Swing Keel Replacement

Catalina Direct Discussion Topics / Catalina 22 Discussion Area / Swing Keel Replacement / renovating swing keel
 
 
Author renovating swing keel
sean olsen
north attleboro, ma

Boat Name:

Model/Year: 1972?

Hull No.

Hailing Port:
07/30/2009 6:28 PM Pacific Time

ive recently dropped the keel of my early seventys catalina. its quite a project. i need a bit of advise. anything you could tell me would greatly help. first ive been grinding for days now to get to some good clean iron on the keel and still there is severe pitting and electrolisis. should i go all the way down to clean metal everywhere? ive gottin most of it now though. i just hoisted it up by the hanging pin where the cable connects to the keel and noticed it is cracked in half at the top of the little eye hole. either by me or from before. can i have this welded? what kind of metal is it? i really hope this doesnt make junk out of my keel. second the hinge pin wont come out of the hole. ive been spraying it with pb blaster and banging the hell out of it and it wont budge. do they wear in the middle or are they made to be tight and pivot on the hangers?well thats it for now please let me know what i can do. thanks
David Torrisi
Santa Clara, CA

Boat Name: Dumbo

Model/Year: 1975 C-22

Hull No. 4330

Hailing Port: Santa Clara
07/30/2009 8:13 PM Pacific Time

Sean,
I took pictures of the whole gory process on Dumbo.
http://dumbo.torrisi.org/gallery/Keel-Project
I followed the Catalina Direct Video for the most part.

I had mine sand blasted down to the bare cast iron. If you aren't looking to do a full refurb, you could get by with just removing the loose stuff and pressing on. You may end up regretting that. Penny wise and pound foolish, etc... I don't have any tips on how you can get it down to the cast iron easily. I've hear stories of banging and chipping, but you'd have to be extremely careful on the thin sections. An angle grinder might work well. You can google rust removal by electrolysis to see if that's an avenue you want to take to strip your keel. It may loosen some of the filler that's adhered to your keel and get you to bare metal for less than sand blasting.

I don't think hoisting it by the cable attachment is wise. It's likely stressing that area in a way it was not meant to be stressed as well as overloading the fitting. If it's the fitting that's cracked it can be replaced. Its threaded and theoretically can be removed. I didn't do mine and it seemed stuck pretty good. It should be stainless steel and is possible to weld but only by someone who knows how to do it. This ain't no tractor!

PB Blaster is great stuff but the pin is press fit and should come out unless its worn severely. It's likely bronze. Put the hammer away.

Hope that helps!
David
Fred Apstein
Gabriola Is BC

Boat Name: Scruples

Model/Year: 1976

Hull No. 95

Hailing Port: Gabriola Is BC
07/30/2009 11:22 PM Pacific Time

After I had my keel sandblasted to bare, severely pitted metal, I found out a lot of the old C22 keels came that way. Frank had a guy in Mexico sand casting them on the beach, if the story is true.

I would take off what's loose with a grinder or heavy duty wire brush on a grinder, put on a couple of coats of epoxy/tar (either from the marine suppliers for a lot of money or an industrial supplier for less), then fair it with epoxy resin and microballoons, ot the fairing compound of your choice.

Bottom line - the pitting is probably from the factory and you don't need to fix it.
sean olsen
north attleboro, ma

Boat Name:

Model/Year: 1972?

Hull No.

Hailing Port:
07/31/2009 6:06 AM Pacific Time

thanks for the advise guys. i ground it down with an angle grinder. it was nasty. i reckon ill leave the rest of the pitting. ill try to get that eye bolt out but i really dont see that bugger moving.if its stainless i should have no problem getting it welded. im nervous of the pin. it looks great on the outside but i have no idea what it looks like in the keel. its frozen in there good. if it aint broke dont fix it has been a constant source of regret for me. im tempted to leave it. but the fact that its not moving at all and the rest of the keel was rusty is weighing on my mind. it could be worn bad and it could be perfect. but one thing is for sure its not moving. i think ill have to drill it out to know for sure. il be fairing the keel with west system epoxy. im going to try to maintaint the basic shape i see now. any ideas for how to do that. i have not bought the templet. this is not a racing boat. im only worried about the basics of the shape. thanks again this site is great!
Aaron M Benham
33a Loomis Hights

Boat Name: Tidely-Idley: The never ending project

Model/Year: 1978 C22

Hull No. 8070

Hailing Port:
07/31/2009 11:52 AM Pacific Time

I have also heard of people using a rust converter such as Loctite Extend instead of sandblasting. This converts the iron oxide into a black primer like substance that is ready for coating and requires only that you remove the loose rust with a wire brush and hammer.
David Torrisi
Santa Clara, CA

Boat Name: Dumbo

Model/Year: 1975 C-22

Hull No. 4330

Hailing Port: Santa Clara
07/31/2009 1:06 PM Pacific Time

Aaron,
I used the Extend product on my keel. It was cheap insurance and the keel actually started to show some slight surface rust a few days after sandblasting. Highly recommend it.
David
sean olsen
north attleboro, ma

Boat Name:

Model/Year: 1972?

Hull No.

Hailing Port:
07/31/2009 3:50 PM Pacific Time

i cant get the damm bronze pin out of the keel. it wont budge at all. apparently catalinas can wear through these pins. the parts of the pin that stick out are in perfect condition. looks like it hasnt pivoted on the keel in a while. there is slight rust going in around the pin but i think ive got most of it. cant really be sure though. im half tempted to drill it out and get a new one with a sleave just to be sure.should i leave it. ill be taking her to the caribean soon so i dont want her to fail me but i would hate to drill it out and see it is fine.
Aaron M Benham
33a Loomis Hights

Boat Name: Tidely-Idley: The never ending project

Model/Year: 1978 C22

Hull No. 8070

Hailing Port:
07/31/2009 4:29 PM Pacific Time

The PO probably epoxied the pin in place so that the keel rotates in the hangers. Once you get all of the rust off, you might be able to see.
Also, I have read that you need to get the first coat of epoxy primer on within three hours of sand blasting for good adhesion. Otherwise a thin coat of rust will form and prevent good adhesion.
Aaron M Benham
33a Loomis Hights

Boat Name: Tidely-Idley: The never ending project

Model/Year: 1978 C22

Hull No. 8070

Hailing Port:
07/31/2009 4:31 PM Pacific Time

By the way s Sean, look a Davids pictures of Dumbo's keel project. You will find them very helpful
Peter Snyder
Ringgold, GA

Boat Name: Windabout

Model/Year: 1978 sk Catalina 22

Hull No. 8329

Hailing Port: Lake Chickamauga, TN
07/31/2009 7:09 PM Pacific Time

Sean,
Count your blessings. If the pin is locked in place, then leave it. The usual problem associated with the pin is material being lost through electrolysis from the iron keel around the bronze pin. The pivot pin hole gets oversized and the keel wobbles around. Some keels are so badly worn that the hole becomes elongated all the way to the edge of the keel and the keel falls off. The only reason I know for drilling or cutting out your pin might be that it's not properly aligned and makes the keel cut through the water off the central axis of the boat. Focus on removing rust from the keel and sealing it, fairing it and then sealing the faired surface. Put washers between the keel and the hangers so the keel can't slide from side to side. Also look at putting epoxy putty spacers on the upper head of the keel so that when the keel is down it is held straight (sandwiched) by two places inside the well in addition to the keel pin. Think triangle, or three legged stool. Also, if you are going to be in salt water, you will need a zinc.
Greg Guenther
Belleville, IL

Boat Name: Magnificat

Model/Year: 1970

Hull No. 473

Hailing Port: Belleville, IL
08/01/2009 5:20 AM Pacific Time

Sean,

If you have to get the pin out try heating the area around the pin with a propane torch and then tapping on the pin with a bronze mallet. Heat does wonders for stuck fittings even if they have been epoxied in place.

Take the keel down from the hanger. That cable attachment area may not stand the stress. When I accidentally dropped my keel suspended from come-alongs, it fell down and then over and broke my foot. Be careful.

Greg
David Torrisi
Santa Clara, CA

Boat Name: Dumbo

Model/Year: 1975 C-22

Hull No. 4330

Hailing Port: Santa Clara
08/01/2009 12:43 PM Pacific Time

Sean,
If you can't get the pin out, then it can't be worn very much if at all. It was designed to pivot in the hangers, not the keel. It works better that way. Do you self a favor and leave it. Really.

David
Howard Friedman
Pisgah Forest, NC

Boat Name: Forspacious Seas

Model/Year: Wing - 1989

Hull No. 14907

Hailing Port: Lake Keowee-Seneca, SC
08/01/2009 5:48 PM Pacific Time

I think you may be over-stressing about your keel. I overhauled mine on two different occasions. The first time I used epoxy which was expensive and eventually peeled off. The second time I used a Petit metal primer that was a 2-part system. First a coating of their zinc primer followed by a paint primer and then a fairing compound if you wish and then the bottom paint of your choice. This system came as a kit with both parts boxed together. I had great success with this system and it lasted for years. The major codicil is that you sandblast the keel and get the primer on immediately afterwards. Don't worry about small pits, the blaster will do a good enough job. If your not racing, fairing really isn't necessary and adds expense and labor to the job.
The hinge pin is fine the way it is as long as the outside parts are round and smooth they will rotate in the hinge brackets. If the boat is in salt water, add a teardrop shaped zinc(recommended by Catalina) near the hinge pin.
The eye bolt is threaded into the keel and should be removable but may be rusted in place. The person who recommended heating with a torch is correct. That might help loosen the bolt. CD may have a replacement.
This is why I bought a wing keel when I replaced my last boat!
Howard Friedman
Pisgah Forest, NC

Boat Name: Forspacious Seas

Model/Year: Wing - 1989

Hull No. 14907

Hailing Port: Lake Keowee-Seneca, SC
08/01/2009 6:03 PM Pacific Time

Her is a link to the Pettit product I mentioned earlier.
http://www.pettitpaint.com/fileshare/product_pds/1645620.pdf
Good luck
Howard Friedman
Pisgah Forest, NC

Boat Name: Forspacious Seas

Model/Year: Wing - 1989

Hull No. 14907

Hailing Port: Lake Keowee-Seneca, SC
08/01/2009 6:08 PM Pacific Time

CD sells the keel eyebolt for $16.
 
 
Swing Keel Replacement
Catalina Direct Discussion Topics / Catalina 22 Discussion Area / Swing Keel Replacement / renovating swing keel