New (to Me) Boat - No Keel - Help !

[jordanmkennedy]

I am a new sailor and bought an Islander 21 a few months ago. I was told one of the keel bolts was suspect but was suprised when I went to check out the keel and it was gone. I am eager to get back to sailing, as it isn't as much fun to run down wind and motor back. At the moment I am exploring many do it yourself ideas, but am open to any reasonable idea. I bought the boat for 1400 dollars so I am trying to simply get back sailing. Do you know any tricks to creating and bolting in a keel?

[svquest2]

Do you have any idea where it dropped off?
You will first find an appropriate keel somewhere-- from a derilick, a hurricane damaged boat or the manufacturer. Just throwing anything on there is unsat and having a custom keel made would be cost prohibitive.

Good luck

Joe S

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard Jordan.

Originally Posted by svquest2

...Just throwing anything on there is unsat and having a custom keel made would be cost prohibitive.
Good luck

Unless Craig's list comes through for you, methinks you’re SOL on a practical keel-replacement; and might be best off taking your loss and parting her out.

The McGlasson Boat Company, later Wayfarer Yacht Corporation, originally used the name “Islander” for one of their yacht lines. In 1963, Ralph Brown and Ben Kantner recovered Wayfarer Yacht Corporation from bankruptcy, and began using the name Islander Yachts in 1965, eventually relocating to Costa Rica. Islander went into bankruptcy around 1986.

Islander 21 ➥ ISLANDER 21 Sailboat details (specs. metric) on sailboatdata.com

[sandy daugherty]

Sell the mast and sails, bolt on a good 4-stroke and advertise a "Green Power Cruiser". Unless you can find a keel in a landfill, you are going to be upside down on this investment. But first go look in the last place it spent the night in the water. I would guess you'll spend a grand or two just putting the two pieces back together.

[TaoJones]

Originally Posted by sandy daugherty

Unless you can find a keel in a landfill, you are going to be upside down on this investment.

Heh! Well put, Sandy.

TaoJones

[cal40john]

Ummm? Is the reason the boat didn't sink due to keelbolts being held in by caulk alone? Not sure I'd even go out for a motor around.

John

[Bash]

Originally Posted by jordanmkennedy

I was told one of the keel bolts was suspect but was suprised when I went to check out the keel and it was gone.

...are we not hearing here?

The Islander 21 has a fin keel made of iron that weights 1,000 lbs. This weight accounts for more than half the boat's displacement. So I'm guessing you didn't lose the keel underway because you'd have known about it before you "went to check out the keel."

I'm guessing, further, that you bought this boat in the water, and the keel was gone long before you handed over the cash. If that's the case, it stands to reason that the keel will still be there in the slip. One thing an iron keel has going for it is that it won't tend to float away on the tide. Another nice thing is that you can find it with magnets.

A commercial diver wouldn't have much trouble salvaging a half-ton keel. Assuming he doesn't have to search for the keel, you're probably looking at a half-day's work at about $100 an hour. The problem here is that you'd have to re-install keel bolts, a process that's going to double your present investment in the boat.

Might be a better idea to take up golf. If you insist on sticking with sailing, you've learned an expensive lesson: don't buy an old keelboat until you've checked the keel bolts. On an iron-keeled boat from the 70's, the keel is the most likely thing to fail at this point.

[random56]

i too just bought a 21 islander, my problem is i got 1/2 way though a restore. if you have any pictures of what the inside looks like it would be a great help. also every one talks about it costing a arm and a leg to reattach the keel, my question is why? i have mine out of the water on a stand, and once you get over the 1000lbs it does not look that hard. if some one would clue me in that would be great.

[roverhi]

The reattachment isn't the problem, it's the lack of a keel. It would be cost prohibitive to have a new one cast. Finding a used one is really a crap shoot. See if you can locate the boats keel. I suspect someone sold you the Brooklyn Bridge, however.

Reminds me of an acquaintance who sold an MGA that he'd backed out of the garage with the passenger door open. After he picked the door up off the ground, he wired it door back in place. A guy saw it in a parking lot, at night, and wanted to buy it. The owner sold it on the spot. Told the guy the hinges on the passenger door were a little iffy and to be real careful opening it. The guy called him the next day to tell him he was right about the door hinges. Damned if the door hadn't fallen off while he was driving it home that night. The ex owner's response was "Can you imagine that??"

[random56]

here is a picture of the keel for you .

[mobilchuckje]

I've posted some photos of the beginning of my refit on the Islander 21 TOFU.

Flickr: humboldt32's Photostream

Some inside shots, I have more.

Enjoy,
chuck.

[outdoorsman37]

Hey Chuck! Can you send me some measurements from your trailer. I am trying to modify my trailer to support my Islander 21. I need at least the height of the bunks. Thanks!

Rob

[mobilchuckje]

Originally Posted by outdoorsman37

Hey Chuck! Can you send me some measurements from your trailer. I am trying to modify my trailer to support my Islander 21. I need at least the height of the bunks. Thanks!

Rob

Surely,

I'll make some measurements tomorrow.

BTW, check my Project thread here:

The Plastic Classic Forum • View topic - 1967 Islander 21 TOFU

And lots of photos here:

Pictures by mobilchuckje - Photobucket

I'd love to see yours.

[Geminidawn]

Originally Posted by jordanmkennedy

Do you know any tricks to creating and bolting in a keel?

I got a project boat in, in this condition, no keel, no rudder, after looking at the plans and pricing a single flat cast keel I decided to set about designing and bulding my own. I was more concerned about including a more efficent aerofoil shape and fabricated the keel out of hollow steel weighed it and then filled with the appropriate ammount of lead to bring it up to weight required.
It's not rocket science, it's cheap and good for skill building, it also helps you understand a bit more about sail boat besign.
If you are interested in this approach get back to me and I'll talk you through it.

Fabricated Keel For The Sailwind 27 - Fabricated and aerofoiled to achieve good all round performance with Tip Chord @ .12, Root Chord @ .8 and the MCT@ 30% aft of leading edge. Cruisers & Sailing Photo Gallery

[roverhi]

Anyone who owns a 101 Forward Control Land Rover would consider building a keel from scratch a learning opportunity.