Morgan 22 Centerboard + Swing Keel Restoration

[briceburg]

It''s time to restore the 1968 morgan 22 I have. After cleaning the small ecosystem that built up in it after 15 years in the FL jungle, I need to focus on the centerboard. The old centerboard has rusted, expanded, and split, so it doesn''t fit back into the centerboard trunk easily. I''ve decided to refab one using 1/2" aluminum + 1/4" stainless bars near the bottom for weight. This is the first time I''ve worked with these materials, and I''ve glued some high density boat foam to it & will sand this into an airfoil shape to fiberglass over. Does this method sound OK? Any tips?

After the refab, I''m going to replace the winch, cable, and pulley system to lower and raise the keel. Does anyone know if Morgan/other manufacturer sells replacement winches, pulleys, (and more importantly) the piston system (rubber elbow, piston, and pack nut) attatched to the elbow which leads to the centerboard trunk? Are there alternate methods I can use?

Also.. another stupid ?: The gel coat along the hull appears to be slightly blistered. Is it necessary to sand the entire hull down to the glass & coat it with a few layers of epoxy before painting it again? I''d like it to be able to sit it in the water for at least a couple (2-4) years without worry of damage.

Thanks,

Brice
(reachable via: http://www.iceburg.net/contact.php )

[Irwin32]

I am not a repair expert. That said, I have over the last 25 years successfully repaired delaminated decks, small blisters, cracked rudders, reinforced weak decks etc.

I think your plans sound reasonable. I do know that you run the risk of allowing water to get in between your foam and the metal inside on the CB. The metals you have chosen will not be greatly effected and were they to be, I am sure you would see obvious signs ofd failure in your fairing.

Blisters: Gel coat blisters are not serious if they are in small enough numbers that you can pop, dry them, and fill them by hand. Be reasonably sure they do not go into the laminate below. You say "along the hull" and that is a little unclear. If the blisters are located to a small area, I would say that is a good sign. I used to get 15 or 20 gel coat blisters each season along my hull to keel joint. I opened and dried them and then filled them with West. I have not had any blisters for 4 or 5 years. I would certainly go this route for now and see how it works.

[brucebarker]

I am rebuilding a m22 also my center board spilt due to water getting into the steel used as a weight iam replacing it with stainless and then relaming the cb.

[brucebarker]

hey brice due u have a spec book for your boat.

[sailingdog]

I wouldn't mix stainless and aluminum. You'll be setting up a galvanic corrosion cell internally...and the aluminum will fail rather quickly if any saltwater gets into the centerboard. It would be better if you used stainless throughout.

As for the blistering.. if you pop the bubbles, and they are dry inside, they aren't osmotic in nature. If that is the case, just pop them, fill them with thickened epoxy and then fair and paint with a barrier coat. I'd recommend four coats of Interprotect 2000e, two gray, two white, so you can ensure good coverage and know if you've sanded through the barrier coat in the future. Be careful to continually mix the barrier coating, as the "micro plates" tend to settle out if you let it sit.

If the blisters are filled with liquid... they are osmotic in nature and you'll need to sand and then dry the hull out before doing anything else.

Make sure the centerboard's profile is symetrical and a decent NACA airfoil shape, or the boat will have performance problems.