[bolger] Re: removing Micro keel
If the Micro you're dealing with has the designed keel of cast lead sandwiched between layers of plywood, with the plywood then epoxied to a keelson timber, you will not be able to remove the keel without damaging something, probably tearing out part of the boat's bottom. You could careen the boat (put it on its side) to do the work. You could probably even do as you have suggested and fully invert it and suspend it by it's keel from rafters, if you worked very carefully and braced the keel and hull. Another alternative, illustrated in John Guzzwell's _Modern Wooden Yacht Construction_, is to built a pair of semicircular frames of equal diameter that fit on and brace the hull and keel athwartship, fore and aft, and then just roll the thing upside down in them. The difficulty of building such a contraption is offset by the fact that, when you're done with the repair, you simply roll the boat right side up again. Concerning weight hung from rafters: I suspended the hull (sans ballast keel) of a 22'x8'x3.5' traditionally framed sailboat from the 24" o/c. rafters of my nearly new garage to right it. It weighed in excess of 1000 lb.. I used a beam of doubled 2x4s on top of about 14 of the 2x6 rafters and had no problem. Of course, YMMV (your mileage may vary), and I will not be responsible for the destruction of your workshop
Richard wrote:
A friend of mine has a Micro that needs some bottom patching and
glassing to save the boat from wood rot.
One idea was to run bolts through the lead in the keel, and hang the
boat upside down from the rafters, to make working on the bottom easier.
Another was to pull the lead from the keel, flip the boat by hand, fix
it, then reinstalled the keel.
Anybody care to comment on the feasibility of these schemes?
How hard would it be to remove the lead?
Would distributing the load over a dozen or so rafters allow a standard
2x4 24 inch on center rafter setup to support the weight? (about the
same weight as four good sized men?) How about if we used two beams,
each close to the wall? (shed style roof)
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glassing to save the boat from wood rot.
One idea was to run bolts through the lead in the keel, and hang the
boat upside down from the rafters, to make working on the bottom easier.
Another was to pull the lead from the keel, flip the boat by hand, fix
it, then reinstalled the keel.
Anybody care to comment on the feasibility of these schemes?
How hard would it be to remove the lead?
Would distributing the load over a dozen or so rafters allow a standard
2x4 24 inch on center rafter setup to support the weight? (about the
same weight as four good sized men?) How about if we used two beams,
each close to the wall? (shed style roof)