Keel Structure Repair

Keel brackets freshly galvanized

It has been said of the Atalanta, that it is an engineers design, which is not surprising as Fairey Marine, the builders, built and designed wood framed aircraft before and during WW2. One of the more famous being the Swordfish torpedo bomber
The main structural element consists of a main bulkhead on which the mast is stepped and two 480 lbs pivoting ballast keels are hung. The keels are positioned either side of the accommodation which leaves it free of the usual obtrusive centerboard casing. They are cantilevered out from massive steel brackets which are bolted through the main bulkhead.

Keel support structure

This wonderful piece of engineering had been sadly neglected on Salizanda and refused all means of persuasion to come apart. As it was essential that the keels be lowered out of the boat, the resulting work caused extensive damage to the keel casings, necessitating an extensive rebuild to both the keel support system and the keel casings. This was definitely not part of the plan.

Keel brackets temporarily  mounted

No comments:

Post a Comment