help please - '68 O'day Mariner

[pullenpoynt]

hello

i am kinda new here and was wondering if you could help with a question/solution or two

my mariner lost her keel on a recent sailing trip - the bolts rusted out - and it simply fell off no damage to the hull .

i was wondering if it is feasible to install a swing keel or should i just put a fin back in place

i kinda like the swing keel idea as i would be able to trailer her more sensibly and would also be better for shallow waters and beaching

your comments and/or suggestion would be helpful as this seems like a monsterous task


thanks

bob

[Stephen Ditmore]

I'm thinking you should start by inquiring with http://www.stuartmarine.net/

You might also check with http://www.edeyandduff.com/ and http://www.capecodshipbuilding.com/

Try pricing what they'd charge you each way. If that doesn't answer your question feel free to write back. I grew up with the boat, and like it, but the ones I've seen lately were not in good enough condition to put extra time into.
If yours is, Great!

Best wishes,
Stephen

[pullenpoynt]

thanks stephen

already checked with stuart marine - $2000.00 for a new keel - way to much for the boat -

that's why i was wondering if there was a simple way to hang a keel of sorts to make some headway -

bob

[Stephen Ditmore]

If I were in your shoes I might try to effect something, just as you're proposing. But from a distance I don't want to propose something that could fail.

Unless it was something completely different.... You could make it into a power launch...

Stephen

[pullenpoynt]

well, a power launch is out of the question , i guess i'll try and fashion some sort of keel out of steel road plate 3/4-1" thick and a section of I - beam

thanks
bob

[Eagle Boats]

You should be able to obtain a used keel. There were thousands of Mariners and Rhodes 19s (same hull as the Mariner) built. I would not try to retrofit a centerboard into your hull. It would be a tremendous amount of work.

[pullenpoynt]

thanks eagle
i have no thoughts about a center board - i know it might be comfortable for some to have a huge hole in the center of their boats , but for me, i am uneasy with it, in fact , i have eliminated all the thru hullls in my sailboat to minimize the entry points of seeping water ,

i have looked for a used keel within my price range and found nothing - so i'm thinking about either a fixed keel or a swing keel made from I beam and steel road plate
thanks
bob

[Peter Grant]

Hello,
I have on ODay 19 ft Mariner keel version about 30 years old. I haven't used it for a couple of years because I have the use of a C&C 27 belonging to my brother-in-law. However, in the shallow waters around Prince Edward Island, a keel can be a handicap. I used to have a 27 ft Navy Whaleboat with a CB that I could sail in an out of all the many waterways on the Island and beach on our secluded sand dunes and perimeter Islands. I miss that. I would like to convert the old ODay to a centerboarder. I hope you take on that project with your boat and tell me how it goes. Don't be discouraged.

Good luck,
Pete Grant