Bill Paxton Posted April 22, 2005 Posted April 22, 2005 I had grown tired of patching the keelson on my Weekender. Beaching the boat on gravelly shores, and the damages done during loading the boat after sailing had taken their toll. You can see the results of patching the with epoxy over the last four years. So being one who likes to spend beautiful summer days on the water, not on my back patching the boat, I decided to armor plate the keelson. Actually, I used a strip of aluminum from Menards. It came 8 Quote
Dave R1 Posted April 22, 2005 Posted April 22, 2005 Looks great Bill. I think I know what I'll be doing on Saturday. Thanks for sharing your mod with us. One question. Where did you start the strip? Did you just eyeball it? Dave Quote
Bill Paxton Posted April 22, 2005 Author Posted April 22, 2005 I first decided where I wanted the strip to terminate on the bow. We held the strip to that spot and pressed the strip to the keelson along its full length. That gave us the aft starting point. The nice part was that I could be an inch off, and it really wouldn't matter. Quote
Phil Gowans Posted April 26, 2005 Posted April 26, 2005 Bill, It's almost as if we had been sharing a brain. After I stripped off all the fiberglass from my keel and painted it, I put on a 2" x 1/4" aluminum bar on for a shoe. I purchased it from a metal supplier. They come in 12' lengths. I used 15' total. It only cost me about $40. I put it on with 2" ss screws. It was really easy. I had one complication you didn't: my stem has been tapered, so I had to trim the bow end of the shoe down to a 1" width. I machined it all, the night I bought it and had it attached the next morning. I felt that I had to pre-bend the bar around the worse bend since my bar is twice your thickness and I was afraid I couldn't get the right bend by pulling it in with screws alone. I toyed with the idea of using Stainless, but the thought of drilling holes and working it just about made me cry. SS is so hard to work, and boy, aluminum is so easy. I'm amazed how beat up your keel had gotten. My heavy fiberglass shoe work very well for abrasion, but I think this 1/4" shoe will be better. I finished my work a couple weeks ago and haven't had a chance to post any pictures yet. You know, first things first, A trip to Cabo and finish Aloha up and get on the water. Quote
Tim Diebert Posted April 26, 2005 Posted April 26, 2005 Very nice. I wish I had thought of using aluminum. DOAH! I live in a very small town, and would have had to order it in.....but I do have this large electric company that rebuilds transformers and motors and they use this 1 1/2" X 1/4" bronze (or is it copper?) stuff for a thing like a giant fuse (bus bar?) So I can buy it in any length from them, but is still a tad pricey. Has come in handy (used it for hatch slides in another thread) Here's an image of my install. Back in myshipyard days, we put shoes on of all types of boats all the time, and generally they were bedding down the entire length. Depending on the size and material, we would use Irish felt, white or red lead or Polysulfide (like Sikaflex or Boatlife caulk) I used Sikaflex...and generally do for bedding anything down.....on deck or below the water line. Quote
Dave R1 Posted April 26, 2005 Posted April 26, 2005 Tim, that looks like a piece of copper to me. Copper would be the appropriate metal for fuses and fusable links. Looks nice, though. I wish I could get Sikaflex locally. I'm going to use the same stuff Bill used. Quote
Mike Pennington Posted April 27, 2005 Posted April 27, 2005 Really nice idea guys, I've been wanting to do something similar. Though I think I'll have to flatten the bottom edge first. My old trailer's roller brackets tore the heck out of my keel last season. I was under her today with the sureform doing a bit of soomthing. Phil, that picture of your trailer I used to keep on my wish wall, became a reality last week. Mike Quote
Greg Luckett Posted June 21, 2009 Posted June 21, 2009 I have been thinking of doing something similar, but with brass instead. Now I am wondering which is best to use? Quote
Hirilonde Posted June 21, 2009 Posted June 21, 2009 I wish I could get Sikaflex locally. I'm going to use the same stuff Bill used. I am finding that some hardware stores and lumber yards carry it now. Quote
Tim Diebert Posted June 21, 2009 Posted June 21, 2009 ;D This forum format is the best. I don't hang out here much these days....but every now and again I get an email notification that says someone has posted to a thread I was 'watching'. So I bang the link and go back in time. Over four years... Now that is fun. I have not had Annie for about three years now. I sold her to a woman from California who drove all the way up here to Kelowna BC to get her. I emailed her a few times wondering how the trip home went and and how her sailing was going. The woman's name is Rebbecca (Smith?) Although I miss Annie M., all the time and the fun we had with her....and the fact that she was named after my Grand Mother.... I am as fond of my current boat and it better suits the conditions and the water I sail these days. Hello to everyone here. Nice to see you again. Cheers. Quote
Tim Diebert Posted June 21, 2009 Posted June 21, 2009 Erster. Dude. Hia. Were you one of the ones blessed with an visit from the wizard of OZ? What have you got on the go these days? Quote
Andrew_Butchart Posted June 21, 2009 Posted June 21, 2009 I have been thinking of doing something similar, but with brass instead. Now I am wondering which is best to use? I used flat bar steel on mine and had a heck of a time putting in the countersunk holes. I wondered after the fact if I should have used cap head screws but was worried about them getting torn off. I bedded it in roofing patch compound. I was able to get a 20' length that did the entire keel from the top of the stern post to the tip of the stem. I've painted it with rust paint - which I used on the rest of the boat. Sitting on the trailer for 2 years - and it seems fine. Quote
Oyster Posted June 21, 2009 Posted June 21, 2009 Erster. Dude. Hia. Were you one of the ones blessed with an visit from the wizard of OZ? What have you got on the go these days? Well check out the thread here called I love wood for the latest. And no I was not one that was "blessed". Quote
Greg Luckett Posted June 21, 2009 Posted June 21, 2009 I used flat bar steel on mine and had a heck of a time putting in the countersunk holes. I wondered after the fact if I should have used cap head screws but was worried about them getting torn off. Perhaps button head would have worked well? Quote
Bud_Wilson Posted June 21, 2009 Posted June 21, 2009 I installed the aluminun shoe on my P/C Magnolia while i was painting the bottom when I built her. She was upside down in the cradle and it made it a lot easyer. I predrilled the holes filled them full of epoxy and screwed it down. Easy job when the boat is upside down. That was 2005 and no trouble yet. Bud Quote
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