch any of that stuff for a few months.
Right now I'm still in the process of removing the last few bits of interior parts and hardware. Only have one window removed so far. I have to make a dump run to get rid of all the useless junk (not actual boat parts, just PO stuff) that came out of the cabin and lockers.
I have already fixed the keel cable that was broken using the Catalina Direct kit, and replaced the original and totally rusted to hell winch. I got my winch from another source for 1/2 the price of the Catalina Direct winch at 1/2 the price and free shipping, it is the exact Dutton Lainson 1200 lb galvanized brake winch that is required.
https://www.etrailer.com/Winches/Dutton-Lainson/DL14934.html

 

[HillbillyWanderer]

Why are you planning to flip it to paint it? Pros/Cons?

 

[CloudDiver]

From Catalina Direct I have also ordered the new style bow Ubolt and plasic backing block and the 1/2" Rudder gudgeons. Both of these will come into play when I need to flip the hull over so they must be strengthened. Ran into two issues that I could use some feedback on.
For the bow U-bolt, I have it test fit and installed without epoxy. When I am ready to permanently expoxy into place I need install the U-bolt for the clamping pressure because there just doesn't seem to be any other way to get that sucker clamped in. I don't want to have the U Bolt permanently glued in because I will want it off to paint the hull and bed the bow-shield and Ubolt last. My first thought is just to use heat on the U-bolt after the epoxy is cured to free it, but that is going to be a great deal of heat. Also, I can wax the crap out of the U-bolt, threads, nuts, etc. I think the wax is the best way to go. Thoughts?

For the new gudgeons, I have a sheet of 1/2" marine plywood standing by for backing plates. I'm fairly certain 1/2" is over-kill but my local lumber supplier (NOT Home-Depot, a REAL lumber yard) did not have anything in stock other than 1/2 inch with marine certified adhesive... I'm sure 1/2" will work fine, but 1/4" would probably have been better, maybe 3/8" being ideal.
Anyway, looking at the bottom gudgeon from sticking my head down into the port cockpit hatch I see so no backing plate on it at all which is why there are stress cracks in the gel coat all around the gudgeon. Backing plate, easy fix. For the upper gudgeon, we all know from many other sources, I cut a 4 1/2" access hole bottom center in the cockpit liner so I can get to the backing nuts. The problem I ran into is a huge blob of some kind of stiff adhesive foam. This looks like what the factory put in to hold the nuts in fast so they could tighten the gudgeon screws. I have already been able to remove one of the screws but put it right back. I reckon the best course here to go ahead and take the gudgeon and screws off and then chisel that foamy mess off the fiberglass. It will be a pain in that tight space but I see no other way unless anyone else has delt with this issue and has a better suggestion? Then end result I'm looking for is a single 1/2" inch marine plywood backing plate, epoxy sealed, that goes top to bottom in the transom and upgrade to 5/16" bolts to mount the gudgeons.

 

[Stu Jackson]

If you're going to lift it to service the keel, paint the hull then, no need to flip it.

We used to have #10496! Small world. Great boat.

 

[CloudDiver]

Hull flipping for bottom paint

Why are you planning to flip it to paint it? Pros/Cons?

Hillbilly,

If you join the Catalina Association and get the 300 page C-22 Tech manual you will see an article about how to flip the hull using two Cherry Pickers (standard automotive engine hoist). I have one and can borrow a second from my neighbor for a day. Using the bow eye (new style) and upper gudgeon (1/2") as the axis points it fairly simple to flip the hull. You can also use this method to get the boat off the trailer, sans the flip, as long as you do this outdoors with enough room to pull the trailer out to the side because the cherry picker at the bow would be in the way to pull the trailer forward.

I think most people would agree that scraping, sanding, and applying new bottom paint is much easier, less time consuming, and less messy on an inverted hull rather than on your back!

 

[CloudDiver]

If you're going to lift it to service the keel, paint the hull then, no need to flip it.

We used to have #10496! Small world. Great boat.

That was my initial plan until I read the flipping article in the tech manual. Since I already have the equipment I might as well invert it. There will much scraping and sanding to do since I am going from anti-foul bottom paint to regular hull paint since this boat will no longer remain in the water permanently. I'm not too excited about doing all that work on my back.

 

[Time_Out]

CloudDriver, it sounds like you have an ideal setup to get this done. Enjoy the process, and share the pics!

 

[CloudDiver]

Off the Trailer and on Stands

I got a good deal of heavy lifing done this weekend. The hull is now off the trailer and on Brownell stands.

I had to re-engineer my hoist arrangement. On my test lift I almost tore out some ceiling joists. I sistered the engineered plywood joists with 30 inches of 2x4 on each side and then through bolted my anchor bar with 3/8 x 6" bolts. After doing that and getting a better 2 inch strap the front lifted fine with the transom already on stands so I could roll the trailer out from under. Then I set the bow down on the front stands.

On the rear I laminated an athwartships 'bunk' from 3 layers x 3 wide strips of 3/4 x 3 pine. When I tested the stands initially the pads were pushing on the unsupported hull which could have done some damage. The laminated lumber follows the curve of the transom and distributes the wieght just like the trailer bunks. Up curve of the hull is too sharp just in front of the keel where I put the forward stands but I found the area was plenty strong enough to be supported by the stand pads.
This was my first hoist set up, it failed. Didn't break off but pulled one lag screw out. On the second attempt I kept the angle iron but cut out more drywall, sistered the joists, and then used the long through bolts.

 

[CloudDiver]

Keel Off

With unlimited access to the under hull I was able to roll a small lift and pallet under the centerline. I modified a regular shipping pallet as a swing keel holder with vertical 2x4 supports.

After digging around the bedding compound with a putty knife I found the bolts and scraped away the mess. To my relief the bolts came loose with no galling or cross threads. It was obvious that everthing had been previously bedded properly and the bolt threads were sealed with silicone or a softer bedding compound. No major corrosion or damage on the bolts at all, and nothing wrong with the weldment threads, I'll just clean them with acetone. Thankfully I wont have to dig into the glass to replace those weldments!

With the pallet lifted up under the keel and the cable tension released I just gave the stern end a shake or two which helped the bronze castings pull free of the bedding compound and the keel dropped about .25 inch into the waiting pallet. I pulled the cotter pin and securing pin from the cable lifting eye and then I lowered the lift and just rolled it away!


1st Pic in the cradle, 2nd pic is what it looked like in the slot....

 

[CaptDon01]

Re: Keel Off

Can't wait to see some photos!

Don

 

[CloudDiver]

Here is a fun pic... Cockpit cushions had some mildew. I gave them a once over with SoftScub and they look almost new after. 3 out of 4 zippers are corroded shut so I will replace them later.

 

[CloudDiver]

My Main before a wash, not in too bad of shape. The Jib is far worse. The Genoa was hardly ever touched. I soaked it in hot soapy water and light bleach solution overnight in the bathtub, the water left in the tub was deep brown/yellow. When I scrubbed it a bit more in the driveway I had a large white tarp underneath it so the dacron wasn't on the concrete.

 

[CloudDiver]

This where I drilled the hole for the inspection cover that will give me access to the rudder gudgeon hardware. What you see is that hard filler foam I was talking about. I think I'll have to go after this with sharp chisels. My new backing board will be one piece of 1/2" marine plywood that goes top to bottom on the transom.

 

[CloudDiver]

This is where I cleared all the hardware off the bow. I over bored all the 1/4" holes to 5/16 and counterbored just a bit. All the holes will get resin filled and re-drilled later. That chain hauser has to go, looking for something smaller.

 

[CloudDiver]

This is one of the MOST interesting pics for anyone who has a Swing Keel C22... What you are looking at is where I chipped away some of the Paint/fairing epoxy coat right down to the porous cast iron using a mallet and chisel type paint scrapper. Forgive the nasty analogy, but it was as if you picked off a scab and watched the blood rise out of the freshly exposed dermal blood vessels... yes, the cast iron was BLEEDING moisture!

 

[CloudDiver]

So my plan for the keel is to have it professionally sand blasted and then put in an oven at low temp, 140 to 180 degrees, to ensure all the moisture gets out of the cast iron. I will pick it up as soon as it comes out of the oven and get the first coat of epoxy on it within 90 minutes or less. Talking to WEST System technical support this is the best way to go, having an epoxy primer sprayed or hot galvanize spray is not needed if I can get the unthickened epoxy on it quickly after it is cleaned. I plan to do multiple barrier coats on top of each other before the each coat fully cures so I won't need to sand between coats. I will probably have the keel suspended from my engine hoist for this process.

 

[CloudDiver]

The Volcano after I removed the old Winch and took off the tube... yes, the turning ball is in that mess somewhere!

What the turning ball looked like after I got it out;

The Catalina Direct Kit before I installed it with the new winch;

 

[CaptDon01]

Luke,

Just a suggestion, when I refinished the keel on my first C-22, I had it sandblasted, then brought it home and started rolling on multiple coats of Interlux 2000/2001 epoxy barrier coat, (and it makes one heck of a primer for steel/iron). This stuff has lot's of solvents so it will quickly get into every nook and cranny in the cast iron and I just kept rolling coat after coat about every 45 minutes or so to build up a nice coat fairly quickly. After it cured, I did the keel fairing with thickened WEST epoxy.

Nice set-up there for working on the boat!

Keep them photos coming!

Don