Keel

The keel is an important part of any sailing yacht, it is what keeps the yacht from capsizing. A large hydrodynamically shaped lump of lead, steel or other heavy material which is suspended from the bottom of the boat, usually held on by a bit of sealant and a few bolts.
It's frightening really that such a crude part of the boat is so vital, and more so is the ignorance with which sailors treat their keels.

For many yacht owners the keel is just there, it always has been and, so they assume, it always will be. However, over the last few years there has been many tragic stories of yachts loosing their keels and so I was in a state of utter shock by what I saw when we had Fritha lifted out.

So, looking at the keel many will think, "It's rusty and needs painting", which is correct but at the moment not of much interest. Looking at the aft end of the keel (that's the part on the right side of the picture) you can see something wierd hanging down from the hull. No problem knowledgeable people will say, it's just the outer sealant coming off. Again that is correct, however what you can't see on this picture is all the more clearer on the next picture.

You don't have to look very closely to see that there are some major issues here. The outer sealant has peeled away, leaving a sight which made me hold my breath. The aft end of the keel is breaking away from the hull. Had we sailind in rough conditions with the keel in this state it could have been fatal. Luckily I let myself be persuaded by my dad and decide to have the boat transported to Scotland by road. Thanks Dad!

So, the next question is how could this happen? Well, there were many theories but to get a final answer we got Ben Sutcliffe, a surveyor in Wales, to do a survey. His answer was slightly more shocking: "There are no keel bolts in the last 13 inches of the keel!". He told me this over the phone and a few minutes later had to enquire whether I was still there. I was obviously taken aback by this, but it did give me a direction to go: the keel has to come off, two new holes drilled and tapped and new keel bolts inserted. The hull also has to be strengthened to recieve the new keel bolts and then the keel has to be rejoined to the hull.

After asking many companies and just getting bad, expensive or no answer, I decided the only way to go was to do this myself. Currently this work is being planned into every detail and hopefully be conducted once I get back to Glasgow.