*yks ELONGATED KEEL HOLE.... Help!!! *yks

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Mike

Hi everyone..... I know that there are probably hundreds of posts on keel problems, I have looked through them, but I pulled my Catalina 22 out of the water for the first time. I looked at the keel, which clunks around a lot while underway, and the keel hole is clearly elognated, and according to the yard manager, is well on its way to coming off. *yks So, has anyone else had this problem and what did you do? Catalina direct suggests boring a new bigger hole and installing a bushing. Sounds good to me, but is it possible for a regular guy like me to bore out a hole on a cast iron keel on the spot at the boat yard , or does it have to be professionally done. (I wouldn't even know how to get the damn thing in the back of my truck to get it to the shop). *o Also, Catalina direct says the outside diamater of the bushing is 1.25 inches. I think that the elongated hole is longer than that, so that in itself would pose another problem, would you agree?? C.D. reccomends one of three ways to fix the bushing in place. One - press it/weld it in the hole; two - epoxy it; and three - as they do in the factory, install it with a slip fit, which sounds to me like it is just resting in the new bored out hole with no means of holding it in place other than the keel pin and pivot assembly. Has anyone done any of these methods? I have the keel, I figure no need to buy a new one and pay for shipping etc, but I would like to repair the one I have so its not going to come off while sailing and be reliable for a few more years. Additionally, I would like to keep this repair as cost effective as posible. :) ANY IDEAS AND/OR PAST EXPERIENCE STORIES ARE GREATLY APPRECIATED :)
 
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john renfro

keel

hello mike, my experience with driling holes in the keel tell me that you won't be able to do it ( anything can be done with time and money ) I installed a zink in my keel, 1/4th inch hole not more than 2 inches deep took about 5 hours. the metal is hard to start with, I used an 1/8th in bit. drilled 1/8 in deep, opened it in steps to 1/4th.Drilled 1/8 inch opened it to 1/4th in etc. etc.the size hole you are drilling needs to be pretty much 90 deg. To the keel and sitting under the boat with a 1/2 inch 15 pound drill motor almost guaranties an oval oversized hole that drifts low from the side you sit on, to higher on the opposite side. CATALINA DIRECT has a video on removing the keel. Good luck john
 
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DesertBoatman

Epoxy

I have heard talk of placing a pvc pipe in the hole and securing it in place. then filling the void with epoxy or marine bedding compound. When dry knock out the pvc pipe. Thats what I would try. When I pulled my keel my pivot hole was in great shape. D.B. C22#6260
 
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Charlie on

Keel pivot hole

Catalina Direct has a vidio that shows the process for removig the keel at home. Its very good, althought I did not do it ecxactly the way the vidio shows. My trailer is way differant, but it showed me enough to figure a way similar. Do not try to bore out the hole yourself. You have to keep the hole perpendicular to the keel centerline or you won't track the same on differant tacks, the boat won't balance. I broufgt mine to a local machine shop that bored out the hole, fabricated a S.S. bushing and welded it in place. At home I refared the keel to shape and re-installed with all new Catalina Direct parts. A lot of work, but worth it. Good Luck
 
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Ted

This is for a machine shop . . .

. . . to deal with. The keel hole elongates due to the keel pin seizing up in the bushings. The repair depends on how much elongation has occurred. If it is slight (1/4" or less), then the hole can be over-bored and a brass bushing can be inserted to bring it back to size. If there is more elongation, then the machine shop will have to weld some metal back on and then fit a bushing in place. I would double check the diameter of the keel pin (1.25") sounds about right, but double check anyway. Some of the other posts have touched on the issue - boring a 1.25 to 1.50 inch hole in iron. Oh, by the way, the hole needs to be exactly perpendicular or the keel won't work properly. This is beyond the tooling/skill capabilities of the amateur machinst. Your boatyard may be of assistance, or you may have to deal with it on your own. Best regards, Ted
 
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Mike

EPOXY... interesting

I saw the post on using hte PVC pipe and some epoxy. Sounds interesting. I was wondering if I used a metal pipe, say a piece of metal pipe just bigger in diamater than the pivot pin and epoxied that in place and filled the rest of the elongated hole with epoxy if that would work well. I figure that the metal of the pipe would handle the friction better than just epoxy would. Then, using a new hanger kit and the fiberglass spacers from catalina direct to take away the motion of hte keel, ths problem could be averted all together... any comments on this??? Does anyone think that the epoxy will support the weight of the keel if it is the only material on what is left of the hole and the area where the pin is??? Sounds like a pretty large force onthat epoxy....
 
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Bayard Gross

There is a special keel pin

There is a special keel pin available that has one inch diameter ends and a one and one-half inch diameter center. This pin may be useful for you assuming the elongated hole is less than one-half inch or so from the one inch center. For this pin, you “professionally” bore out the keel pin hole to just under one and one-half inches. Then heat up the newly bored area with acetylene torch. Then press fit in this special pin. As the heated area cools it contracts tightly around the pin so that it will remain stationary in the hole and the keel pin will pivot on the pin ends in the hangers. If the elongation is larger than one-half inch from the one inch center, you may be able to build up the area before boring out a just under one and one-half inch hole and then follow the procedure described above. Link below. http://www.staff.uiuc.edu/~rwahlfel/BobVickKeelPin.htm
 
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tom b. catalina 22

EMAIL ME...I HAVE PIX..

i just got done repairing my keel..but i have a backyard that helped..you can email me if you'd like mrtspitfire1@aol.com
 
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