Building Tips – Fitting bilge keels

Bilge keels are the strips that stick out from the turn of the bilge on most vessels, and are provided to reduce rolling. Here are some suggestions for fitting bilge keels to a scale model.

1.  If you have enough material in the hull wall, cut a slot with a Dremel tool and glue the strips into the slot.
2.  Use a length of styrene angle. Glue one edge flat onto the hull, towards the centre underneath. The glued face will not normally be noticeable, but if preferred it can be cut back at the end at a slight angle to make it less so. The angle is flexible enough to follow the curve of most hulls.

3.  Put nails into the hull along the line where the bilge keel will go. (Model railway track pins are good for this, with the head cut off.) Use epoxy glue to fasten the keel material to the pins and to the hull.