Removing a Keel

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Yesturday I removed the nuts from my keel studs and ground the fairing from around what looked like the obvious keel hull joint. I then jacked the boat up on its stands untill the keel was just off the ground. Hoping I would be able to lift the boat from the keel. Nothing happened, and the keel just lifted with the boat. Does anyone have any tips in removing how I can get this off? Looking at other keel removal projects it looks like the keels a direct horizontal cut. Do I need to look for another joint?

Its an X-Yacht x119.

Thanks, Vincent
 

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Looking at the crack around the front of the keel root in pic 1 i'd investigate the filler compound and remove a little to see whats what, completely different boat to yours but my centaur required chisels beaten into the keel/hull joint to initially break the joint and free the keels away and that was on top of air chisels to open the joint further externally then using a lump hammer and bar over the top of each keel bolt working in from each end of the keel into the centre beating downwards on them with the keel propped so it couldn't just fall out.

Got to hear a rather sickening tearing sound as the sikaflex finally let go then got the keels down on car jacks.
 
It will almost certainly be stuck into the recess in the hull with an adhesive/sealant, so will not come off easily. Suggest you ask X Boats what they use and how best to remove the keel. Unlikely that the weight of the keel alone will break the joint.
 
What's the keel made of? You need to identify where the keel starts and the boat ends so if it's ferrous metal you could use a magnet to detect the edge and then attack it with hammer and chisel at the joint. I think they had to use some wedges to get mine off.
 
We had the keel removed from Ariam last year to cure a leak. I wasn't involved due to events at work, but my dad reports it as having been pretty brutal - the guys doing it suggested that he may not want to watch.

It took all morning with a large and experienced crew, and involved grinding several access slots right through the hull in order to insert long steel crowbars into the joint. That is with a proper keel attachment with an upper flange fitting into a socket in the hull, not yer BenJenBav job just bolted onto a flat surface - fortunately or unfortunately, yours looks like a similar joint.

Pete
 
Tranona said:
It will almost certainly be stuck into the recess in the hull with an adhesive/sealant, so will not come off easily. Suggest you ask X Boats what they use and how best to remove the keel. Unlikely that the weight of the keel alone will break the joint.
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Bavarias dont have that problem!
 
Before you do anything set up a frame to catch the keel before it drops and knocks the boat off the stand.

The shape and weight of the keels causes the top of the fixings to bind on the aft end of the holes on the bilge, and the bottom to bind on the forward end of the holes.

You can reduce this by placing a crow bar under the bottom of the keel right aft and just gently rock the keel up and down, this is why you need something to control the keel and prevent it from falling over.

Good luck and fair winds. :)
 
prv said:
Do Bavarias have a recess in the hull? The famous Cheeky Rafiki picture shows that (some) Beneteaux do not, and I think the Bavaria in Cornwall a few years ago was similar.

Pete
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The "Bavaria" in Cornwall (if you are talking about the one that lost its keel) was a Jeanneau, and it has a stepped keel joint, which makes it even more surprising it came off after banging a bit of Scillies real estate.

As to Bavaria keel attachment, some (like mine) have a flange but others are I think flat.
 
This is the answer I got from x-yacht -The keel is recessed 10 mm into the hull and glued with polyester filler.
You need to cut the 10mm deep around the keel and see if you can get some wedges between hull and keel.

It looks like it could be a similar deal to yours Pete.

I will grind in a few spots inabliing me to drive wedges in. It looks like I will have to be brutal.
 
The purpose of removing the keel is so as I can turn the boat upside down, as the whole bottom has to be relaminated. The hull laminate is very thin 6mm sturn tapering to 3mm aft, and the ersin starved glass is throughout all the layers.

http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?396302-Soaked-to-the-core&highlight=soaked+to+the+core

My consern with leaving the keel on would be that when the laminate is removed from the core the keel weight could distort the hull. I wonder though if I was to leave the keel on but then suport it with a gantry crain while the work was undertaken? - essentially taking the load. The cost of crains is no problems. We have a few on site where the boat is.

Any thoughts?
 
Ah, I missed your earlier thread about your boat's problems. Now I understand what you are trying to do. In the past I helped build two 30ft yachts in fiberglass using a male mould, so can appreciate the task you are undertaking.

Ideally the removal of the keel will make the job a lot easier for turning the boat and laying up, but the repair should still be possible without turning. If you still want to turn it and cannot remove the keel then careful turning will still be possible and your suggestion of using a gantry crane to take the weight would certainly be feasible. The main problem you will face is making sure the hull is not being distorted once upturned. You will need to mark the hull at specific matching places and check there is no twist or bow along its length, or distortion around the keel, before laminating. You can use laser levels or the old water in a tube method to do this.

As others have said, you do need to remove all contaminated foam material. This may sound extreme, but it may be easier to remove all of the outer skin and foam core, then you can build out in a truely controlled way and ensure you have an even outer skin. There was a case not too long ago of a Huzar 30 that had core delamination (http://www.channelpilot.info/huzar.php http://www.channelpilot.info/prospero.php http://www.channelpilot.info/foamsandwich.php) and this was repaired without turning the hull over. Could be worth contacting the owner for some extra details.

Hope this helps you decide your next move.
 
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