Keel Cut and Installed

My friend John and I cut the keel and the chines last week out of a 20 foot long 11 inch wide and 2 inches thick Sapele mahogany plank.  We cut the chines first and what was left over was a perfect size for the keel.  I had ordered two of these planks so I'll end up with an extra.

After John left, I planed down the chines to the correct size and then cut the taper for the keel.  The keel is 5-1/2 inches at the transom and only 3 inches at the gripe.  I also planed it down to the 1-3/4 inch thickness specified in the original drawings.  

Then I fit the keel to the frames and then installed with new bolts and 5200.


Now comes routing the keel with a jig to get the correct angle.


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