James is correct. Back in 2004 I reduced my draft from 6’1” to 5’3” using a Mars Metals torpedo bulb. My goal was to have a boat suitable to our shallow NC sounds, and for eventual cruising in the Bahamas and Keys.
I had to tell Mars how short we were making the keel, and how much the lead removed weighed. IIRC, we removed 800 pounds and they sent back a bulb weighing 1150 to retain the proper righting moment. Cost of the bulb was a bit over $3200 including shipping. But as James said, lead was relatively cheap back then, and the bulb was shipped to North Carolina on the back of a truckload of keels going to Benneteau in South Carolina. All up, with labor to cut off the keel (using a rented chain saw, but a Sawzall would have worked too), drill the ½” holes through the keel that hold the bulb to the keel, and assemble and fair the bulb (I painted it myself as part of a bottom job)$3800. I wouldn’t be surprised that it might be twice that now. The cut off lead has considerable value now, which can offset some of the expense. Back then I couldn’t get a scrap yard to pick up the 800 pound chunk, and had no way to get it 50 miles to the recycler, so I donated it to someone who recast it for ballast in a wooden boat he was building. These days getting the lead picked up is not a problem. Mars made most of the keels for our boats, so it probably won’t be necessary to send a tracing of the keel profile to Mars. But they can walk you through the process and tell you what it would cost. Rick Brass Washington, NC From: CnC-List [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of jtsails via CnC-List Sent: Saturday, October 17, 2015 12:57 PM To: [email protected] Cc: jtsails <[email protected]> Subject: Re: Stus-List Welcome the Newbie! Brian and David, The best person to answer your question is probably Rick Brass. He has done this project on his 38. I looked into it for my 38 also, so I can get you pointed in the right direction. My keel (and most probably yours too) was originally cast by Mars Metals. They can and do cast bolt on bulbs for just this type of project. You tell them how much you want to reduce the draft and they will design and cast a bulb for you. Rick reduced his draft from 6’1” to 5’3”. I don’t remember the exact numbers on how much weight he took off or added back, but the bulb is designed to retain the original stability and stiffness. Rick is very pleased with the result. I decided against doing it primarily because of the cost, lead is expensive these days! You can get more info from the Mars Metals website. James Delaney 1976 C&C 38 Oriental, NC From: Stevan Plavsa via CnC-List <mailto:[email protected]> Sent: Saturday, October 17, 2015 11:54 AM To: [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> Cc: Stevan Plavsa <mailto:[email protected]> Subject: Re: Stus-List Welcome the Newbie! Hi Brian, welcome to the list! I've got a 1980 32, hull #59. Great boat but I don't know anything about reducing draft. I've done loads of other stuff to her though so if you ever have any questions, post them to the list, I lurk all the time. Mine is A4 powered. Steve Suhana, C&C 32 Toronto On Sat, Oct 17, 2015 at 9:43 AM, David via CnC-List <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> > wrote: CnCer's, My good buddy Brian owns a 1980 32. He is an old friend, a great guy and keeps her (the boat) on the west coast of Florida. I thought some of you could answer his question about keel surgery...chopping off lead and recasting as a bulb to reduce his draft. Resources and DIY suggestions are welcome. Thanks in advance. Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4G LTE smartphone -------- Original message -------- From: Brian Beaudry Date:10/16/2015 3:08 PM (GMT-05:00) To: David Risch Subject: Get me on the list [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> -- Brian G. Beaudry _______________________________________________ Email address: [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> To change your list preferences, including unsubscribing -- go to the bottom of page at: http://cnc-list.com/mailman/listinfo/cnc-list_cnc-list.com _____ _______________________________________________ Email address: [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> To change your list preferences, including unsubscribing -- go to the bottom of page at: http://cnc-list.com/mailman/listinfo/cnc-list_cnc-list.com
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