About Keel Types

Encapsulated Ballast

The Aloha 27 (8.2), 28 (8.5) and 34 (10.4) used an "encapsulated" ballast design where the boat was moulded in two halves and the ballast was placed in one half before they were bonded together.  The ballast is only on the forward 1/3 of the keel, and the remainder is just foam filled fibreglass to give it the hydrodynamic shape.   

This design is extremely strong and more resistant to damage than a conventional keel in the event of striking an underwater obstruction. Some owners have experienced a problem where water creeps into the foam filled cavity through the join and then freezes causing any splits to worsen. This mainly affects freshwater boats in areas where they are stored ashore in freezing conditions during the winter, and is fairly simple to address as described in this article - "Water in the Keel or Rudder".

Conventional Bolted Keel

The Aloha 30 and 32 were built using a more conventional bolted keel where a separately moulded lead keel is attached to the bottom of the hull by large bolts.  In common with other boats using this design, damage can be caused by striking underwater obstructions or grounding, and the condition of the keelbolt mountings is worth inspecting periodically. 

The aftermost bolt on the A32 mounts to a narrow area of the bilge where Ouyang found it necessary to build up the mounting using either wooden blocks or a steel frame, either of which can deteriorate over time. One owner found that this area on his boat was partially filled with a "mortar" that was reverting to sand, and he undertook repairs described in this article - "Mortar in the Bilge".

Last updated  09 January, 2006 - © Aloha Owners Association