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Errr....look back at that pic and the gear teeth .........

Oh LOL your right big Flat spots i was foolish and didnt enlarge it - at a glance it looked ok

There are many ways to get alot of performence from a v222. That rudder is lacking. Use the mounts and get some stainless plate.Build a new one. Narrower. Longer. Remember the foil %. Build twin rudders.
Foil on the inside flat on the outside. The foil will.oppose each other. Pulling the forces togeather.It all sounds good. If it works ill let you know.Im building 2 of them now. :?:I havent sailed the 222for a while and when i do its going to be a lot different.

Well, finally figured out the sails ... They are all in descent shape. A few stains but still crisp.

Main sail ... isn't the sail number supposed to match the hull number?



This is one of the head sails ... Is this the standard size jib? The foot seems very short, same for the Leech(?)



The Genoa looks to be a 150%.


There is a third head sail but its less then half the size of the one above. Storm head sail?

According to the manual, at least the way I read it, this is backwards ... the sheet should be reversed on the boom pulley. But it looks right .... does it matter?

It doesn't. This boat is rigged for (traditional) starboard heeling, but you could swap the blocks and sit port side at your convenience...

I am pretty sure the sail numbers dont matter at all they are for race identification and have no legal intent - My sails have no numbers

What about the jib ... is that a normal size? On my Cat 27 the Jib was almost to the mast and only a couple feet at the clew from being off the deck.

Someone mentioned the Thompson's Deck Cleaner for $7.99 ... got it for $4.50 a gallon at the local McLendon Hardware, and it worked better then the West Marine stuff for $15.



Already for the maiden voyage this coming weekend!!

You have some pretty nice head sails the smaller one could be used as a storm jib on windy days. Looks like your all set.

Hello , I am yet another new owner with a '73 Venture 22. My rudder is similar to bmxer but with a jam cleat on the tiller, 2 cheek blocks and a cleat on the rudder. My keel has a very uniform layer of material about 1/8 inch that has fallen off in large brittle pieces but no sign of cloth. The metal underneath looks more like the texture of cast iron than steel, how do you tell the difference ? BrianT

cast Iron is magnetic - Aluminum is not - hold a magnet to it and see if it sticks

Pictures of how the lines are setup?

Welcome Brian!

I’m assuming your question is regarding the difference between cast iron and cast steel? There are many different types of cast iron, and many different types of cast steel. A lot of alloying elements are common to both. I would think (and I am guessing here) that the metal used in boat keels might be highly variable because whatever scrap is available and on hand at the foundry at the time (within certain limitations) might be used.

If it was me, and I was limited to a small rusty window in the middle of the filler, like you are, I would use an angle grinder with a sharp, coarse wheel for ferrous materials to remove some of the surface rust down to bare metal.

Watch the sparks while you’re grinding. Cast irons will have a duller, redder spark than cast steels, which will be brighter, more yellow, and longer. A high carbon content in either will give you bursting yellow sparks, like a hand-held sparkler on the 4th of July.

Then look closely at the surface of the exposed metal. Cast iron will be greyer, duller, with a coarser, more porous grain structure, and maybe “dusty” from the graphite present. Steel will be brighter, more silvery and shiny, and less porous.

If you have a cold chisel, (or use a sharpened flat blade screwdriver) try to scrape a bit, maybe a short shallow chip from the surface. Cast iron is brittle, so you will get crumbling chips, none long. Steel will hold together as a longer, more continuous chip.

Lastly, and most destructively to the surface, if you still aren’t sure, take a sharp ¼” or so drill bit and drill a shallow hole. Cast iron will produce crumbling dusty particles, steel will give you shiny stringy chips. By the way, when drilling or otherwise machining cast iron, it can be done dry, without lubricant because of the lubricity of the graphite present. Drilling steel, on the other hand, is best done with a lubricant/coolant, such as oil.

It will be helpful from the outset if you have a sample of each metal that is known, (a chunk of cast steel, a chunk of cast iron) so you have something to reference. I assume the type of primer you use for repair and finishing might depend on which of the two metals the keel is made from?

Hope this helps, regards – Brian.

Thanks Seahouse for the very definitive reply ! Finishing brings the subject to the next step. From my earlier years I am aware that hot rod enthusiasts used lead to shape their creations, which once on the surface provided a stable surface for finishing. I do not have much confidence in bounding epoxy or whatever to a potentionally rusting surface. What do you think of that approach ? BrianT

I would think that the main practical hurdle to overcome would be getting the (entire giant lump of metal) keel up to a high enough temperature for a good intimate fusion to the lead at the interface. You would first have to grind or otherwise clean the surface down to bare metal in any case.

I have no personal experience with any of them, but there are sealer /primers, then a barrier coat, then a finish /filler coat, (or something like that - I really don't follow them, since I own a dagger-boarded Mac) systems on the market that are made for this purpose, and I think they are as close as you are going to come to perfection, as long as their recommended application procedures are followed to the letter.

The keel material is chosen to be cast iron instead of solid lead for reasons of economy in the first place. Replacing the entire keel with one made of lead is one option to eliminate the chance of rusting permanently, but yipes- it's not cheap!

- Brian.