{"id":1012,"date":"2026-06-16T15:45:22","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T15:45:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hpwd.co.uk\/theslowboatbuilder\/?p=1012"},"modified":"2026-06-16T15:45:24","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T15:45:24","slug":"drilling-holes-for-keel-bolts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hpwd.co.uk\/theslowboatbuilder\/index.php\/2026\/06\/16\/drilling-holes-for-keel-bolts\/","title":{"rendered":"Drilling holes for Keel Bolts"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Drilling a few holes for the keel bolts should just be another job, shouldn’t it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BUT, if you have a phobia about drilling any holes in your hull; And if the holes need to match those already drilled in the lead keel; And the auger bit has to go through 18-28 cm of Iroko. Then images of drills wandering off course and a keel hanging skew whiff off the bottom of the boat which then never ever sits level on the water come to the fore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, in order to reduce the scope for error, I decided making a jig was in order. A strip of wood with 4 holes drilled in a line and the correct distance apart was clamped to the hull.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I marked the entry point for each hole vertically below my guide hole using a plumb bob as below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Then drill away. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The first one took me about 15 minutes of drilling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Then with the confidence of having seen the bit appear below in the centre of the keep, the rest took much les time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The sternmost hole needed an extension to the bit because the bulkhead was in the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The photo below shows the holes drilled with swarf in place<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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And below, all cleaned up ready for the keel bolts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

That was an mentally exhausting day!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next challenge is to get the 750Kg of keel in place, married up and bolted!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Drilling a few holes for the keel bolts should just be another job, shouldn’t it. BUT, if you have a phobia about drilling any holes in your hull; And if the holes need to match those already drilled in the lead keel; And the auger bit has to go through 18-28 cm of Iroko. Then… Continue reading Drilling holes for Keel Bolts<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1012","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t