Joe Engel wrote me with the following questions: >I for one would like to know why the bilge keels need plating.... What is >the purpose of plating the bilge keels? What is it plated with? Maybe you >could post to the TWL? In metal boat building parlance, "plating" means welding the skin (plate) onto the frames. The purpose is to keep the water out. (Sorry Joe, I couldn't resist!) Boojum's plating schedule is: Bottom and keel 6 mm Side, deck and bulwarks 5 mm Frames and floors 10 mm Cabin 4 mm Cabin Roof Glass over ply All aluminium hull plate to be grade 5083 H321 In other words, the keels are made of 1/4" thick 5083 aluminum. If you look in the earlier photos, you will see the frames sticking "up" where the keels are in the latest pictures. The frames form baffles in the fuel tanks that extend down into the bilge keels. The very bottom portion of the bilge keels holds lead ballast. The centerline keel aft holds clean lube oil and the lower part of it serves as the keel cooler for the engine. In case anybody is wondering about the cabin roof being glass over ply, it is a curved piece laminated from one sheet of 3/8" plywood and three sheets of 1/4" plywood, covered with glass and epoxy on both sides. Stout! This allows us to complete welding, sand blasting and painting of the hull and deck (inside and out) with the top off for easy insertion and removal of machinery and joinery. Also gains several inches of headroom in the pilothouse that would otherwise go for frames and insulation, and makes mounting goodies to the roof of the pilothouse much easier down the road. Weight turns out to be slightly less than aluminum, too. Cheers, Charles ---------------------- Charles Vollum mailto:moana@xsw.com http://www.xsw.com/boojum 25' trailerable all-ocean power boat