Massive Lifting Keel Damage. Can I salvage it?

[_andi_]

So, I bought a Parker / Baker Super Seal 26 with massive hidden damage. Most of the following is conjecture, stuff literally comes up as I grind. Long story short: Seems like the lifting keel/centerboard went on a little solo adventure/smashed through the bottom guides at some point in time and somebody bodged the carnage and put her up for sale.

Here’s a photo gallery showing the situation.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/W5oxxNSxJmgoJ9tY7

My main concern is if / how I can fix this. So there’s three major points where I need help

• How is the boat originally constructed?
• How was it fixed / how to remove the fix?
• How to do a proper fix? Should I go for strength / reinforcement or is this a kind of mechanical fuse?
• Do I start with cutting out the complete aperture or do I try to salvage some of it (not knowing what is putty and what is maybe original)

My hypothesis so far:

• Grind away everything what looks like thickened epoxy or damaged fibreglass (thinking that’s not original and a bad fix)
• Fix
  • Fit in the keel properly
  • fabricate/fit an aperture with guide blocks from some kind of plate on the fitted keel.
  • Trimm Aperture, glass it in with overlap (see sketch).
  
  
  

My Questions:

• Is there additional damage I’m missing?
• What materials to use? Some kind of plate (coosa, grp?), what kind of roving (heavy biaxial?). What kind of gelcoat?

[_andi_]

... forgot to mention: This boat has internal ballast, an iron slab pretty much making up the cabin sole. The keel box goes through a cut out in said slab.

[tkeithlu]

Hmmmm. I think I understand, although it's a bit difficult despite all the photographs.

Am I right that: The centerboard box is reinforced by plates that grip the bow and stern ends of the board. These plates take the load on the board and spread it to the hull. Through an almighty impact this system has failed, with the plates displaced/hull torn. The previous owner, may he rot in hell, packed the damaged area with white epoxy.

Right, so far? If so, you are on the right path. Dig out the white stuff, down the the reinforced fiberglass, and then bevel the hull material on a 1:12 slope. That makes a big patch area around the places the two plates mount. If the hull is one inch thick, those beveled areas extend for a foot around the two ends of the box. Lay up cloth or roving, not mat, using minimum/squeezed out resin with each layer. Don't bother with gelcoat - only fish will see your work.

When you've got the hull back to strength, then redrill the bolt holes and remount the plates. Go sailing.

Impact damage to a keel or centerboard usually damages the hull at the front and back of the keel/board, because a hit at speed on the front pulls the hull down at the front and up at the back as the board/keel basically pivots. It's a common accident. You are on track to doing a really good/be proud of it repair.

[_andi_]

Originally Posted by tkeithlu

Hmmmm. I think I understand, although it's a bit difficult despite all the photographs.

Hi, yeah sorry, the description is sort of lacking, I originally posted this at the Parker Seal Forum but there's only one (albeit very helpful) person, so this is the second try.

The lifting assembly is rather easy. The keel has a rectangular top with four Acetal / POM sliders around 45cm/1.5ft long. These runs in a rectangular (actually a Parallelogram) box and and take most of the forces. The bottom of the box has a more keel shaped aperture, and POM blocks as guides back and front. The keel is raised/lowered by a line going to a winch.



My guess is that they did not hit an obstacle but dropped the keel by opening the cleat without putting the line on the winch. Then gravity deploys the keel rather swiftly, smashing the aperture and knocking out the guideblocks. Newer models have a safety line preventing that.

My main struggle at the moment is to find out how this was originally laid out, for example the stainless plate and most of the bolts on the pictures are most likely not original. So yeah, I guess I'll have to bite the bullet and just grind away all the white stuff...

[_andi_]

Originally Posted by tkeithlu

Don't bother with gelcoat - only fish will see your work.

I like the sound of that! But isn't there anything to go between the epoxy and the antifouling?

[Spot]

Hi Andi,
Does the keel need to go fully up into the trunk? Seems like a vertical limit could help keep the tip of the keel engaged to the lower guides and aperture so there is not another smashing type incident.

I drew this yesterday but did not understand the lower guides fully at the time. I am picturing a repair where the inner and outer trunk are re-glassed to the hull and any new bottom/aperture plate is tapered into the existing hull.

[_andi_]

Originally Posted by Spot

Hi Andi,
Does the keel need to go fully up into the trunk? Seems like a vertical limit could help keep the tip of the keel engaged to the lower guides and aperture so there is not another smashing type incident.

I drew this yesterday but did not understand the lower guides fully at the time. I am picturing a repair where the inner and outer trunk are re-glassed to the hull and any new bottom/aperture plate is tapered into the existing hull.

Nice sketch! Yeah, that's pretty much what I'm thinking, only the ballast is non removable (1 ton slab).

The keel needs to go all the way in when drying out. Funnily you can't raise it all the way, you raise it until it's flush with the deck and it then later pops out by itself. Also something they changed on later models. I'll mod it at some point to be able to raise it fully.


And the guides might end up like that as well if it's less complicated to fabricate.