Rigid Keel Help

[HighlandR]

Does anyone have photos / images or diagrams of a rigid keel ?
I read that Bombards have rigid keels - but can't seem to find any images!

I need to make the keel for my 12ft sib, anybody made one before from plywood or anything other than foam ?

The front floor panel under the spray deck has a bracket ( see photo ) of some sort I assume for locking the keel in place, does anybody know what the setup would be for a keel ?

Any photos or images at all would be a great help, so that i can make one.

It will need to be in atleast 2, ideally 3 sections for transporting.

[jyasaki]

My dad used to have an old (don't remember the manufacturer) small SIB with a rigid keel.

This boat had a 2-piece full length keel section made out of lumber (not plywood.) You attached the front 2 floor sections, and the rear floor section, and stuffed them into their respective seating positions, lined up the ends of the keel, and forced them down into a single plane. The joint was then fastened with a couple of U-channels surrounding the keel, with four through bolts running side to side. The remaining 2 floor sections were then installed.

As I recall, (and I certainly wouldn't work on this alone), the keel section was about and inch and a half to two inces wide, tapered from a near point in front to about 3 or 4 inches at the brow, then tapered back down to about an inch in the back.

jky

[Locozodiac]

Does the bow wooden panel have a center big hole ? Buy a spare 360 inflatable keel and glue to lower fabric, much faster than making your own hard keel...

Happy Boating