New Guy - Keel Problem

[jwv630]

Hey Guys:

1st post. Started building a Pocketship a few weeks ago after looking around for a long time. Excited about the project but not much experience here and it's a bit over my head - which is ok. I previously built a Skerry from CLC with my Dad. Love it; great service from CLC always.

Anyway, my keel is not straight. The aft end is cocked approximately an inch to the right - and I'm not quite sure how to get it straight (assuming it's absolutely necessary) I live fairly close to Annapolis and have been down to CLC and discussed the situation with John Harris. I told him I had the proverbial axe in my hand and was thinking of starting over. He encouraged me to continue - but I wanted to get your opinion. Note that even with the keel being offset a little, the keelson still is able sit well atop the keel with a little sideways bend so stitching bottom panels to it does not seem to be an issue.

Fix it?; leave it alone?; start over?...take up golf....
Thanks
Jim V

[sean]

Jim,

You are not alone there. Had the same issue, and gave starting over a thought. You can check out photos of my curved keel at http://buildingpocketship.wordpress.com ... -assembly/.

I was concerned about 2 things - the curved keel making the boat not track straight (and things not lining up), and the keel not fitting is the now slightly curved keel housing. To help straighten the keel, I did make a cut through one side of the keel in between the end and the keel housing and bent it out a 1/4" or so to make it effectively straight. I then strengthened the seem with a backing board and filled it with epoxy. WIth it covered in fiberglass, will be plenty strong. For the keel housing, I dropped my keel in last week and there is plenty of room. Was worried it might be a tight fit, now I almost worry the opposite - seems there is too much slop in there! (~1/4" slack). You can see photos of the straightening at http://buildingpocketship.wordpress.com ... after-all/.

So in the end, I am certainly glad I did not start over. A long enough build as it is!
Good luck,
-Sean

[Pascal]

The same thing was on mine . I think it is because of the way I clamped it .(I should have used better blocking). In the end Naoned floated just fine and only the fish can see the imperfection ( I do not think they mind! ) Have fun with this great project. This boat is fantastic on the water. You will love it.

[JonLee]

I had read about many people having this problem, and I was extra careful to try to avoid it. So, of course, mine ended up crooked too. I ended up doing major surgery to fix it. It didn't end up straight, but the keelson did totally cover the keel (without applying any force on the keelson), so I declared success.

Should you fix yours? There's no right answer. Like Pascal said, it'll still float. Depends on your tolerance for imperfection. You are still really early in the construction, so if this is something that's going to bother you, fix it, 'cuase otherwise you'll always wish you had. If it doesn't bother you, hey, have a beer and move on!

[jwv630]

Hi Guys and many thanks for your comments. I've visited your PShip blogs many times. My wife complains that I have more pictures of your boat in my office than of her....hell, I sleep with my manual, haha. Still not quite sure whether to take a stab at fixing the problem, leave it alone, or take up golf.

Here's a link to my new PS blog showing some pics and comments on the keel.
http://jimspocketship.blogspot.com/2011 ... rozac.html

Any comments are very welcome. Thanks again.
Jimmy V