Sadler 25 replacing keel plates

greggron

greggron

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The keel plates in my Sadler 25 fin keel are showing signs of corrosion and I think the time is coming to replace them. the SS keel bolts appear to be in good order. Does anyone have any advice as to how I might go about doing this, where I can get new ones made up and what materials etc?

All help gratefully received.

Greg
 
vyv_cox said:
Sorry, don't understand this one. What are keel plates in this context?
Click to expand...
Sorry if not clear, they are the steel plates lying athwartships inside the hull through which the keel bolts pass - they reinforce the hull and presumably hold the keel on. From memory there are four (or maybe 5) across the bottom of the bilge, each with two bolts through them.

Have I got the name wrong?
 
OK, I understand them now, I haven't come across plates in this way before, mine are simply square washers. I assume yours help to spread the load across the hull.

There should not be any water in the bilge, so painted carbon steel should be perfectly OK. Are yours severely corroded or just surface stained? Unless they are really bad I would paint them where they are. If you think they need to be replaced then I would have matching ones made in carbon steel, paint them up and replace one at a time.

However, if there is regularly a good deal of water in the bilge that is coming through the keel stud holes I would consider dropping the keel off and re-sealing the hull-to-keel joint, replacing the plates at the same time. If one stud seems to be the single source of water you could withdraw it by the two nut method to inspect it for corrosion.
 
I really don't it is simply a matter of surface staining so replacement seems to be the answer. I don't think any water is coming through the keel stud holes either so I don't think that the keel needs to come off - that's good news.

Thanks for the advice etc. I'll need to remove them one at a time presumably so that each can be used as a template for the new one. I assume they are not bonded to the hull in any way simply bedded on Sikafless or the like.

Greg
 
Don't see the need to take them out and replace them unless they are badly corroded and breaking up. As Vyv says, clean them up, prime them and paint.
 
Thanks again.

I will take a closer look at them to see if they can be cleaned up then I will be able to assess better just how impactful the corrosion is. The last time I inspected them a piece flaked off so I suspect I will not be fully at ease until they are replaced. By way of further homework, I have spoken to Andy Middleton who worked for Sadlers and it seems they are not too difficult to replace.

Roger Oliver, who has written about his circumnavigation of the UK and Ireland on his S25 replaced his with galvanised steel plates obtained through Andy who helped to fit them whilst afloat.

Greg
 
I don't seem to have keel plates in mine either, I have a slightly raised area which I suspect is a glassed in reinforcement, which run horizontally across the boat sort of like stringers. I'll see if I can find a photo.
My keel bolts have been replaced with SS as well.
 
Ceirwan said:
I don't seem to have keel plates in mine either, I have a slightly raised area which I suspect is a glassed in reinforcement, which run horizontally across the boat sort of like stringers. I'll see if I can find a photo.
My keel bolts have been replaced with SS as well.
Click to expand...

yes - mine are not glassed in. I just have the exposed plates which are pretty corroded and SS bolts with nuts. Don't have a picture I'm afraid.

Greg
 
Hello,

I also have a sadler 25.

Mine seemed to be glassed iin, however a couple seem to have corroded and they are starting to bend upwards. I attatched some photos:

https://ibb.co/s1XcFYK

it looks like there is a small crack on the front of where the keel attaches to the hull,

IMG-20210611-230009

Did you find them easy to replace?
thanks,
joe
 
The 'crack' at the front of the keel is very common. The elasticity of the hull allows slight deformation when the weight of the keel comes on it. Nothing to worry about but you can remove all the old antifouling paint, clean up with abrasive papers as well as possible, dry thoroughly and apply a flexible sealant into the gap.

Note that this thread is 10 years old, so not sure you will receive a reply from the original poster.
 
Hope mine are OK, they are all 'top-coated' so not visible but the t/c all looks in good condition so would guess that anything underneath is still fine.
 
Yeah, I was hoping not to make a new thread, just keep all the information in this thread.

I've seen that the crack is quite a common occurence, I suppose with the flexing which must occur.

So it seems the best way to keep on top of this is to sand away the antifowl, then apply some sikaflex:
Sikaflex 291i Marine Adhesive & Sealant 300ml
then re apply the sikaflex.
 
I suppose my main problem now, those brackets on the inside of the boat, some of them have have cracked around the edges(the fiberglass has cracked away) and appear as if the bracket is curling upwards, I suppose with rust. Was this a big job to replace them?
 
Its been a long time since I owned this boat, but are you talking about the glassed transversal floors?
Or the backing plates for the keel bolts.

IIRC they were encapsulated in glass that had to be chipped away, but corrosion sometimes caused the glass to splinter.


I don't remember being very impressed with the build quality at all, lots of corners cut in the fit out.
 
yeah the backing plates, the front three are quite bad, I can put my finger into soggy fiberglass. and they are red as if the backing plates are rusty.

Did you remove the glassed traversal floor to replace them?


i'm sure the front plate is twisted slightly.
 
joecefnhedog said:
yeah the backing plates, the front three are quite bad, I can put my finger into soggy fiberglass. and they are red as if the backing plates are rusty.

Did you remove the glassed traversal floor to replace them?


i'm sure the front plate is twisted slightly.
Click to expand...

I sold the boat before they got that bad.
Unfortunately to gain full access you will most likely need to remove the floor.
 
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