thompsondockside.com

It has been awhile since I last posted here. The winter has put a chill to my progress. However I am back at it and have a few questions. As you all may recall, I have a 1958 18'6" vacationer Cruiser inc. I have replaced numerous ribs as well as a sizable section of the bottom of the hull. I am now attaching my keel on to the bottom and have no record of how close it comes to the transom. I have lost a part of what I took off and was not smart enough to have taken a picture. How far back from the transom does the keel end? And could somebody explain why it is set back?
Also when attaching the deck, do you use any glue? My old deck was attached with 3/4 inch brads, and it did not appear to have any glue.
Thanks again for all your help.
Eric

Hey Eric, hopefully someone with a Cruisers, Inc. from that time period will chime in and let you know about the length of the keel. I think it didn't go all the way to the transom to help prevent cavitation of the motor.

I used 3M5200 adhesive in addition to nails and screws to attach the decking plywood to the framing on my Thompson restorations. Comes in caulking tubes and ya can get it at Home Depot.

Andreas

Eric
You are speaking of outer keel cap as inner keel goes all the way to transom.

My 16' Seafarer keel cap ends 28" from the transom, and my 20' Seacamper is about 30". I read somewhere that the engine manufactures said keels should end 24" or so from transom to avoid turbulence to engine.

I had a cap buit on a 18' seacamper that went all the way to transom to try and keep stern from sliding in a turn but never really got the chance to test much. It ran without any problems.

As for upper decks when I dissasembled mine there was evidence of a small amout of adheasive, but this could have been from an earlier repair. I sealed edgesat frames, especially around cabin, with a silicon sealer and attched with bronze screws.

I appreciate the answers. I had thought it was about a foot, apparently I was wrong. I will go with the 24" rule. As for attaching it I was going to use the 3m5200 and screws. After reading some other posts I am now rethinking this. Could you set me straight on what to use?
I have a collection of these 3m5200 tubes I picked up at a store going out of business, just a couple of bucks each. So it's like I want to use it for everything, but this is probably not for everything. I will use it for the deck. Can I on the keel? And yes Dan, I am refering to the outside keel, not the "inside" keelson. Am I right on that Andreas. Andreas corrected my terminalogy on this early on in the build. I am a trying

Thank you all.

Do NOT use 3M5200 for the keel attachment. You want to use a flexible marine caulking, not an adhesive. If you use 3M5200 the next time someone wants to remove the keel they will have to destroy it and most likely the garboard plank under it. BoatLife Life Caulk is a marine caulk that I have utilized.

The keel is on the outside of the boat and the keelson in on the inside of the hull. The keelson is sometimes also called the "inner keel." So yes, Eric, your terminology is correct.

Andreas