J/30 Class Association Forums J/30 Forum The Boat, Sails and Equipment Putting Rhapsody's Keel on a diet

I decided to bite the bullet and template the keel this spring. I didn't realize just how fat the keel was. Below are two photos of work in process. I bought the Computer Keels class keel templates printed on Mylar and constructed the actual templates using mattte board and 1 x 2 lumber.

I borrowed Mark Rotsky's Bosch power planer, but unfortunately broke a belt about an hour after the only place in town that stocks the belts closed for the weekend. So, I now own a cheapo Makita power planer from Home Depot, and still owe Mark a new belt for his.

This is a 4 Ibuprofin job. My back is killing me and I'm only done planing the top 4 stations. The keel was very fat. I have carried away 5 bucketfulls of lead shavings.

I started by using a straight edge and grinding the trailing keel edge straight. The upper part by the keel joint had "grown" over the years where fairing cracks were routinely patched. The bottom edge on the other hand requires buiding up. The templates would not fit over the trailing edge until I planed both sides of the keel. Once the templates were fit over the keel, I found the leading edge required building up 1/4" to 1/2". I plan on attaching a fiberglass batten and will fill around it with fairing compound. The leading edge intersection with the bottom of the keel needs to be built up as there is a large gap (~1.5") missing that has probably been ground off over the years.

Below are photos of work in process. The templates for sections 1 through 4 now fit and the chord lines all intersect with the straight edge. I may shave off just a slight bit more so the finished profile fits the templates with the fairing compound.