Onderwerp: Help the foreigner...UFO 6mt - Keel Removal

Good afternoon everyone,

First of all, I´m sorry to be writing in English, but unfortunately I do not speak the language.

I would need your expert advise on this and I cannot find any info anywhere.
I am about to buy a 6mt open sailboat (an UFO) and I have a big problem with the transport arrangements. I´mm not living in The Netherlands, so I will be travelling with the boat on a trailer...but my problem is that so far I have not been able to find a trailer suitable for a fixed keel boat such as the UFO, so as the deadline to get the boat is rapidly approaching, I need to find an alternative solution for its transport.
The only way I see it is to transport it in a "normal" trailer, but for that I will need to remove the keel!
Can any of you guide me through this?

How hard is it to remove it?
(the keel wasn´t "born there" so I guess there is a way to remove it)

Many thanks for any help you can give me,

Filipe

Rental trailers www.kovandenberg.nl/index.php?id=86

Hi Roberteb,

Would love to... but that would force me to make two trips!
I´m driving FROM Czech Republic.

Don't know the UFO that well, but normally it would be very simple to remove the keel from a boat that size.

Boat on a stand, support boat the hull and the keel.
Remove the keelbolts and maybe use a guitarstring or something to remove the glue between the keel and the hull.

Hi wybeslot,

Thanks for your reply.
I really hope it is that simple...

Can anyone else confirm if it´s an "easy" procedure?

Thank you,

...you may want to investigate if it is at all "possible" to remove and re-attach and re-ajust the keel on that specific type.
I am not saying it is not but on some boats it may be less work to drive to the Czech Republic twice.

Guessing that you are referring to a UFO22, with fixed keel (they are also fitted with lifting keels), than you may not take it off that easy.

As this is a raceboat, it does not have a traditional keel flange with keel bolts. It is a thin t-keel that is probably fixed in an internal box.

There may be acessible bolts, but if it is glued....

I think the Ufo he is referring to is a plastic version of the good old 16m2, mast-head sloop-rigged.
There is a big black rubber bumper on the bow. Not a very racy boat....

Maybe you can find a trailer for rent in your country (private maybe?) so you only have to drive down here and back?

And what if you send the trailer back with somebody that drives to the Netherlands anyway, possibly as a load on a truck?

Use a "normal" trailer and put the boat on it, upside down.

sailboatdata.com/viewrecord.asp?class_id=8051
http://sailboatdata.com/imagehelper.asp?file_id=10903
http://sailboatdata.com/imagehelper.asp?file_id=10905

Hi everyone,

Thanks a lot for your replies so far. Baasklusje is absolutely right... it´s the open "not so sporty" version , although it does not have the rubber bumper (maybe an older version?)

I cannot imagine how I would "turn the hull around"... that should be at least a funny thing to watch... from a distance! much less travel 800km with it upside down (but a couple of bed matressess underneath it could do the trick)

The keel removal might represent less damage, no?

Anyway, if someone can help with some "instructions" i would appreciate.

Waterblok schreef :
That is what I am looking into right now, but it has not been an easy task... apparently Czechs do not sail much (can´t blame them...no sea at all), so keelboats are even more difficult to find.

But I´m a portuguese guy who "needs" a sailboat , so I´m willing to have all the trouble to get one here.

Hi FM,

Only 4 posts and spot on!

1. Baasklusje is absolutely right
2. If not, rule one will apply

Turning the boat on normal trailer seems a good option.

Hi FM, tell us where the boat can be seen. Maybe some members of this forum can visit the site and check the keel .

I would never transport the boat upside down. The deck is not made to carry all the weight.

wybeslot schreef :
My thoughts exactly... hence the "keel removal" option becoming more and more reasonable if I cannot find a trailer.

This is the boat (sorry for the micro picture) and is located in Mijdrecht, UT:

FilipeMessias schreef : May be you can find a trailer somewhere in Germany, driving back 300-500 km with the empty trailer is better than 800 km

Hi Menno,

That´s not a bad idea at all! Thanks.
I confess I did not look into that option! Since this started I have been resolving so many "obstacles" that I did not even consider that..

I´ll do some "googling" tonight.

My advice: donot buy an UFO.

It is not a very good sailing boat and the costs for transportation are more than it is worth.

La Mavare schreef :
Thank you for the advise, and I would even agree with you if the boat was only for myself... but it´s a boat to introduce the family into sailing, so a rather "sedate" kind of boat is what I am really looking for. Typically a Valk would be even better, but it´s even bigger and a gaff rig will make the learning curve steeper for the wife. The UFO seemed like a good option for taking the wife and daugthers out for a camping trip in the lakes.

this people have UFO's for rental.
in the past, anyway, the did there own maintenance
perhaps they know ho to remove the keel?

grtz
Hans
www.waterparkterherne.nl/zeilb...ufo-valk-huren-sneek

I've sent them an e-mail already with just this question. I'll let you know as soon I get an answer.

ilCigno schreef :
Wow... that´s really nice of you! Thanks a lot!

UFO was designed and built by Sjerp de Vries from Terherne. When googling for his name i found that the rights to build UFO's (including the plans off course) have been transferred to Oksewiel in 2012. If nothing changed in a later stage, they should also be able to answer your question in detail. www.oksewieltws.nl/