keel support

berwick · **Joined:** 21 Oct 2006 18:12 **Posts:** 327

Anyone know how much area of support there is on the keel which allows me room to work on the centerboard. I know the very back of the keel is not strong, but could I block in front of that and in front of the centerboard pivot?

thanks,

Richard

T37Chef · **Posted:** 05 Jun 2014 13:07

Just dug a hole in the ground/yard about 2 feet deep I think, with permission of course. Toast

I was able to get the board out, repaired it. Installed it when they lifted the boat for launch.

berwick · **Joined:** 21 Oct 2006 18:12 **Posts:** 327

Well I managed with much effort to cut a access hole in my cradle (5" thick wood!) to get at the centreboard bolts. They were not in the best shape so I re-drilled and tapped from the 3/8" to 1/2" which should help in longevity. The surprising part in all of this was that when I tried to drill deeper for longer bolts it was not lead I ran into but some sort of cement mixture! I presume my whole keel (hull 136) would be made of this but maybe it was just the bottom part and it was used for mounting the plate? My plate seems to be made of brass or bronze by the tailings that came out. The cement surprised me.

Richard

NAM · **Joined:** 22 Jun 2008 10:54 **Posts:** 85

I've been thinking about this problem myself since I am sure my 37 is due for some CB work in the near future. When I talked to the guys at my last haul about blocking forward of the trunk they were not enthused about this fearing that it might slip.
After thinking about it for a bit what I though of trying was to split the support by blocking on either side of the CB trunk just aft of the hinge for the forward block. The bottom of the keel is flat and fairly wide at this point. The aft block can be a single just south of the trunk where there seems to be enough beef.
My bigger problem is seeing how the hinge mechanism is fastened onto the keel. The last time I inspected this area I was unable to discern anything that looked like a hinge mechanism. Perhaps it is buried in fairing. Would love to see a picture of what it is suppose to look like and where the bolts are located.
Abraxas is an early boat, hull #31 1977 built in North Carolina according to the documentation papers.

Tortuga's Lie · **Joined:** 27 Oct 2006 10:32 **Posts:** 827

The hinge looks like this:

Attachment:

57b23_centerboard_pin_2.jpg [ 16.19 KB | Viewed 0 times ]

and can be found here:
http://shop.tartanyachts.com/parts-hard ... d-pin.html

Mine is also a 1977 and the bolts were just about gone and the hinge had some pitting but I reused it anyway because I don't think it was structurally deficient. I put a barrier coat on the hinge assembly thinking that may slow the corrosion down a bit.
here's what the bolts looked like:

Attachment:

cb4.jpg [ 756.24 KB | Viewed 0 times ]

Cheers,
Tom

Timshel · **Joined:** 29 Dec 2010 10:24 **Posts:** 193

Just about to refit my board after 2 seasons without it. The new hinge from Tartan suffers from a 'lack of quality construction !!'. I am going to bolt it in with silicone bronze bolts to try to get around the crevice corrosion issue. [Macmaster Carr]
Took all bottom paint off,photo is Interprotect.

Tortuga's Lie · **Joined:** 27 Oct 2006 10:32 **Posts:** 827

Not sure what the bolts thread into might be fiberglass holes that have been threaded?

puffcard · **Posted:** 22 Jun 2015 09:23

I've drop my board a few times and replaced the bracket twice. I'm certain the bolts are treaded into soft material like lead, it's only a few inches thick and behind it is mush. You can go up one size. I use 316 SS bolts, don't use the standard SS for West. I was also able to block the boat up like 2ft up, the aft block can cover some of the CB trunk and front block right at the forward part of trunk.

berwick · **Joined:** 21 Oct 2006 18:12 **Posts:** 327

Well mine was definitely a cement mixture, maybe they tried different materials?

Richard

kerryman51 · **Joined:** 01 Jan 2013 21:09 **Posts:** 13

Blocked so Centerboard was able to be removed, anything aft of the back block is the danger zone.One other very important part of the centerboard setup is the hose inside the bilge that the centerboard pennant runs through. If your keel/centerboard looks like any of these, you probably want to pull the mast and change the hose.

Tartan37.com

keel support

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