Yes, what we did was take it down to clean bare metal as much as possible and clean it with alcohol or paint thinner then apply the product mentioned above like body putty( only its fiberglass jelly resin) then sand it down with 80 grit orbital sander then the second coat will fill in all the imperfections then we painted it with VanSickle enamel paint with epoxy hardner added to it. The first one was in the water 1 year and is now sitting in the shop and looks great. It has worked for me.
1973 Venture 22 swing keel overhaul/repair
- Thread starter EnginesForward
- Start date
Will the brass or bronze create an electrolisis corrosion problem reacting with the steel of the keel especially in salt water?
The info I received from BWY was to fill the pivot hole with chopped glass fibers and resin and then drill. I had ordered a new pivot bolt,rubber grommets and cupped washers from them. The sent me a 5/8" Dia. SS bolt and nut. They informed me that I would have to redrill the hole to accomodate the larger bolt which would be a lot stronger.
What are your thoughts? Engines Forward.
From Engines Forward:
I sent you my e-mail address I you send me your I will send you photos of the rebuild. I have no luck with transmitting photos on this site.
Engines Forward
I am still in the process of making a lot of mods to my V-22 ie: interior refinish and addition of storage lockers, stereo, lighting, forward cabin ports using clear inspection plates, mast raising system, bow bunk changes to make it more user friendly. Moved the Head to the companionway easier for men to use and better ventilation. also closer to the cockpit area. 1/4 bunks are now storage lockers. starboard side is accessable from the cockpit area via 13"x 19" hatch. and also can be accessed via a door behind the seat back. Port 1/4 bunk has a track system for my stove,galley etc. accessable from a locker door of the cabin.
https://www.fastenal.com/content/feds/pdf/Article - Corrosion.pdf
as you can see by the chart there are many variables when dealing with dissimilar metals i am trailing my boat and able to wash mine down after use If you are going to leave yours in the water a stainless bushing installed at a machine shop is the best way to go . I also have the capability of hoisting off my trailer in my back yard . That swing keel bolt is what we in the helicopter business refer to as the Jesus nut If it comes off you might get keeled do it right
From Engines Forward: What you think id wood grain is most likey "RUST" take a closer look or use a Macro setting to get a picture of whats going on.
last week end was rainy and did not do much except trouble shoot my shot 10 horse chrysler long shaft . Love that yellow on your craft what is her name. I built two aframes out of treated 4x4s attached to my shop and lifted her off my trailer and dropped her on to home made 4x4 horses . You dont need the a frames you can jack the boat off the trailer on to your home made stands . pulling the keel is really simple its handling it once its off thats challenging . I am re installing mine today I will photo the process for you and post it will be easier to explain with pic s Hope you have a fun safe 4 th o July. Here its, well its New Orleans
What you think is wood may well be rust after the fiberglass covering has cracked or is missing. My keel was a mess the fiberglass covering was all busted up and it looke like someone had done a poor patch job. I ended up taking photos of it for reference when I was rebuilding the keel. Haven't had time to try to figure how to transmit photos. Too many pixles of gigabits I'm not real computer literate however I can send them via E-mail if you send me your e-mail address. hdrider2go@yahoo.com
Just starting work on my keel (V21, another 1974) and would love to see photos of other's keel work and their additional boat mods (any version of V/Mac21 or Mac22).
My keel situation...stuck in the well!
https://goo.gl/photos/bCGXLPrs1kcXpykaA
https://goo.gl/photos/GyALwRW9DZFruttg8
https://goo.gl/photos/ijEAsfAq6GuaD8pVA
Would I have had better luck trying to lower the bow end first (jacking it up & pulling pivot bolt, then lowering the aft end). I think it was firmly wedged from the start after a couple years resting on the sandy beach at low tides. The pivot bolt is now out and lowering/raising with the winch (a strenuous tug on the short handle in the cockpit) has no effect on freeing the bound section. The keel seems to rotate around that bound, rust-swollen point. I have removed a six in piece of the delaminated glass and hammered loose a bunch of corrosion from under the remaining delamination.
Thouhts? Thanks!
My keel situation...stuck in the well!
https://goo.gl/photos/bCGXLPrs1kcXpykaA
https://goo.gl/photos/GyALwRW9DZFruttg8
https://goo.gl/photos/ijEAsfAq6GuaD8pVA
Would I have had better luck trying to lower the bow end first (jacking it up & pulling pivot bolt, then lowering the aft end). I think it was firmly wedged from the start after a couple years resting on the sandy beach at low tides. The pivot bolt is now out and lowering/raising with the winch (a strenuous tug on the short handle in the cockpit) has no effect on freeing the bound section. The keel seems to rotate around that bound, rust-swollen point. I have removed a six in piece of the delaminated glass and hammered loose a bunch of corrosion from under the remaining delamination.
Thouhts? Thanks!
Well, I tried getting one in there, but with the delaminating glass flaring out, it is hard to saw. I might try my reciprocating saw next, but the blade is pretty short and I fear cutting into the well/trunk. I also thought of just cutting the keel off about a foot below the hull and takung a sledge to it! LOL
I may go back to that...now that I located the REAL PIVOT BOLT! Hahaha! Seems I mistook some random bolt set at the top of the trunk, maybe 6 inches astern of an elongated hole I though was for the lock pin, as the pivot bolt. I looked under a wooden floor section that wrapped around the aft end of the trunk and under the small sink cabinet and there was another large bolt. It apparently must have been leaking...a PO had taken a small medicine measuring cup and a lid from a spray whip cream container and embedded them in a very thick layer of silicon sealant, then applied a nice layer from the trunk wall to the narrow end to filet around the rims....interesting idea!
The keel is still stuck, however, so back to spray lubricants, wedges and cranking it up/down to free it up. I may wrap a strap around it and see if I can get leverage downward using a long board and the hull support structure I crafted as a fulcrum.
Thanks for the feedback! Fair winds!
The keel is still stuck, however, so back to spray lubricants, wedges and cranking it up/down to free it up. I may wrap a strap around it and see if I can get leverage downward using a long board and the hull support structure I crafted as a fulcrum.
Thanks for the feedback! Fair winds!
I,M also in the middle of restoring my1972 venture 2-24 .when I bought the boat it had no keel . I,ve got the steel core welded up and am getting ready to glass it .since im using it in salt water you guys recommending putting an anode on the keel is that before or after glassing.The boat will be on a trailer when im not out using it so it wont be in the water all the time .Im greatful for any help I get because I only want to do this once.
In my conversations with Blue Water Yachts and other keel restorers, there are variations in keel design and composition between production years of my V21 and other models. Yours might have been a cast iron one. Mine, which I finally was able to remove, has a long 4" by 5/8" bar running the length of the keel at sort of an angle with filler material fore and aft to make it 10 3/4" wide (up to where it flares out for the lead end) then the bottom end of the bar is embedded in a cast lead bulb. (It looks like steel was positioned with some plates extending outward and the lead cast around it to hold it all together.)
Is your total weight in the 400 lbs range to offer enough ballist and counter-weight?
I am not sure you need a zinc on the keel. If sealed completely in glass, it should not be able to conduct current. The pivot bolt in the hull is isolated from other metals, so it doesn't seem to me that would be ansource of corrosion. If the old keel rusted away and delaminated like mine was doing, I'd guess it was because the glass was damaged, perhaps around the pivot bolt or bracket for the winch cable. Others may know better.
If you were to attach a sacraficial zinc, it would have to be on the outside of the glass, seems to me!
Post pictures of your constructed keel steel core?
Here is what mine looks like stripped of all the loose filler and glass:
https://goo.gl/photos/ch2Fpo8snLzL7oZ37
Here is a close up of the lead bulb still mostly encased in polyester and glass.
https://goo.gl/photos/2WxtUbvsYwvjYzdj7
The brass ferrule for the pivot bolt was epoxied into a larger hole.
https://goo.gl/photos/gN8dbW5Hdhkk2VXZA
Good luck with your keel!
Is your total weight in the 400 lbs range to offer enough ballist and counter-weight?
I am not sure you need a zinc on the keel. If sealed completely in glass, it should not be able to conduct current. The pivot bolt in the hull is isolated from other metals, so it doesn't seem to me that would be ansource of corrosion. If the old keel rusted away and delaminated like mine was doing, I'd guess it was because the glass was damaged, perhaps around the pivot bolt or bracket for the winch cable. Others may know better.
If you were to attach a sacraficial zinc, it would have to be on the outside of the glass, seems to me!
Post pictures of your constructed keel steel core?
Here is what mine looks like stripped of all the loose filler and glass:
https://goo.gl/photos/ch2Fpo8snLzL7oZ37
Here is a close up of the lead bulb still mostly encased in polyester and glass.
https://goo.gl/photos/2WxtUbvsYwvjYzdj7
The brass ferrule for the pivot bolt was epoxied into a larger hole.
https://goo.gl/photos/gN8dbW5Hdhkk2VXZA
Good luck with your keel!
thanks like I said my boat didnt have a swing keel when i bought it .I went from photos that came from the internet and good folks like you .Will have to round up some photos of that and other mods. ive done thanks.my keel is made from 1/4" plate steel welded togather.Its 14" wide 1" thick at the trunk end and 2/1/2 " at the deep end by 7' long thats over all length its right around 400 lbs. the main keel is 2" thick with a 1/4" x6" stiffener up each side.hoping to get it glassed up soon hate seeing her just sitting on the trailer .After all I didnt buy a land yacht .happy sailing .
very good I went to your blog our stories are similar except for the bullet holes . As for my keel I treated it after removing x pounds of flaky wakey rust slabs primed it black and painted it white left a stripe close to the bottom bout a zillion coats of each . the hole for the pivot bolt had become large enough to get a canoe through so I installed a bushing some where I found measurements to get the center to center pivot hole to lock bolt hole . This nautical endeavor began 14 months ago for me and today in fact in just a few hours we are embarking on the first shake down cruise todays goals test radio glue in-hull transducer run motor raise sails . all the cool pics of my keel project are locked in a phone i destroyed this shot shows the only related pic and is of the wench and bridge I built also the louvers that replaced the trailer house ac return air grid that was a feature all the wood was gone after I hand built it I discovered it all available at west marine At this moment the coffee has peaked so Im off the the inlet
I found that the pivot hole in my V21 steel/filler/lead/glass keel was large to start with. It appears the bushing was epoxied at the appropriate location. In my clean-up effort so far, I removed all that to get the rusted steel core cleaned up for subsequent treatment (see photo links showing what remains of my keel - https://goo.gl/photos/qMZkkHBbfDZkBm1i9
https://goo.gl/photos/BPVbLJwSQVxobJng9
Does anyone still have a drawing showing all those dimensions? Of course, a V21 drawing might be best!
I've heard from Todd at BWY that he believes they have a drawing, but hasn't found time to go search for it during this busy season. If you can help him out, let me know (or upload the drawing to sailboatdata.com for all to access!)
Cheers, VenturED
https://goo.gl/photos/BPVbLJwSQVxobJng9
Does anyone still have a drawing showing all those dimensions? Of course, a V21 drawing might be best!
I've heard from Todd at BWY that he believes they have a drawing, but hasn't found time to go search for it during this busy season. If you can help him out, let me know (or upload the drawing to sailboatdata.com for all to access!)
Cheers, VenturED