Keel question
Thank you for the Keel bolts reply
Tony
Tony,
But you still have the seam question.
Consider this, on many production sailboats the keel was made separate from the hull and the merged together in the production process. When the "keel was poured" does not mean that it was poured directly into the FRP part of keel.
The lead was poured into a mold. Then was glassed into the keel cavity. So, the seem might be where the lower part of keel was merged to the hull part when the lead insert was glassed into the whole?
I do not know that the O'Day 27 was made that way, but do know that technique was used in making other keel boats. So, for what it is worth...
That same technique was also used in fabricating stubby keel sailboats with centerboard. That is the keel appendage to the hull was fabricated separate from the hull early in the process and glassed together later.
Sometimes there are/were flaws in the merging process. Flaws result in leaks, but since flaws were small, keels did not fall off. The flaws were enlarged enough to insert resin putty into and fixed. This repair process can be seen today in yards doing bottom repairs.
Ed K
26
