Watch the video to see the basic math. By AJE HASLETT, from CB214 Most castings of lead keel involve melting the lead in one vessel and pouring it into a mould. Adventure. Mine was a solid peice of lead that took up the fron half of the keel leaving a large void to the rear in the keel. Lead is too malleable for threads, so typically stainless steel J-shaped bolts are cast into a lead keel. Roughly 1500lbs, but I'm in the middle of calculating a more accurate weight from its shape, as offloading it to weigh the trailer alone is problematic. I cut 1' off my 87 Hunter 40 cast iron keel, but before I did I hired Mars Metal Co, Canada to calculate and build lead replacement pieces. Is there a market for a ton of lead salvaged from a sailboat? I have the lead keel weight from my 26' sailboat, which was destroyed last year. Carefully lay the keel over on to a trailer and you are in the lead business. The keel weighs 35 to 50% of the total weight of the boat so it should be easy to jack the boat up off the keel. I have about 4000 pound of lead in one large piece, a keel cast for a boat that will not now be built. I see small quantities of scrap lead (tire weights, fired bullets, etc) selling on eBay for @$1/lb, and moderate quantities of lead cast into ingots for @$2/lb. However, it’s possible to cut out the pouring process by making a steel-box mould with sloped bolted-on ends, and standing it on stout legs, making sure it is level. Can anyone with experience offer any practical tips, as there is some driving involved and I'd like to be prepared, bringing everything that I might need. Health Science Home & Garden Auto Tech ... Get the best of HowStuffWorks by email! Another method was to either weld or bolt together a larger keel-bolt assembly around which lead could be poured. As the front-runner in Keel production, we have developed a cost-effective, yet practical, alternative to complete Keel refits. Use the jack stand screws to raise the boat from the keel. My dad had a 52 foot sailboat and I think that I recall him once saying that it had 6,000 pounds of lead in the keel. I know of a cast lead keel which would have to be cut up in pieces to remove. I have the lead keel weight from my 26' sailboat, which was destroyed last year. Carefully lay the keel over on to a trailer and you are in the lead business. My Cal 34 III had encapsulated lead keel that was great... no keel bolts to worry about. This lump will need to be cut into relatively small pieces to be recast into a new keel. F or 15 years I dreamed of building a boat that could sail the Great Lakes in relative safety. Think swing keel cables rarely break? Don't count on it. The preferred way seems to be a chainsaw. of lead … It's on a flat-bed trailer presently, on Whidbey Island. MarsKeel Techn By Mark LeMahieu This article appeared in Boatbuilder Magazine, November/December 2002. The holes may be close, but sailboat building is not that precise. Pour Your Own Keel Get to know your local scrap metal dealer, because he has things you need, not to mention a kinship with people who do uncommon things. Following is a small sample of the confessions of sailboat owners in a certain online forum over the past few years. :d I have a 4000 pound keel to cut up into manageable chunks to remelt into the NEW ballast keel and have had experience of using a chainsaw which works well but is a really horrible experience !!! The keel weighs 35 to 50% of the total weight of the boat so it should be easy to jack the boat up off the keel. Lead keel for Somes Sound needs surgery to trim down to correct size. MarsKeel Torpedo Bulbs™, an innovative Keel modification concept, provides enhanced performance and stability for the performance-oriented sailor or … "Bad news as I've just discovered my keel cable is snapped with the cable all the way wound on to the winch." Typically the bolts are set in the molten lead using a template, but lead keel casting is not that precise and the bolts may be off a little bit.