I chiseled out one side of the keel pin/bushing hole and was able to pound out the bushing from the other side. It was heavily worn. Just look at the photos: there's probably a 25 degree deviation that the bushing allows due to wear! Closer inspection of the pin reveals many small pits and tiny holes. Perhaps even the beginning of a crack originating at one of the holes. Going to have to get a new one made up.
I'm thinking that I'm going to have the machine shop make me a bronze bushing to replace the nylon one. That way it'll be safer in salt water than brass and clearly stronger than nylon. Since I want to add about 50 pounds of lead to the tip of the board to help stiffen the boat up, I'm now considering over-sizing the new replacement keel pin and therefore also the center hole of the bushing to increase their strength. I suppose I'd also have to have the machine shop make two new "L" brackets to accommodate the larger diameter of the new pin and the heavier loads placed upon it and them by the additional 50 pounds at the tip.
This steel pin looks like it's 1/2 inch in diameter. I don't have a caliper handy to measure it exactly. Perhaps a 5/8 or 3/4 inch diameter replacement pin would be in order here. It's hard to imagine so much resting on a 1/2 inch diameter pin and 4 little stainless steel 1/4 inch bolts (that hold the pin & keel to the hull). But that's the way the boat was made, so someone thought it'd be fine.
Any thoughts? Do you think the four 1/4 inch bolts will be fine to handle the additional 50 pounds at the tip transmitted to the hull through a metal bushing that won't deform to absorb lateral impact on the keel?
Kristopher
I'm thinking that I'm going to have the machine shop make me a bronze bushing to replace the nylon one. That way it'll be safer in salt water than brass and clearly stronger than nylon. Since I want to add about 50 pounds of lead to the tip of the board to help stiffen the boat up, I'm now considering over-sizing the new replacement keel pin and therefore also the center hole of the bushing to increase their strength. I suppose I'd also have to have the machine shop make two new "L" brackets to accommodate the larger diameter of the new pin and the heavier loads placed upon it and them by the additional 50 pounds at the tip.
This steel pin looks like it's 1/2 inch in diameter. I don't have a caliper handy to measure it exactly. Perhaps a 5/8 or 3/4 inch diameter replacement pin would be in order here. It's hard to imagine so much resting on a 1/2 inch diameter pin and 4 little stainless steel 1/4 inch bolts (that hold the pin & keel to the hull). But that's the way the boat was made, so someone thought it'd be fine.
Any thoughts? Do you think the four 1/4 inch bolts will be fine to handle the additional 50 pounds at the tip transmitted to the hull through a metal bushing that won't deform to absorb lateral impact on the keel?
Kristopher
). The even installed it using the bronze bushing, so I didnt have to mess around with it. She was put back in the water yesterday, after over a week of repairs.