Keel is off 4-22

4-22

I went up to Berkeley after finishing teaching last night. I did this mainly because I had the rudder in my car and they will begin painting the hull any day now and because it was been raining like crazy.

The possibility of this hadn't even occurred to me, so I had removed one of the rotten cockpit drain hoses to size it. The top tore off when I removed it so I hadn't replaced it. This meant half of the water draining into the cockpit from the rain was going inside the boat. I took some comfort knowing that all the bolts were out so there were eight 3/4" holes to let the water go out the bottom of the hull. Still I didn't like the idea, so I put the hose back in place for the time being.

Hung the rudder as well. With just me, in the dark, I found an old office chair and used it to hold the rudder in place while I bolted it from above, silly really, but it worked.

Then i took the time to take a couple photo's of the separated keel and hull. The cradle seems to be supporting the keel fine and I checked out the flange and nook the flange fits into. I had expected it to be worse, but it looked like all the bedding material had been easily removed. Now it just needs cleanup. I spoke with Carl today and he says we're on target both in cost and timeline, I like him. Actually, I have liked everyone I've met there and I can tend to be reserved. Today they were going to clean the to parts and then apply RustBlok to the flange and dry over night. If all goes well, it will be bedded tomorrow.

I am a little over budget, but feel fine with it. I am coming to realize that a big part of trusting a sailboat is in the knowing of it. All the systems and components, knowing how things are attached and working through it all, that is what instills confidence, especially in an old boat. When the Lido chain plates let go and we nearly lost the mast, I had know idea such a thing was possible. All part of the learning curve I suppose.