thompsondockside.com

I'm contemplating replacing the keel on my Sea Lancer this spring. It's pretty chewed up on the forward portion of the straight piece, and seems to be the source of some leakage. I've read that straight-grain, heart-wood, air-dried white oak is the wood of choice for this project (if I include replacing the bow section that needs bending). What I don't have are the dimensions to cut the wood, and the means to fasten the new pieces together, and to the hull. I know that I'll probably figure out the latter once I start removing the old wood, but some forethought on the matter would be appreciated.

I'm still trying to figure out how to attack the rebuilding of the windshield, but that's another story............

What year boat do you have and who made it and at what location?

Thompson Bros. Boat Mfg. Co. of Peshtigo, WI did not make wooden boats in 1970. Their last wooden boats were built in 1969.

You do not need air dried lumber for the straight keel. Kiln dried is fine. Air dried is best for pieces that you stem bend. The outer stem must be steam bent (or glued laminated).

The keel is screwed to the planking and keelson from the bottom of the boat. Screws are counter sunk and covered with putty. There typically would have been two carriage bolts at the junction of keel and outer stem, one each an inch or so form the butt joint.

The keel will be the same width as the stem where they butt together. It typically will widen to about 1 1/2 inches. It's about 1 inch tall.

I do not have any boats here to measure. I am just going from memory.

Andreas

Andreas-

Sorry for leaving out the details. My boat is a Peshtigo-built Sea Lancer, serial no. 28444, with a 120 HP Mercruiser I/O. You had said it's the highest serial number you have record of. Probably more likely a late '68 or '69 model. Wouldn't be interesting to find out if it's the LAST Sea Lancer ever made in Peshtigo?! No hull number to be found. I'm thinking the transom may had been replaced by some P/O, perhaps to convert from an outboard to the I/O setup.

Thanks for the info on the keel and stem. The hunt for some proper white oak will begin soon.

Ken,

If you haven't found your oak yet, here's a tip. Find a local cabinetry shop and find out where they get their material. The building-supply lumber yards probably won't have white oak, but the lumber yards that supply cabinet makers and furniture makers will. In the Atlanta area, there are many, many cabinet shops and quite a few suppliers for their hardwoods and sheet goods (MDF, ply, etc.). I don't know about your area, but there's got to be a cabinet shop around. You might even luck out and find a shop that has a scrap they'd supply you with for that part!

Bill-

Good timing! I heading over to the local cabinet shop soon to see if they can help me with making a new piece for my windshield frame, drill out the old dowells, and glue it all back together. I'll also ask them about a supplier for white oak. Thanks!