swing keel replacement

[72goingstrong]

Hello fellow Catalina swing keel owners.
I am new to this site and I wonder if anyone has ever come across a replacement keel other than iron that has been fabricated for this boat. I am planning on for the first time in all of the 10 yrs that I have owned her to drop the keel to have it sand blasted and epoxied over, it has chunks of scaling and I am " tired'' of trying to fix and smooth it out every spring. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
thanks everyone

 

[$tingy Sailor]

Never heard of one but there are several refinishing projects going on right now by forum members, myself included, with lots of good info to share. So you've got lots of company. Maybe you just need to bite the bullet and do a complete job once, then you shouldn't have to do much maintenance on it at all. It's a bear and there's no quick fix.

 

[72goingstrong]

Someone on this site fabricated a keel from a 2 inch peice of steel plate and lead then glassed over it, i guess i will have to keep sniffing around for an alternative. Normaly i wouldnt be so concerned about the keels current condition but this year ive purchased new sails and shrouds , kind of like having a new engine installed and still driving with a flat tire.
thanks for the support

 

[piedpiperIII]

it seems it would be better and easier to refinish old keel than try to build one? I was lucky in that my keel when striped down was almost perfect shape "no faring needed" just sealed and epoxied plus paint. Good luck and keep us posted maybe you will come across something new?

 

[CaptDon01]

The good news is that a replacement keel is available from Catalina Yachts. It is the new and improved swing keel that the factory came out with when they intruduced the MK-II version in 1995. It uses a stainless steel assembly for the main support, and uses lead for the ballast weight. Then it's all encased in a nice fiberglass shell that's smooth, and a nice semmetrical airfoil shape. I heard that it weighs 500 pounds, vs the cast iron keel's advertised 550 pounds, evidently the lead is lower in the keel so the righting momement is the same,(or maybe better). This is basically the same keel, and the only keel available on the C-22 Sport. Because the Sport has a longer cockpit, there are two attachment points for the keel cable. One is further forward to compensate for the longer Sport cockpit, and the lower attachment is for the older boats. So it's a simple remove the old keel, and install the new keel, no boat modification required. I've looked into purchasing one of these for my 1988 "New design", and the bad news is the price I believe was around $2,200. But I would think this would be extremely attractive for the next owner, and would certainly reduce some keel maintenance. It's still in the plans for the refurbishing of my "New Design" C-22, (they are just such a pretty boat!).

So the answer is yes.....you do have a choice, now open that wallet.

Don

 

[CloudDiver]

When I was in college myself and some other sculptors along with our Art Professor operated a small bronze foundry. Our crucible could only hold 60 pounds of bronze ingots so our sculptures were all relatively small and mostly hollow.
Anyway, we used the lost wax method, basically make a mold of the sculpture you want cast in bronze to create a wax duplicate. The wax copy has flow gating and vents added (wax straws) and then totally encased in a one piece mold of sand-plaster. Fire that mold to harden and melt out wax, pour in the molten bronze and when cool the mold is broken away. This same technique can be used with lead.

The only type of home restoration builder who should attempt this would be a guy (or gal) with the experience in mold making and also owns or can make an inexpensive crucible capable of holding 500 pounds of molten lead. Luckily with lead you do not need the high temps required to melt bronze, and the furnace for melting out the wax from the mold does not have to get super hot either like a typical ceramics furnace. Anyway, you need a good deal of space on your property to do that, some heavy tools and lifting equipment, a few helping hands and be willing to invest 3 to four back-to-back weekends or more.
I could easily make the stainless steel armature, I have the skills and TIG welder to do it. If anyone ever wanted to attempt this let me know, I would weld up the armature for free!

 

[Gene Neill]

The good news is that a replacement keel is available from Catalina Yachts. It is the new and improved swing keel that the factory came out with when they intruduced the MK-II version in 1995. It uses a stainless steel assembly for the main support, and uses lead for the ballast weight. Then it's all encased in a nice fiberglass shell that's smooth, and a nice semmetrical airfoil shape. I heard that it weighs 500 pounds, vs the cast iron keel's advertised 550 pounds, evidently the lead is lower in the keel so the righting momement is the same,(or maybe better). This is basically the same keel, and the only keel available on the C-22 Sport. Because the Sport has a longer cockpit, there are two attachment points for the keel cable. One is further forward to compensate for the longer Sport cockpit, and the lower attachment is for the older boats. So it's a simple remove the old keel, and install the new keel, no boat modification required. I've looked into purchasing one of these for my 1988 "New design", and the bad news is the price I believe was around $2,200. But I would think this would be extremely attractive for the next owner, and would certainly reduce some keel maintenance. It's still in the plans for the refurbishing of my "New Design" C-22, (they are just such a pretty boat!).

So the answer is yes.....you do have a choice, now open that wallet.

Don

I've seen that new C22 Sport keel at a boat show, and it's a beauty. If and when the day comes that my keel has to be redone (not soon, hopefully), I plan to look long and hard at buying one - especially if the plan at the time is to keep the boat "forever". It's quite a chunk of change and might be out of the question, but dang. I'd love to have one.

Do you know where they ship from? If it's the factory in Florida, I could at least pick it up in person and save the freight ...

 

[CaptDon01]

They are evidently made at the factory in Florida, checked last week, current price is ~ $2,300. Delivery is 4-6 weeks after ordered. Picking one up at the factory certainly could save a bunch on shipping.

Yeah the Sports are sweet, and the hull mold from the "New Design" boat is used for the Sport mold. So the new keel is basically a plug and play.

Don

 

[CloudDiver]

Anybody have pictures of that new design keel replacement?

With my background in mold making and foundry operations I'm wondering if I could work a deal with the factory to make swing keels on the west coast. I could subcontract local foundries to make keels to order while I watch over quality control, then transport the finished castings to some coating shops I know for abrasive blast and marine primer/paint. Once ready I could ship freight directly from where they finish the coating. Hmmmm, might be something to keep on the back burner.

They are evidently made at the factory in Florida, checked last week, current price is ~ $2,300. Delivery is 4-6 weeks after ordered. Picking one up at the factory certainly could save a bunch on shipping.

Yeah the Sports are sweet, and the hull mold from the "New Design" boat is used for the Sport mold. So the new keel is basically a plug and play.

Don