Last weekend, my son and his kids came up to help me attach the ballast shoe (Keel) to the bottom of my boat. I had turned it upside down the week before. We hoisted it up and drilled the bolt holes then set it aside and sealed the surface with Henry's wet patch. A layer of Irish felt then more wet patch and set the keel on again. We bolted it down then trimed the felt and the cleaned up the squeeze then turned her back over. This week I am pouring about 25 lbs of lead into the centerboard so it will sink when I lower it.
I am using my ShopBot CNC to make a pocket for the lead. This CNC is too small for most of the stuff I am doing on the boat but it was the easiest way to do this.
Here the pocket is cut and I made spikes of 3/16 brass rod that I had lying about which should help holding the lead in place. There will be a plywood cover over the lead and the whole thing will get a glass and epoxy sheath after the board has been shaped into a foil of some kind.
Melting the lead, unfortunately I don't have any pics of the lead after it was poured.
Some plywood gussets being added in anticipation of framing the deck and cockpit.
Ain't she purdy?
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