Damage to keel, Repair complete (PICS)

[sunshinecoasting]

Hi All,

I decided to drop my keel and check out the rope etc, first thing I noticed is how easy it is to drop the keel on a while on the trailer, I expected it to be a nightmare but it took 10 minutes, I also couldn't believe how big these things are , it looks like a surfboard. So I undid the one and only bolt under the fore seat, hammered it down and climbed underneath to drop the keel, then I noticed a big chunk taken out of the bottom front edge of the keel, when the keel is down this part would be up in the trunk, and when the keel is up this part is at the leading edge but flush with the bottom of the boat, so what the heck caused this damage?? I don't remember hearing any bangs that might indicate this type of damage, the only thing I do remember is putting the boat on the trailer a few weeks back and forgetting to raise the keel, the keel hit the trailer and folded up but this isn't the part of the keel that would have hit? So I have no idea.

So no big deal, it's very fixable, I have some resin and fglass tape ready to go but then I noticed this bolt buried deep in the resin, I have arrowed it in these pics, I have no idea what it does or if it should even be there? It could just have been dropped accidentally in there at the factory and got buried, my only concern is that it has a purpose and perhaps there was one on the side that is missing? I intend to fill the hole with resin and glass and shape it up and then paint the whole thing, but is a bolt missing and if so what was it's purpose? Any ideas?

Cheers, Dennis.

[NiceAft]

I am trying to get the perspective correct. In the top picture, the foreground is the starboard side of the centerboard?

If it is, (and even if it isn't) go here to page 19( http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q= ... 6gCe1IZTdA ) and look at the diagram of what the centerboard assembly looks like. There is a notch on that end of the centerboard (if I have the perspective correct?). There is also a bolt of some sort up high in the boat to stop the board from being dropped too far. Again, if I have the perspective correct, from the look of the damage, that stop bolt could have been the problem. From the diagram, it seems possible for a centerboard to be dropped too fast, and the place where you have the damage would be where the stress of impact could create structural failure. I apologize for being verbose, but I am not an engineer.

Ray

[sunshinecoasting]

Hi Ray, I think you are on to something there, here's a better pic below showing exactly what you were referring to, you are right there should be a "lump" at the top of the board that hits the stop in the stainless steel hanger, I was actually looking at that stop and wondering why it was there, now I know, what I don't know is why that bolt is embedded in the resin, I still think that may be a mistake but it could be there to help reinforce the resin, in which case it had the opposite effect, it seems now that it may have broken along the edge of that bolt, I notice that there is no fiber glass in this section, it is all resin and just a shell of fiberglass so when I rebuild it I will strengthen the whole area with fiberglass. Thanks for that link, I have never seen that picture before and it explained a lot. I welcome any other comments about that bolt embedded in the resin, it is still a bit of a mystery to me.

Cheers, Dennis.

[RobertB]

To me, it looks very likely that the bolt provided the metal bearing surface for the stop notch where it would bear against the trunk pin. I would figure out a way for the repair to provide this same metal bearing surface. I may be tempted to make something more substantial than a bolt.

[sunshinecoasting]

I don't think the bolt itself provided a bearing surface, it is at the wrong angle and is inside the resin, it may have been intended as a strengthening component but I doubt it worked, to me it would actually be a weak point. Anyway, regardless of it's intended purpose I recommend to everyone they slide under their boat while on its trailer and check the front edge of your keel, this broken area is very visible from under the trailer. if the break were to continue as far along as the pivot point then the whole keel would probably snap off and drop in the ocean, pretty dramatic I know but plausible. Get it this early and it is repairable. I will post pics of mine repaired once I get that far.

Cheers, Dennis.

[Steve K]

I think you are looking at a previous repair here. Someone put that bolt and all that extra resin in there, after the fact.
I only think this because I've seen the center board being built, at the factory (along with the rest of the boat.... 26X).

Roger didn't waste any resin building these boats.

The only way I can see this damage happening is when someone was backing the boat and caught the centerboard on an object.
I did this once.
I caught a cable running from a floating dock to it's anchor, while backing out of a guest slip. They put them deep enough to clear the outboard, but didn't consider a keel, at this shallow berth.

I didn't have this kind of damage (cables have some give), however, There was some scarring on the trailing edge of the board and some chipped gelcoat, right in the part of the board you are dealing with.

My guess is this has been repaired before and was not done at the factory. If the repairer used regular resin (not epoxy) and didn't prep the area well, I could see it cracking out and falling off easily. Or perhaps it was just repaired to the point as it looks right now (the more likely case). After all, no one can see it........ perhaps the PO thought "out of sight, out of mind".

You certainly would not do this damage by dragging your board on the trailer. You may get some chipped gelcoat, farther down the leading edge, but nothing like this.

Someone was backing the boat, very hard to do this. I suggest checking the contact point in the trunk also. PO likely, replaced the hanger after bending the crap out of it too. Or maybe hammered it out flat again...... look for hammer marks on it.

No hidden bolts in the factory board

Best Breezes,
Steve K.

[Don T]

Hello,
I've seen damage like that from the top pin of the hangar banging against the "nose" of the center board (meant to act as a stop, holding the center board at an angle). Sometimes from adding weight to the center board and letting it drop quickly or from hitting something while going in reverse and forcing it. On my board it was just years of wear from letting the board bang to the down position (how I knew it was down).

[Egress]

Hello,
I've seen damage like that from the top pin of the hangar banging against the "nose" of the center board (meant to act as a stop, holding the center board at an angle). Sometimes from adding weight to the center board and letting it drop quickly or from hitting something while going in reverse and forcing it. On my board it was just years of wear from letting the board bang to the down position (how I knew it was down).

I dropped my keel on a 99 26X last year in order to de zebra mussel the whole boat as I was taking Egress X-country and boat had been slipped on Lake Meade for 8 years. Anyway I had the same relative breakdown and mine also had a bolt in the top notch. This had to be put in at the factory as the PO only had used the boat 10 hours and never used the sails in 4 years as I purchased in 2003. So I assumed it was there from the factory and I just glassed over and enlarged very slightly. Take care not to make too large as It would probably bind when pulling up. Anyway hope this helped.http://www.macgregorsailors.com/forum/p ... 8&p=283857#

[NiceAft]

Well Dennis,

It appears you are not alone.

Ray

[Steve K]

I wrote.......

I think you are looking at a previous repair here. Someone put that bolt and all that extra resin in there, after the fact.
I only think this because I've seen the center board being built, at the factory (along with the rest of the boat.... 26X).

Well, guess I got that wrong, since there are two out there with this bolt.
Maybe it was a stop gap fix on later boats donno


BB,
SK

[sunshinecoasting]

Thanks for the feedback, I was pretty sure someone else must have had this damage before, it wouldn't be hard to do in reverse due to the stop pin. My pin has a really shiny edge to it from years of "stopping" the keel but it is not bent, in fact the whole hanger is shiny and looks really good. I will rebuild and strengthen as much as possible, I can put the hanger back on it and test for clearance and motion before I put it back in the boat so all good. That bolt still remains a mystery though.

Cheers, Dennis.

[dcaldarona]

My next project will be the keel! Check my blog for updates and info
Notalotayacht | Restoring a 1985 MacGregor 25
https://notalotayacht.wordpress.com/

[sunshinecoasting]

Well it is all repaired now, I still have to paint it before hanging back underneath but generally I am very happy with the repair, I reinforced the whole area with plenty layers of glass sheet and about 140ml of resin, I made a mold using an old milk container and taped it to the body of the keel, then poured the resin in, layers of glass, resin, glass, resin etc, did three buildups until it was full and strong, then the last few mm of build up I used good old builders bondo, no strength here but much easier to shape, so the non load bearing faces are a few mm of bondo but the part that hits the stop is very much resin and glass. I am going to slit a 1" piece of rubber hose and slide it over the stop in the hanger just to give the mating surfaces a bit of cushion, I cant see this hurting even if it doesn't work. Cheers Dennis.

Click on images to make them bigger.

Before



After

[NiceAft]

Looks good Dennis

What, no extra bolts slipped in for strength, weight, and mystery composition


Ray

[Mac26Mpaul]

Very nice Dennis, but yeah, you should have thrown in an extra mystery object for the next owner to scratch his head over in 10 years