Bent keel

[Markus16]

Dear forum members,

I‘ve just started to build my second ship (Endeavour 1:80 by Amati) and had to realize that the whole plate with the keel and the frames is bent. I tried moistening the concave sides and clampening them against each other, with poor results (see pictures).

Could anybody give me a helping advice? Thanks in advance and the best of health to you!

 

[Gregory]

The risk with plywood, is that prolonged soaking can de-laminate it.

 

You might try letting it soak for a few minutes then clamping it between some nice flat pieces ( without the plastic ) and put it in a warm oven - 250 for a few hours.

 

After removing from oven, let cool completely before removing clamps.

 

Other options:

 

Cut new pieces.

 

Contact Amati for replacement pieces.

[dragonflyxlii]

Hello:  When I was building kits and I encountered a warped keel, I would assemble the subframe keel and then attach the bulkheads without gluing them. Any rabbit and beveling done first. Then I would put the subframe on the build board with the keel straightened by the boards that center the keel on the build board.  You could also use temporary brackets along the keel to further straighten the keel.  Then I would use small , but accurate 90 degree, blocks or triangular pieces on each bulkhead both sides to square up the bulkhead to the keel. Clamp first. These I would gradually glue to each of the bulkheads to "square them up" using these pieces only to hold the bulkheads. Usually this would do it. If not, then I would use another set of small blocks close to the outside edge, both starboard and port, to align the bulkheads with each other. Steam and heat doesn't usually work well on plywood. As you go, you can usually tell if the keel is getting better aligned. This is one approach.

 

Regards, Dave

[Markus16]

Hi, Gregory, dragonflyxlii and SpyGlass,

thanks so far fpr your advice, I‘ll give it a try and also contact Amati. I‘ll let you know as soon as I’ve made any progress.

 

[Gregory]

PS

 

When I said 250 oven, that would be Fahrenheit..

[Markus16]

@Gregory:

Thanks, I understood it that way. It‘s in the oven right now!

 

[mikegr]

On 12/5/2021 at 4:53 PM, Markus16 said:

@Gregory:

Thanks, I understood it that way. It‘s in the oven right now!

 

did it work?

[Markus16]

Sorry for my late reply, lots of work. Unfortunately it didn‘t work, although I tried it twice. My replacement part will be delivered from Amati in Italy. Unfortunately there‘s nothing for me to do right now. The mast and he boom are already finished and now I‘m (im)patiently waiting for the replacement part.

 

[DaveBaxt]

This seems to be a common problem with plywood. I had the same problem with my Caldercraft Endeavour. I tried all of the above and eventually did the following. Check my build log for the Endeavour

Like Spyglass said try getting a repalacement first if that fails building supports for the keel and bulkheads worked for me once I fitted the deck before removing from a slipway. Good luck.