Is keel replacement easy?

Hi, I have recently bought a 16ft fibreglass Yorkshire coble type boat and the wooden keels have some rot/splitting on them. The keels (3 in total) are about 3 inches deep by about inch and a half wide and have corresponding inner keels running along inside the hull. There are bolt heads visible on the tops of the inner keels.

The woodwork inside and out looks to be pretty rotten. Would I be right in assuming that the inner and outer timbers are simply bolted together straight through the hull prior to the steel keelstraps being screwed in place?

Don't know much about boat construction but would be interested to know what kind of job I'm looking at here and what type of wood to use.

Many thanks, Colin

 

This really isn't a helpful response, but reading your post I had to write this. Trash that boat man... I think you may be in over your head on this one..

 

Mmm... Perhaps I made it sound worse than it actually is. Can't see how I could justify trashing a boat because of a few rotten bits of wood which look easy enough to remove and I would assume easy enough to replace. I was merely expecting someone with a bit of knowledge in these matters possibly giving me a few pointers on the methods involved. Thank you very much for replying anyway.

 

Colin, Your assumptions sound correct. I would think pressure treated wood would work fine. The inside wood could be different than the outside if you wanted it to look good. Save what you can of the old for patterns. Caulk in a circle around each bolt when you reassemble to seal the holes good. Sam

 

Thank you very much Sam. That's just what I wanted to hear. We get pressure treated softwood here for making gates and for fencing purposes (my line of work), would that do or would hard wood be preferable?

Regards, Colin

 

I looked at a few on UK Ebay. Seaworthy, corky looking boats. Look like fun. I couldn't see much of the keels, with inner and outer ones it sort of sounds like they supply some strength, the one on Ebay looked like it had 2, 4 or 5 ' (1 1/2 meter?) long just for directional control. I have no idea what kind of woods you have in Scotland, if the boat will be left in the water, fresh or saltwater, what kind of abuse they will get, seaworms, etc. You'd do best asking for a local opinion, but as far as replacing them it sounds easy. Sam

 

One word. NO!

 

That's three

 

Without photos it's hard to tell how bad the damage is. From your descriptions, it appears that it would be possible- but extremely tedious- to partially repair the keels. It will be extremely tedious because to do it right would probably involve essentially rebuilding the entire structure and hull of the boat from the waterline down. I concur with Seara, Jim and Danish- this is a highly involved task and could easily end up costing more than the boat was ever worth.

 

Here's an answer to a question about a Yorkshire Cobble Boat for sale on UK ebay....
Q: You say very little to complete. What work needs done.
07-Apr-06
A: Hi. One of the keels is needing taken off and realligned as it had splayed. Another doubler is required on the hull. Give me a phone on 01294 224655...more
Attached are some pictures of a 16' fiberglass Yorkshire cobble boat.You can't see the keels but by Colin's description there are three 2x4's on the outside, three more on the inside and throughbolts clamping the inside and outside keels together. On another fiberglass YCB on UK ebay (which is not there anymore) you could see two 2x4 keels about 5' long. I don't know about you people but I don't see any problem at all about replacing such a keel, and if your solution is to trash boats in this condition, I would like to know where your trash pile is located. Sam

 

Here, here. I'd like a look at that trash pile too!!

The centre keel runs from the bottom of the stem to about three quarters of the way along the boat. The side keels run from about the middle right to the stern. Very stable design indeed and sits nice and flat in a drying harbour. Designed for easy launching/recovery on beaches.

I'm going to go ahead, confidence inspired by Sam, and start removing the existing timber. I just can't be thinking about scrapping this one.

Cheers, Colin

 

I was wondering if that was what they were for also, sitting on the ground when the tide goes out. Pushing one off the beach doesn't sound too easy though. The one I mentioned above with two keels had a tunnel in the middle for running shallow water or to protect the prop so I suppose that's why it only had two. I just can't imagine replacing the keels being a gigantic chore, nothing like replacing rotten stringers or a rotten deck or transom. I assume they are not glassed in, just through bolted or lag bolted to each other. The main thing is they are rotten and have to be replaced, either you do it or someone else does. If you could, post some pictures. If it does turn out to be extremely complicated, running you into bankruptcy and leaving you and yours homeless, destitute and starving, I'll feel pretty bad if that's any consolation. Sam

 

Yes Sam, the boat in the picture you posted is exactly the same as the one I have. It is an updated version of a very old design of hull dating back to the days of sail powered fishing boats. They were designed to be launched and recovered facing the surf. A simple trolley consisting of two wheels (nowadays from a lorry) and an axle was used with no drawbar. The boat was positioned over the trolley, tied in place and then pulled stern first up the beach with a horse (or tractor) using sturdy eyelets attached to the rearmost ends of the side runners.

I'll try and get some detailed pictures later.

Cheers, Colin

 

Here's a few pictures to help let you know what I'm talking about. The tunnel can easily be seen here. I've already bolted new timber to the sides of all of the inner keels as can be seen but the rot concerns me enough to justify complete replacement of inner and outer keels. The outer stbd side keel is split at the front (possibly from the keelstrap screw) but if its easy enough I'd sooner replace the whole thing while the inners are being done.

Still can't go down the scrapping route.

 

If the hull construction itself is solid fiberglass, I still think it should not be too hard to do. Your repairs look substantial enough for the moment, though they will trap water and funnel it into existing rot. You could try doing them one at a time, starting with the easiest, when you have the time or the weather is crummy, and still be able to use the boat when you want in the meantime. If, in the picture with the bottle, the stains are from water dripping down from the floorboards, that is no problem. If the hull is actually constructed from wood, with a fiberglass covering on the outside and inside and the stains are from corroding, rusty fasteners bleeding through the fiberglass, that is a different animal and you have big problems. I'm thinking they are floorboard stains. What is it you coat the bottoms with over there? It looks sort of rough, kind of like asphalt coated gravel. Sam