Anyone happen to have any leads on a shoal draft keel for a 1989 Hunter 28.5? New /Used or junk boat I can take one off of? Any leads appreciated ! Doug 713-206-3160
Need Shoal Draft keel for 28.5
- Thread starter ddrewry
- Start date
Actually its kind of weird...
Someone cut it off; couldn't begin to tell you why.
Anyone know of a damaged 28.5 out there? I could probably take a deep keel, cut it off and add a bulb. I'm certainly open to any ideas
Someone cut it off; couldn't begin to tell you why.
Anyone know of a damaged 28.5 out there? I could probably take a deep keel, cut it off and add a bulb. I'm certainly open to any ideas
Hmm... I'm wondering if you might make a mold out of plywood, cover it with sheet plastic and pour yourself a keel out of concrete and lead shot. Makes sure the keel bolts line up with the holes in your hull. Fair it, cover it with epoxy paint and go sailing.
Thanks it is definitely something to think about. I like creative ideas.... I'm not having any luck finding a wrecked boat and the two manufacturers that have responded so far both need a part number or drawings to go by and so far no luck with that either. The problem is getting 3k worth of ballast and still staying shoal draft. I'll be googleing!
Have you thought about how much it will cost just to ship a keel?
Have you ever read Buehler's Backyard Boat Building? He talks about how to make a keel in that book and it sounded straight forward.
Here is the Amazon Link. I have a copy of his 1991 edition... this one is 2014
http://www.amazon.com/Buehlers-Back...040055&sr=1-1&keywords=backyard+boat+building
In the book he mentioned going to an auto-tire store, tell them what you are doing and asking them to save the lead shot they remove from tires when they balance the tires. They are already saving it for recycle so ...
Instead of a plywood frame, Buehler dug a pit in the ground but that sounded like it would be hard to lift it up. A plywood mold could be put on a pallet with rollers and you could then move it under the boat. Make a jig that matches the keel bolt holes in your hull and use that as the top of your mold... then make sure the keel bolts protrude through the jig as the concrete sets.
I guess the trick would be to understand the density of concrete and lead and get the ratio of the two correct for your keel's volume. But that is doable
If you do it, please post lots of pics.... I'd love to see how it goes.
Have you ever read Buehler's Backyard Boat Building? He talks about how to make a keel in that book and it sounded straight forward.
Here is the Amazon Link. I have a copy of his 1991 edition... this one is 2014
http://www.amazon.com/Buehlers-Back...040055&sr=1-1&keywords=backyard+boat+building
In the book he mentioned going to an auto-tire store, tell them what you are doing and asking them to save the lead shot they remove from tires when they balance the tires. They are already saving it for recycle so ...
Instead of a plywood frame, Buehler dug a pit in the ground but that sounded like it would be hard to lift it up. A plywood mold could be put on a pallet with rollers and you could then move it under the boat. Make a jig that matches the keel bolt holes in your hull and use that as the top of your mold... then make sure the keel bolts protrude through the jig as the concrete sets.
I guess the trick would be to understand the density of concrete and lead and get the ratio of the two correct for your keel's volume. But that is doable
If you do it, please post lots of pics.... I'd love to see how it goes.
Yep thought of that approach as I read about it twenty (ok maybe 30) years or so ago while thinking of building a Bruce Roberts design or something. Unfortunately times have changed - a lot! I recently tried to collect lead from tire stores for another project (much smaller but still a couple of hundred pounds). I was generally told they would not sell to anyone but an approved recycler because of all the lead contamination issues. The other thing, believe it or not, Lead is now considered a precious metal! Unfortunately a lead keel is probably out, too bad because I think I could do that with its low melting point and relative easy handling.
I talked to someone today who supplies keels for a boat builder and I may be able to get a cast iron one made. I just posted on the forum asking for help with dimensions and pictures for any 28.5 shoal model. Won't be cheap but at least it gives me an option. I suspect I will be pulling a trailer to pick it up whatever I find.
Appreciate any help I can get! Hunter says no part numbers and no drawings available - so I'll have to wing it
I talked to someone today who supplies keels for a boat builder and I may be able to get a cast iron one made. I just posted on the forum asking for help with dimensions and pictures for any 28.5 shoal model. Won't be cheap but at least it gives me an option. I suspect I will be pulling a trailer to pick it up whatever I find.
Appreciate any help I can get! Hunter says no part numbers and no drawings available - so I'll have to wing it
Just curious, how much would 4000 lbs of lead cost? That keel weighs that or is it 4500? Anyway, it's a lot!
You said someone cut it off the boat? How did they do that without damaging the boat?
Back when gas was 4 bucks a gallon a lot of keels were sold as scrap because metal was so high.
A guy I talk to in Mississippi had a keel stolen while he was doing work on the boat.
You said someone cut it off the boat? How did they do that without damaging the boat?
Back when gas was 4 bucks a gallon a lot of keels were sold as scrap because metal was so high.
A guy I talk to in Mississippi had a keel stolen while he was doing work on the boat.
http://zipmetals.com/Lead-Ingots-999-Min-Purity-500-pounds-at-149-lb_p_158.html
Ebay is another source that might be even cheaper. Search for lead ingots. At one point I was looking into what it would take to drill my swing keel and back fill the holes with Tungsten - till I priced it -wow.
Ebay is another source that might be even cheaper. Search for lead ingots. At one point I was looking into what it would take to drill my swing keel and back fill the holes with Tungsten - till I priced it -wow.
Another option is buy another boat and scrape it. I've seen boats with 3000# of lead sell for $400. Then scrape out everything else. You might even get some other parts you can use.
Just thinking out loud here. Musing about possibilities. think the keel for the 28.5 was iron. You might consider making it out of steel plates cut to shape of the keel you want. Several one inch thick plates welded together like pages in a book making them thick enough cut to the correct shape then 1 or 2 foot long slots cut into the center piece with your alloy threaded rods (you need strong metal here), then properly welded and correctly positioned so that they would fit exactly into the mount holes on the bottom of the boat. Some would be in slots on center plate, some would be on outer plates.
All the seams would need to be welded to prevent water intrusion, then the whole thing sand blasted and epoxi painted. Then you could also apply a fiberglass covering to provide a NACA low drag shape. If properly done it might even have less drag than the original casting, we have learned a few things about keel shape since the 1980s.
1" steel plate should be available at scrap yards saving a bundle of money. You could take an intensive course in welding and learn to do this yourself to save even more. You would also want to probably have torches and bud flames to pre-heat the metal for the welding,
If I were doing it I would cut the slots and weld the holding bolts to the center piece and fit it to the hull. Then when that was done, weld on all the other plates to bring its thickness and weight to what you want.
Even if it starts corroding really bad, you'll could still get 30 or so years out of it till it needed to be replaced. But if done correctly, it should last a lifetime.
But be warned, welds will have to be good, the suspension rods must be done correctly with enough bite, and the joint between the boat and keel would need to probably be a plate cut and shaped to exactly fit your boat.
Steel plate stacked to 6" thick is about 240lbs per square foot. You might want it wider at the top and narrow at bottom, or experiment and go the other way.
A real project for sure, but a properly trained and equipped man or woman could do this on their own. Eventually.
But I have seen smaller boat keels built this way on ventures. If you just want in the water faster, start calling around and buy a 28.5 that is in bad shape and salvage it, offer what it would cost to make your keel, I suspect it could cost 4000 to 6000 dollars for a quantity of 1 at a foundry after you made the molds and attachment placement jigs. January - Feburary is the best time to buy an old salvage boat because it's costing the owner money and they see another year it ain't sailable because of what ever problems. I saw a 28.5 sell cheep because the engine would not start 4 months ago. You have a good motor and the rest?
All the seams would need to be welded to prevent water intrusion, then the whole thing sand blasted and epoxi painted. Then you could also apply a fiberglass covering to provide a NACA low drag shape. If properly done it might even have less drag than the original casting, we have learned a few things about keel shape since the 1980s.
1" steel plate should be available at scrap yards saving a bundle of money. You could take an intensive course in welding and learn to do this yourself to save even more. You would also want to probably have torches and bud flames to pre-heat the metal for the welding,
If I were doing it I would cut the slots and weld the holding bolts to the center piece and fit it to the hull. Then when that was done, weld on all the other plates to bring its thickness and weight to what you want.
Even if it starts corroding really bad, you'll could still get 30 or so years out of it till it needed to be replaced. But if done correctly, it should last a lifetime.
But be warned, welds will have to be good, the suspension rods must be done correctly with enough bite, and the joint between the boat and keel would need to probably be a plate cut and shaped to exactly fit your boat.
Steel plate stacked to 6" thick is about 240lbs per square foot. You might want it wider at the top and narrow at bottom, or experiment and go the other way.
A real project for sure, but a properly trained and equipped man or woman could do this on their own. Eventually.
But I have seen smaller boat keels built this way on ventures. If you just want in the water faster, start calling around and buy a 28.5 that is in bad shape and salvage it, offer what it would cost to make your keel, I suspect it could cost 4000 to 6000 dollars for a quantity of 1 at a foundry after you made the molds and attachment placement jigs. January - Feburary is the best time to buy an old salvage boat because it's costing the owner money and they see another year it ain't sailable because of what ever problems. I saw a 28.5 sell cheep because the engine would not start 4 months ago. You have a good motor and the rest?
Thanks, some great ideas coming out. I'm thinking maybe a combination of the steel with a lead bulb for ballast and it could be a real performer... I've TIG welded airplane parts and frames and even built a trailer but never attempted anything thick. I'll be checking into this more...
A couple of ideas. Check for local boat salvage operators, not so much to get lucky and buy the exact keel you need (though you never know), but to be able to buy lead if you want to melt and form your own. If you are having trouble finding salvagers, check with local surveyors, or brokers, or even yacht clubs.
If you still can't find a salvager, go to one or more local scuba shops and ask where they get their lead. It's not uncommon for a large shop in a big enough metro area to be buying lead in the form of scrapped keels from salvaged boats. Such a store may be able to steer you to their source.
If you still can't find a salvager, go to one or more local scuba shops and ask where they get their lead. It's not uncommon for a large shop in a big enough metro area to be buying lead in the form of scrapped keels from salvaged boats. Such a store may be able to steer you to their source.