[This Old Sailboat]

Wow, it's pretty quiet around here. Where'd everybody go, over to CatalinaOwners.com?

Anyway, if anybody's still lurking around here, you might be interested in the 5-part series of posts titled Refinish your swing keel for best performance that I started publishing this weekend on my blog at stingysailor.com. They're part of celebrating all things swing keel during my Spring Swing Keel-a-Thon.

Part 1 kicks off the series with removing the keel using a sled based on the plans in the Catalina Direct Swing Keel Refinishing DVD. If you have a different trailer than the Trail Rite that probably was original equipment with your sailboat, this post might be of special interest to you. I have a Calkins trailer that required some workarounds.

Besides the 5-part series, I have two other posts related to swing keels that I'll either throw in along the way or shorter after. While you're there, be sure to read last week's post, Five swing keel maintenance blunders and how to prevent them. It's been getting a lot of pageviews.

In the coming weeks, I'll update this thread with a synopsis of the latest post. But the best way to stay updated is to subscribe to the blog.

If any regulars here have questions about the project, feel free to comment and we can have a separate discussion here. Who knows, maybe it will raise the pulse around here a bit!

 

[This Old Sailboat]

The second installment posted this morning, Refinish your swing keel for best performance - Part 2: Cleaning.

This week, I describe using hand tools and power tools to remove most of the old coatings and rust, one way to lift and move the keel so you can work on it elsewhere, and the different methods of removing the remaining rust either chemically or by sandblasting to prepare it for fairing.

I also show examples of keel defects commonly found on C-22 swing keels, including mine.

 

[This Old Sailboat]

The third installment posted this morning, Refinish your swing keel for best performance - Part 3: Fairing. This is the heart of the project and half way through.

I start with a bare sandblasted keel and describe common keel defects, the fairing system I used, how to seal a freshly sandblasted keel, applying body filler to build up an accurate hydrodynamic foil shape, and paying extra attention to the leading edge of the keel.

There's even a cool time-lapse photography slideshow of the entire fairing process on one side of the keel. It's like a video but faster and it helps to visualize the progression of the build-up.

This is the most tedious and time-consuming part of the project but where diligence pays off in the long run.

 

[This Old Sailboat]

This week's installment in the Spring Swing Keel-a-Thon is The error in a popular DIY DVD that will slow down your C-22.



If you want to refinish your C-22 swing keel correctly, you might be planning on buying the Swing Keel Refinishing DVD from a certain Catalina parts dealership. It's been around for over 15 years and is the de facto authority on how to do the job.

But if you use the template that's included with the DVD to fair your keel, it will prevent you from getting the best performance out of your keel.



This blog post is a detailed analysis of the template, the geometry of the C-22 swing keel, and the undesirable results the template produces when used to fair the keel during refinishing.

If you want to get the most bang for your hard-earned bucks, sweat, and hours of labor, you owe it to yourself to read this post to avoid disappointing results.

 

[This Old Sailboat]

This week's installment in the Spring Swing Keel-a-Thon is Refinish your swing keel for best performance - Part 4: Sealing and painting.



In that post I describe: building a fiberglass reinforced guard on the leading edge, applying the final waterproofing coats of epoxy, bonding centering spacers on the upper end, priming with a barrier coat of epoxy paint, and applying ablative bottom paint last.



Next week, I'll wrap up this series with some installation tips.

 

[This Old Sailboat]

The Spring Swing Keel-a-Thon on The $tingy Sailor winds down this week with the last post in the series. It's titled Refinish your swing keel for best performance - Part 5: Installing.



This week, I describe: how to prepare the hull, three manufacturing defects in the keel hanger hardware to watch out for, tips for keeping the keel centered in the trunk, the proper method to tighten the hanger bolts, and end with a materials list and a brief project cost analysis.



Remember! If you haven't subscribed to the blog yet, do so this week and you'll receive a link to my free keel fairing template when I send the next newsletter by email. Each newsletter contains extra info, special offers, or notifications of stingy gear deals for subscribers only. Its free and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Next week on the blog, I'll shift focus away from the keel and to an inexpensive upgrade that can add modern convenience to your cruising.

 

[Sal Paradise]

This is great stuff - and its a job I really need to do. I'm off to the stingy sailor blog now to read more. Thanks!

 

[Synthead]

Thanks for this!