Keel pivot bolt hole repair

caguy · Apr 14, 2010

I posted thatsometi,e ago and donlt rrecall. The clearance is large. You may find it in the archives. I got it from Magregor in Costa Mesa Ca, I'm pretty sure its a 5/8'' hole for a 1/2'' bolt.

old guys sail · Apr 23, 2010

The diagram I got from Blue Water for my 1980 V22 is a 11/26" hole for a 5/8" bolt.

Nik · Apr 23, 2010

First off, I do not have a swing keel nor have ever repaired one. But, from past experiences with cast; welding cast iron with out being able to pre and post heat, welding, generally (almost allways) leads to trouble. Depending on what kind of shop you have and available tools (IMHO). I would machine out the hole to round and press fit a CI bushing in (same metals), if that isn't possible I would opt for naval bonze and then hard brass as a last resort. But that depends (to a degree) on whether you are in salt or fresh water (galvanic corrosion issues). As for regular epoxie repairs for this, I am not familiar. But, I have had success with the DEVCON metal and ceramic epoxies in extreme environments. Has any one tried these in this application? Just some other ideas that I hope may help.

Nik

Robeon · Apr 27, 2010

I just had my keel powder coated. Here are some pics of the installation of the keel. I had the springs and axle out so I just lowered the boat onto the keel. Lining up the pivot bolt was the hardest part.

Sumner · May 4, 2010

Edlk said:
Here is my plan, I would appreciate any opinions on this before I do it.
The keel bolt hole in my keel is oval shaped, it is about twice the width of the bolt.
I plan on attaching a 3/16" steel plate to both sides of the keel covering the hole .
I will then drill out the plates and weld in a 1/8" thick steel bushing.
I then plan on pouring the void inside the plates and oval hole full of lead and then finishing by welding the two plates together across the top of the keel with another piece of 3/16" steel.
I have check the clearances inside the keel cavity and with a little grinding of the whole assembly this will fit.
This should transfer all the carrying of the keel to the new plates that are pined through the keel 4 Inches into the "meat" of the keel.
Thoughts???

I'd make a larger bushing (lathe) and bore (not drill) the hole out larger with a mill and then make the hole an interference fit and maybe drill and tap some holes around the circumference of the bushing and put set screws in them if you had any concerns about the bushing working loose. The tapped holes would be have in the bushing and half in the keel.

You might have to have a machine shop do this, but I can't imagine it taking that long. If you lived nearby I'd do it. Your plan seems like a lot of work and I'd be very careful dealing with molten lead. The fumes are not good for you and be sure there is no moisture involved. If you are doing it for a weight gain I'd forget that as I don't think it is that safe to work with and I don't think you would be gaining that much weight.

Good luck,

Sum

Our Trips to Lake Powell, UT - Kootenay Lake, Canada - Priest Lake, ID

Our Mac Pages

Mac Links

Sumner · May 8, 2010

Edlk said:
What is the difference between drilling and boring?
I am doing the lead to fill in the voids left around the bushing from the oval hole.
Ed

A drill, even in a drill press, can't make a precision hole and there is a good chance if you have a bushing it will start wobbling around in the hole and then you just have another problem. The other problem is you are going to need a large bit to make a hole large enough for the bushing to go into. I have bits up to 1 inch and they are fine for drilling holes to attach two pieces together with a bolt that is drawn up tight.

For what you are doing it would be ideal if the bushing was a press fit into the keel and a boring bar in a mill....

....can make the hole you need pretty fast and very accurate. I might still stake the pieces with the set screws at the bushing/keel interface as depending on what you use for the bushing it might expand and/or contract at different rates than the keel and become loose.

This all sounds complicated, but if I had the keel here I could do it in less than 2 hours and I would think a machine shop could do it very quickly also and if they had a different solution I'd listen to it.

If you had a drill large enough to handle a 1 inch bit you could probably drill the hole and make a bushing out of some 1 inch stock and drill a hole in the center of it for the pivot pin and then stake it in and you would most likely be good to go. The keel isn't exactly a precision high speed piece of hardware in the first place

.

I'd do one of the above though over all that you had in mind, but good luck whatever course you take,

Sum

Our Trips to Lake Powell, UT - Kootenay Lake, Canada - Priest Lake, ID

Our Mac Pages

MacGregor/Venture Links

Sumner · May 9, 2010

Edlk said:
Yes, I agree on the installation of the bushing.
WHat I am most concerned about is that there is less than one inch of 'meat" left between the hole and the top edge of the keel. So the resulting new bushing would be counting on less than 1 inch wide and 1" thick of cast iron to hold the keel.
That is why I wanted add the plate stock that can be bolted through the keel below the hole and help carry the weight of the keel?

Ed

A couple things....one is that the bushing wouldn't just be trying to pull out of the keel at the thinest place, but through all of the metal supporting the bushing over 1/2 of its diameter.

Another is if there is room above the bushing put maybe a 1 inch by 6 inch long 1/8 or 3/16 inch thick strap that is screwed into the keel across the thinner section. This wouldn't do much to strengthen it, but would be like a safety sling across the thin part.

Another is isn't the weight of the keel on that thinner part only while it is up? When down isn't the weight now pulling on the bolt/bushing in an area with a lot more meat to it? The drawing above is from a 22 isn't yours similar? Ignore the arrows, they are there for another post.

I'm not there looking at it, so in the end you are the only one that can make the call on what you feel will work and be safe,

Sum

Our Trips to Lake Powell, UT - Kootenay Lake, Canada - Priest Lake, ID

Our Mac Pages

MacGregor/Venture Links

Keel pivot bolt hole repair

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Attachments

.

.

.

.

.

.