Metal Keel?

[BugzyCan]

I have a Macgregor 26 that sustained some damage to Keel from a submerged rock on my last outing. I will need to sand it down and fill/epoxy it again, but was thinking, wouldn't it make sense to have metal along the keel edge in case of a future encounter like this?


Pro's/con's?

[SV Windrush II]

attaching steel to a keel can be problematic. Is it a fiberglass over lead keel?

[coopec43]

Would there be a problem Sikaflexing SS steel strips and a bit of SS plate in critical places be a problem?

[RaymondR]

Would not hurt, might fall of though.

If you go to the plumbing section of Bunnings there is a 2 pack pipe putty product there which will glue metals. I fixed some holes in the bottom of an allow boat and when I took it to get welded we had to grind it to get it of.

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by SV Windrush II

attaching steel to a keel can be problematic. Is it a fiberglass over lead keel?

If it is a typical Macgregor, the keel is cast iron, possibly with some fairing compound on th surface, but I doubt glass.

OP, how about a pic of the damaged area? would help to determine the best fix, and to evaluate the possibility of a more robust leading edge.

Jim

[coopec43]

Is this the Macgregor 26 we are talking about?


MacGregor 26 Specifications

[cal40john]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

If it is a typical Macgregor, the keel is cast iron, possibly with some fairing compound on th surface, but I doubt glass.

OP, how about a pic of the damaged area? would help to determine the best fix, and to evaluate the possibility of a more robust leading edge.

Jim

All the MacGregor 26's, S, D, X, M are water ballasted with a centerboard or daggerboard. (M26M also has 300 lbs permanent ballast in hull) There is no ballast in the boards.

From the 26M manual -
The board has a few holes in the bottom and top that will let it fillcompletely with water This eliminates its bouyancy and improves the stability of the boat. When raising the board, do it slowly toallow water to drain out and make it easier to retract. With the board full of water, it is heavy.

A forum thread talks about pouring lead shot into the hollow centerboard of a 26S to attempt to improve performance.

The other models like the 25 have metal swing keels.

[SV Windrush II]

Originally Posted by cal40john

All the MacGregor 26's, S, D, X, M are water ballasted with a centerboard or daggerboard.

So if thats the case, then I can see bonding a stainless guard on the leading edge with 5200 along with some screws, just need to be faired so its not hanging out and getting in the way of raising the board up.

Make sure it is really dry before bonding and screws will help if there is enough material to screw into. I am not sure how thick the leading edge of your board is. I would have a shop form the stainless strip to match the same radius of the leading edge of the board, although I am just assuming it has a radius on it. then countersink the screws down the middle.

Im sure Jim or others also has some suggestions.

Rob

[JayandKate]

Pretty sure on the Macgregors the centreboard/swing keel is designed to be weak/sacrificial, so no hull damage occurs on striking. Best, most informed answers would be found on the Macgregorsailors forum.

[SV Windrush II]

Originally Posted by JayandKate

Pretty sure on the Macgregors the centreboard/swing keel is designed to be weak/sacrificial, so no hull damage occurs on striking. Best, most informed answers would be found on the Macgregorsailors forum.

Yes very possible!

[BugzyCan]

Thanks for the replies so far. Sorry I am out of town at the moment, but will add a picture later. The part I am referring to is not the swing keel, but the keel of the hull. It would be the first part of the hull to touch if you were to run it up on a beach. The Macgregors are a combination sailboat and speedboat, although the S model is not much for speed with a 9.9hp motor.
It hit a rock, and an area on the keel of the hull chunked off. Not enough to sink the boat, but enough that the white is missing and it looks grey underneath, which I assume is the fiberglass. Was thinking of filling it in, and then adding a metal strip, but I understand that attaching it might be problematic, since it would probably be a bad idea to put screws through hull there, leaving only the option to glue it on.

It seems like this would be a common kind of repair since it would be much more durable than fiberglass on any boat.

[JimsCAL]

The long term answer is don't hit rocks.

[BugzyCan]

Originally Posted by JimsCAL

The long term answer is don't hit rocks.

I was out on a lake and the wind was blowing hard, sun had just gone down behind the mountains, and I had passed the inlet where I was planning to stay the night. Tried to motor upwind into it, but there were whitecaps on the lake and I was getting very wet from spray, so turned back downwind and made it around a corner to hide behind some trees and out of the wind. It was shallow here. I dropped the anchor and could see it down maybe 6 feet laying on a rock. I thought that was gong to be a problem, but this anchor is a bit heavy, and kept the boat from going anywhere all night, which kind of surprised me.
The next morning the lake was dead flat, no wind at all, so I pulled anchor and headed out, right into an invisible rock. The depth sounder that is on the back of the boat, didn't tell me about the rock. But now I know where it is, so next time I am prepared, and I think also next time I will be sure to exit the same way I entered, just to be safe.
For the next time, I am thinking to have metal hitting rock, then it shouldn't be such a big ordeal to fix.

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by cal40john

All the MacGregor 26's, S, D, X, M are water ballasted with a centerboard or daggerboard. (M26M also has 300 lbs permanent ballast in hull) There is no ballast in the boards.

From the 26M manual -
The board has a few holes in the bottom and top that will let it fillcompletely with water This eliminates its bouyancy and improves the stability of the boat. When raising the board, do it slowly toallow water to drain out and make it easier to retract. With the board full of water, it is heavy.

A forum thread talks about pouring lead shot into the hollow centerboard of a 26S to attempt to improve performance.

The other models like the 25 have metal swing keels.

Oh, I see!

Thanks for the correction, John.

And now the OP has said that it really isn't the board that hit but the forefoot of the hull. A rather different proposition!

OP, I think in your place that I'd just repair the ding (a picture that shows the depth of the gouge would help) and not worry about the metal guard plate. Unless you made it awfully big it would likely not be in just the right place the next time you encounter a rock, and you would still get dings.

As others have said, it's just not good to hit rocks!

Jim