Practical Boat Owner – May 2018

be able to outsource this job! But the
incredible strength of an integrated keel
would be lost, and keel bolt maintenance
would also come into play, just as it is on
most boats.
Having done all this, we now got our
block and tackle (ie an old mainsheet
which is now our kicker) and hoisted the
keel, which in its bare aluminium state
weighed about 100kg, into the boat. A
template was made and we then cut the
hole for the keel into the bottom of the
boat. A deep hole was dug underneath
the boat as well. The keel was now
lowered in, but we had to hoist it up a few
times to file the hole slightly bigger. It is
generally good practice to get parts that
are to be welded to fit snugly, because it is

The whole structure

becomes more rigid

when the coachroof and

side decks are fitted and

the interior welding is

completed

easy to accidentally burn straight through

when a gap is more than one millimetre.

But before we welded the keel to the hull

we had to put in the horizontal floors.

Meticulous job

These are the structural beams under the

soleboards of a boat, which gives the

bottom of the hull its strength. It is a

meticulous job to get them to fit the hull

exactly, and each one was cut twice – first

just roughly, and then more accurately

after it was put in place temporarily and

the profile marked with a compass.

I think it was Krishnamurti who said ‘The

first step is the last step’. And in the same

vein Muir often mockingly sang Dem

Bones: “The toe bone’s connected to the

foot bone, the foot bone’s connected to

the ankle bone, the ankle bone’s

connected to the leg bone, now praise the

name of the Lord!”

We were constantly building and

planning at the same time, and this played

a role right from the start. So, for instance,

we had to think carefully about where

exactly the floors had to go, because

some of the floors had to be extended

upward to become the frames onto which

the bulkheads get bolted. And the

bulkheads ultimately determine the whole

interior layout.

I’m glad to say that the care we took

early on was thoroughly rewarded. The

geometry lines up very nicely to give an

uncluttered and spacious interior, and

anyone who wants to produce a sister ship

to Ongemak will find it straightforward.

The last step was to fill the keel with two

tons of lead. A contact I made in the bar at

Matjiesfontein now came in very handy

and he sold us recycled lead at a very

Interior fit-out means bolting bulkheads to frames Saloon takes shape as the galley, lockers and portlights go in

80 Practical Boat Owner • http://www.pbo.co.uk

‘A contact I made in the bar came in handy –

he sold us recycled lead at a reasonable price’

PRACTICAL