Keel repair

[unclejack3]

Have a boomaroo 22 Australia (Catalina) and the swing keel pivot hole is completely rusted. There seems to be 2 options.
1- reweld the cast iron into a solid piece and drill a 1inch hole for the pivot pin,
2- cut out the hole and insert a new piece of metal that is bolted into the keel.
3- make a sort of sleeve that fits directly over the pivot hole but larger , maybe 150cm which gets screwed into the keel.

Comments pls.

 

[dLj]

It may be hard to weld that hole shut as you don't know what that piece is make from. It would be likely a cast ductile iron - but you would need to know the actual alloy or you are just throwing darts at the wall blindfolded... You could braze a bronze insert into it. That may well be better than welding in any case. But the hole is quite damaged, you would have to a fair but of prep work to do that.

Wrapping it as you've described would also work. I think that is likely the easiest method to use.

dj

 

[unclejack3]

I feel welding a new hole would be quite hard for even the best welder,it is cast iron.
So my idea would be to use SS plate maybe 3mm and drill screw inserts 6mm into the keel then screw the cover that has the pivot tube pre welded at exactly 90 deg.. over the damaged hole.. if I make it slightly undersize I can remove some of the keel material so that when installed it is flush with the rest of keel... But b4 that I would encapsulate the keel in epoxy/ fibreglass, one layer of glass only, then fair it to a foil shape.
if I put the SS capping over the finished keel then there is a chance the screw holes may allow water to get under the glass.
If I put the capping directly onto the cast iron screwed in then epoxy/ glass and fair over the whole thing it might be more water tight.
Can you fibreglass over SS..if I rough it up ?

 

[Barnacle Bill]

I see the pivot pin has worn badly. You can get another one from Catalina (and the hangers are available too).

 

[Leeward Rail]

Catalina was selling new C22 keels, but that may no longer be the case.

Keep in mind, when shopping, that "Catalina Direct" and "Catalina Yachts" are not the same company.

Maybe you can find a used keel in good shape in AUS ?

Can you fibreglass over SS..if I rough it up ?

West System G-Flex advertises that it will bond to stainless.

105 or G/flex?

Which epoxy is recommended for your project? Should you use WEST SYSTEM 105 or G/flex®? Here’s how a Gougeon Technical Advisor decidees what to recommend.

www.epoxyworks.com

I would call your local resin supplier in NSW, and get that info directly from them. They may sell something similar and can help with tech info.

 

[Project_Mayhem]

I feel welding a new hole would be quite hard for even the best welder,it is cast iron.
So my idea would be to use SS plate maybe 3mm and drill screw inserts 6mm into the keel then screw the cover that has the pivot tube pre welded at exactly 90 deg.. over the damaged hole.. if I make it slightly undersize I can remove some of the keel material so that when installed it is flush with the rest of keel... But b4 that I would encapsulate the keel in epoxy/ fibreglass, one layer of glass only, then fair it to a foil shape.
if I put the SS capping over the finished keel then there is a chance the screw holes may allow water to get under the glass.
If I put the capping directly onto the cast iron screwed in then epoxy/ glass and fair over the whole thing it might be more water tight.
Can you fibreglass over SS..if I rough it up ?

With that much weight on such a small area, I'd be afraid that fiberglass might crack. G/Flex or similar might work as it's more flexible (ie less brittle). Fiberglass might work if it has some cloth/mat but I've found it difficult to work that in to smaller areas

 

[LLoyd B]

A bit late for a comment now because you probably already made the repair. It looks like the keel has a rounded out hole in it that's probably oversized for the bolt that keeps the keel from falling off the bottom of your boat. Seems to me that you could just repack the hole with anything even JB Weld since the hole in the keel has not been broken all the way to the edge. In fact it looks like a stainless steel sleeve could be placed in the hole before you pack the JV Weld in and then you wouldn't have to drill a new hole into the repair. Take care to position the sleeve then clean up and replace the old pivot bolt of course.