Replace Swing Keel Shims

[UKNick]

I am new to this site and a have number of sailboats that I am restoring for fun and use in a community sailing program.

One of them is a 12' vintage, Paceship OakIsland P12, sailing dinghy. I love this little boat which I first saw buried in undergrowth and covered in algae & slime.

The issue with which I would really appreciate some help is how to replace or repair the shims on the pivot for the swing keel. The swing keel has a lot of free play - too much to use safely without risking breaking the top of keel. The keel trunk is completely glassed over, presumably when the boat was built, so the neither the pivot or the shims are accessible without damaging the fiberglass. I would also like to be able to remove the keel to clean & repaint the inside of the trunk.

I have not been able to find any information on how to go about doing this repair so really hoping some members of SailboatOwners may have some experience & advice on replacing the shims and perhaps strengthening the keel at the pivot point. I do not want to go tearing into the trunk if there is a smarter or more effective way of performing this repair. Unfortunately I do not currently see any other way. I will be happy to post photos if that would be helpful.

Looking forward to your responses.

Many thanks,

UKNick

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

I am not sure if you have acess to the bilge of any kind in that boat. If so, see if there is a keel reataining bolt and then you can remove that keel following the keel bolt being removed. Otherwise, look underneat to see if there are any retaining bolts or screws in place. An examplle is the swing keel catalina 22 which has two fittings bolted in place that hold the keel retaining bolt. IF so, that would be the other way to remove the swing keel.

As for shims I assume on the side, you can make some using fiberglass formed into a wedge shape and then epoxied into place on the keel but make sure the surface is clean to the fiberglass or metal. Let dry for a few days for good adhesion. I am not sure this will help.

the only other information on the boat can be seen at sailboatdata.com and paceship.org. On paceship.org, there are some photos of the boat with contributing names and I would go there to contact them as they should know.

crazy dave condon

 

[UKNick]

Hi Crazy Dave,

Many thanks for your prompt response. There are no bolts visible from inside the cockpit or in the trunk bilge. I suspect that it was built as conveniently and cheaply as possible and without regard for future maintenance of this part as it is a small inexpensive dinghy. There is also not much room inside the trunk (2" to 3") to get my hand or tools up inside it.

Contacting the contributors on sailboatdata.com is an excellent idea. Thank you & I'll let you know how I get on with that.

Thanks again, Nick

 

[Douglast]

if you feel your bolt still is strong enough what I did on mine..(as well as replacing the bolt) because the shims were hard to get in and too was..

I cut the ends off at a wedge angle off of a hard rubber fairlead roller and epoxied them with a strong marine epoxy near the lower edge of the recessed trunk near the front with the narrow part of the wedge guiding the keel as it is dropped and the fatter part reducing the keels slop and greatly reducing the keel banging that happens when the boat is not under power and load with passing motor boat or waves etc..
load
facing

 

[UKNick]

Small Dinghy Swing Keel Shims

if you feel your bolt still is strong enough what I did on mine..(as well as replacing the bolt) because the shims were hard to get in and too was..

I cut the ends off at a wedge angle off of a hard rubber fairlead roller and epoxied them with a strong marine epoxy near the lower edge of the recessed trunk near the front with the narrow part of the wedge guiding the keel as it is dropped and the fatter part reducing the keels slop and greatly reducing the keel banging that happens when the boat is not under power and load with passing motor boat or waves etc..
load
facing

Thanks for the suggestion Douglast.

There is a lot of slop in the keel when it is all the way down. The further down it goes the greater the movement. Using some kind of wedge to progressively hold the keel tighter the lower it goes is a great idea. Its a small boat (12') so even at full speed the stresses are not going to be massive. The greater danger of breakage occurs on a sudden change of tack. So if the keel is held in place by wedges in the trunk ... that would do it I think.

Thanks again. I'll let you know how I get on. If the bolt or keel does actually break then I'll have to take the more drastic action of carving up the trunk & making a more "engineered" repair.

Warm regards,

Nick

 

[Douglast]

Re: Small Dinghy Swing Keel Shims

the banging is loud when there is slop...lol....I think I ended up with about 1/4 inch clearance each side of the keel at the thick part of the wedge with the keel fully down...

it eliminated the real hard bang to a nice softer little thud..

As well since it appears you don't seem to have a keel "lock pin or bolt" a slight amount of tension on the winch cable will prevent the leading edge of the keel from "possibly" hitting the front forward lower trunk edge if indeed that is possibly happening as well as it is a slight possibility..