1500# Sailboat Keel

[mcgargle]

Hi,

I have a 1500# Sailboat Keel. The specs for the boat (Ranger 23) says it should be a lead keel but I cannot say for sure. It was cast in 1973 so I am assuming lead was cheap back then and this boat was a "racing" boat so I am assuming they used reasonably high quality materials. I know the rest of the gear is all high grade stainless 316 grade not the lower grade 304.

I was wondering if some of you fine folks might want some of this. I would rather someone who would use it gets it rather than some scrape yard that would just add a rather large percentage to it before selling to folks like you gets it.:-x

The scrap yard tells me they will offer me $.65 a lb for it if I can get it there (amazingly hard to move a large chunk of this stuff! :) )

I can cut it up with a sawzall but I don't have any way to melt it into evenly sized ingots.

I was hoping to get $1.00 a lb but I am reasonable and would be willing to deal (buy more, pay less).

It is about 40 miles from La Crosse WI .

Anyone interested or am I dealing with the guy with the slightly grezey smile and a bad habit of snacking on Little Debbies?

Mike

[lylejb]

Hi Mike,

First, Id like to suggest you list this in the swappin' and sellin' section, near the bottom of the home page. That's the area for selling.

Is it possible to cut 50 - 70 lb slabs of this? The reason I ask is that the post office will ship up to 70 lbs in the flat rate box for about $10. That's the most common way people buy / sell lead here.

If you could make up 50 to 69 lb flat rate boxes of this for $50 or so, you would likely have buyers.

[lwknight]

McGargle , there is not a real shortage of $1.00 lead on this forum, yet anyway.
It will be worth more in the near future if things continue as they are.

You can get the 3X5 bread pans for about 3 bucks each and fill then from 0-12 pounds. A turkey fryer and good 10" or 12" cast iron pot and molds will cost you under $150.00. The propane tank costs about 40 dollars and 5 gallons will melt several hundred if not a thousand pounds of lead when properly shielded with a cowling.

OK thats not bad really if you have time and enjoy melting stuff. You can process about 150 pounds per hour at 35 cents a pound difference would be in the black around 400 pounds.
Then you would get about 30-40 bucks per hour of your time. If you just sit on it you stand to profit more in the future but , would be denied the personal satisfaction of helping other leadheads around here.

[white eagle]

I wold take the .65 a #
I bought lead for .57 last week
so the price seems to have risen a bit

[dualsport]

I dismantled a sailboat, got about a ton of lead alloy. It turned out to be right about 10-11 bhn and is working out to make nice boolits. It was a lot of work though. The composition of ballast lead could be anywhere from pure to who knows what, maybe linotype. No way of knowing without testing it. The Ranger 23 was a popular boat and probably still has a following and maybe even a website. Maybe those guys would know where the keels came from and from what. Anyway, good score, you can't lose.

[Lloyd Smale]

I keep an old chainsaw just for cutting lead. it works great.

[cajun shooter]

I purchased sailboat lead and it would always test out at 10 BHN on my Cabin Tree. Used it straight for SASS bullets.

[7of7]

I had a 3000 lb keel,... best I can figure is it was 10% antimony.. they do use that to increase the hardness... but it also contained some half pigs of pure lead... (didn't melt at 590 degrees.. like the rest of it..

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

my 2¢
there have been a few tails of woe here in the past about cutting up a keel.
I think cutting that thing up will be way more work than it's worth.
although if a chainsaw works, I'd consider that.
I cut up a 90 lb tractor weight with a circle saw, it worked but what a pain.
at 65¢ a lb I would surely sell it whole.
although as "lwknight" said, it surely will be worth more in the future.
if you can store it as is, I surely would consider the investment value.
would the wife go for a Keel lawn ornament ?
Jon

[mold maker]

The end of free or cheap lead is in the near future. I haven't tried a chain saw, but that sounds like a plan that would work. The kerf material would be easier to contain and collect than from a sawzall.
If at all possible, I'd hang on to it. You can always haul it to the scrappy, and his next offer might justify the Wait.
Today's scrap might be tomorrows gold.

[skytex]

Where would one go looking for sailboat keels?

[JScott]

On the bottom of sailboats...
:lol:

[skytex]

Well now, that is helpful. I think I'll go to the ocean and go diving then!

[44magLeo]

I think instead if sawing it up i might use a torch and melt it, catching the melt in bread tins or something of that sort. It will be neater than the sawzall or a chain saw.

[leadbutt]

I may be looking in the wrong place. I live on the shore and have just been hitting up the tire shops.:groner:


L. Bottoms