Keel warped. Start again?

[Bill Sterling]

Hey all,

I’m building the Haven 12.5 (albeit very slowly). Recently bent the keel on and things went pretty easily with this..BUT..the stern end has warped about one inch to starboard over the last four frames as its dried. The forward end also has warped to starboard about 3/8”. I think the board was too green when I started the grain runs diagonal. Wish I’d used flat sawn. I trimmed the back a little, hauled it back with some rope and tied it off. Do you all think its safe to proceed? i.e. just bolt it down and forget about it or will the strain cause problems later? Is this a big deal? Visually I think it’ll be fine but I don’t want to open garboard seam later. Must I redo? (oh please say no).
Bill

[Wild Dingo]

Gidday Bill
I dont have an answer mate... but I thought it worthwhile to pull this back to the top to try and get the wiser ones to help you out a bit... a bit of a conundrum you got there mate :( Good Luck!!

Take it easy
Shane

[RGM]

This is a tough one. I guess if it were mine I would perhaps attempt the following:
a. Try re-steaming the offending sections of your keel. Build boxes or boots, whatever you want to call them that will slip over the sections in question, plus a little, provide a good snug fit around the keel ends and plumb some good wet steam to them. This might involve some removals and/or disassembly of frames, floors, etc. Make the sections accessible.
b. Prior to re-steaming as described in step "a" determine how far you need to bend/over bend the curved sections. Perhaps practice with a piece of scrap or fall-off, if that makes sense. Fabricate a jig or fixture or two that you can install immediately after steaming your keel. The idea being that they will aid you in straightening/resurrecting your keel ends without having to perform a "circus quality" juggling act with clamps, wedges, shores and line. Additionally, the jigs should be made to help retain the desired curvature of your sprung keel.
c. The jig or fixtures can be made from wood (sizable stuff) or metal. Just so long as they are rigid and will provide a good "strongback" for which you can clamp, pull, push, shim or wedge to or from. It sounds odd if you haven't done that sort of thing before. But believe me once you get a little practice with this sort of Fred Flintstone & Barney Rubble Technology it all becomes amazingly clear. Which brings up paragraph "d".
d. If you're Fred Flintstone you'll need a Barney Rubble. Get a partner to help you handle the clamping/straightening extravaganza.
e. Make a practice run or two with the jigs and clamps. Be sure to use pads between the clamps and your keel. Don't bruise the lumber.
f. Slather the sections of keel that you are targeting with linseed oil immediately prior to steaming. It helps keep the remaining moisture in the wood as you steam it. Steam it for about 1 hour per inch of thickness, then try to horse it back into line.
g. If that doesn't yield acceptable results, hang the keel on your shop wall as a conversation piece and make a new one. Good luck.

[ 09-06-2002, 03:01 PM: Message edited by: RGM ]

[Bayboat]

RGM's suggestion would work, although it might involve about as much work as replacing the bent keel with a new piece. If you do the steaming, I would suggest overbending the ends by about half the amount they stick out on the other side. That is, about 1/2" at the after end and about 3/16 at the forward end. The main problem is that the slanting grain is conducive to bending as the wood tries to take its natural shape, and it might take more than one treatment to set the keel so it will stay put where you want it.
The real solution is to get out another piece with straighter grain. Any good boat shop has a number of rejects hanging on the wall as reminders not to do it again.

[ 09-07-2002, 01:00 PM: Message edited by: Bayboat ]

[Bill Sterling]

Good on ya digga. Thanks. Well, I had a closer look at the stern end of the keel and it turns out the grain is pretty close to flat sawn. Must be it was too wet when I cut it out. Question is, what now? Is it going to change shape more than it already has? If I go ahead will it strain and bust out someday or will it relax into position?

[Bayboat]

The steaming should "relax" it enough, but on further thought, if the keel is already fastened in you might have a tough time getting enough heat around it.

Another approach is to wait until the wood stops moving, then shave off the wood that is sticking out, and put in dutchmen on the other side, with resorcinol and some screws, to fill the gaps. That's kind of makeshift, but it would work if you really don't want to start over with a new keel, which I would recommend.

When you ripsaw wood, especially long pieces like a keel, planks, or mast staves, various strains are relieved and the wood goes where it wants to go. The trick is to cut a piece wider than the finished one, wait a day or two to let the wood relieve its strains, then lay out the finished piece and whittle away.

[ 09-14-2002, 01:03 AM: Message edited by: Bayboat ]

[Thaddeus J. Van Gilder]

my favorite cedar on oak pram has a bit of side ways bend to the keelson, but it's a benefit, as when I tow it, rather than rush down waves and hit my transom, it always passes me to starboard...