Geoff Endris
Carmel, IN
Boat Name: Repose
Model/Year: 1989
Hull No. 14949
Hailing Port: Indianapolis, IN |
 06/10/2004 7:18 PM Pacific Time
I had my 1986 swing keel on a trailer for transport and just for grins grabbed the keel to check for wobble. It seemed to move freely from side to side within the keel trunk.
My question is: is this normal? Should there be some play in the keel resting on the trailer roller? My local boat repairman says "don't worry about it", but I'm not sure.
Thanks.
Geoff |
Dave
West Bend, WI
Boat Name:
Model/Year: 1988 C22
Hull No. #14447
Hailing Port: Oshkosh, WI |
06/10/2004 8:20 PM Pacific Time
Mine moves around freely too when it's up. I have a fairly good fitting pivot assembly too. I added the spacer kit and new hangars from CD and when it's down it's solid as a rock. No need to worry. Although you might want to have a look at the pivot pin and keel hole just to make sure they're in decent shape. |
Paul David
Melbourne Australia
Boat Name: Reflections
Model/Year: 1986
Hull No. 13369
Hailing Port: Melbourne Australia |
06/10/2004 11:33 PM Pacific Time
This is actually a comfort to me - I worried for years about the significant wobble when the boat is on the trailer and the keel is suspended from the cable. A friend of mine with a Boomaroo 22 (read old style Aussie copy) was convinced I was about to lose my keel. I dropped the keel, inspected the pin and hardware. Although there was very little wear to anything, I replaced the pin with a new one. The keel still moves freely from side to side. I have wondered if the top of the keel wedges up into the housing when it is lowered and I'm under sail, as I don't notice anything untoward happening when I'm on the water. |
Geoff Endris
Carmel, IN
Boat Name: Repose
Model/Year: 1989
Hull No. 14949
Hailing Port: Indianapolis, IN |
06/13/2004 9:03 AM Pacific Time
OK. So wobble while on the trailer is normal.
What about when the keel is down? I guess I need to get the spacer kit to minimize that.
Does the 86 model have the "new hangers", or should I replace those too?
Thanks. |
Dave
West Bend, WI
Boat Name:
Model/Year: 1988 C22
Hull No. #14447
Hailing Port: Oshkosh, WI |
06/13/2004 7:12 PM Pacific Time
My 88' didn't have the new hangars. There was quite a bit of room for the keel to slide back and forth on the pin.
Be prepared to cut down the new hangars to fit. They'll be much wider than you need. They must make them that way because the keels are not very uniform in thickness from boat to boat. What I did was buy a carborundum blade for my 10" Delta mitre saw. Only cost a few bucks, but it cut through the new bronze hangars with no problem. I had to cut about a quater inch or so from each one. The spacer kit if easy to install as well. I'm very happy with both upgrades. |
Geoff Endris
Carmel, IN
Boat Name: Repose
Model/Year: 1989
Hull No. 14949
Hailing Port: Indianapolis, IN |
06/15/2004 8:05 PM Pacific Time
Thanks.
How can I tell if my keel hangers are the new ones? |
Dave
West Bend, WI
Boat Name:
Model/Year: 1988 C22
Hull No. #14447
Hailing Port: Oshkosh, WI |
06/16/2004 6:22 AM Pacific Time
Geoff,
It doesn't really matter if you have the new hangars or not. The important thing is that there is not a lot of room for the keel to slide back and forth on the pin. If the keel fits between the two bronze hangars with no large visible gap, then you should be fine. I had quite a bit of extra space (maybe three-eighths to half inch) overall between the hangars with the keel installed. With the new hangars, I got it down to a sixteenth or less. I didn't make it a tight fit, but it's tight enough that I get no klunk at all. |
Geoff Endris
Carmel, IN
Boat Name: Repose
Model/Year: 1989
Hull No. 14949
Hailing Port: Indianapolis, IN |
06/17/2004 8:28 PM Pacific Time
OK. That makes sense. Thanks. |
George
Georgetown, SC
Boat Name: Blu Notes
Model/Year: 1981 C-22
Hull No.
Hailing Port: Georgetown, SC |
11/17/2007 5:54 PM Pacific Time
Here is a tip that worked for me. After installing new keel blocks/pin and spending UNTOLD hours trying to get these casting blocks milled just right. It was a horrendous trail and error ordeal where I would have to launch the boat, swim under it to see if the keel would come all the way down as the blocks were pincing it. Alas, I gave up and put the old ones back on, but I did one thing before reinstalling them, I melted paraffin wax (gulf brand) and poured it into each casting hole (where the pin sits) and then reinstalled the whole keel assembly. The parafin takes up space in the keel pin hole and stops the pin from sliding right to left thus, no more banging keel. |
Lee Scott
Birmingham, AL
Boat Name: Shoot the Breeze
Model/Year: C22 - 1981
Hull No. 10212
Hailing Port: Lay Lake |
11/18/2007 6:03 AM Pacific Time
I've seen at least one picture of a keel restoration where the keel pin was epoxied solidly into the keel pin hole. Is there any benefit in doing this? I've got my keel off right now while I'm in the process of putting an epoxy barrier coat on the the hull, and I'm mulling over doing this to mine.
In theory it should make the keel a lot less wobbly when it's retracted, and it should permanently eliminate wear in the keel pin and keel pin hole. I wonder what happens, though, if the keel pin is not perfectly square to the keel? Is there enough play in the hangers to make this not an issue? |
Dick Reynolds
Lebanon, Oregon
Boat Name: Catnip
Model/Year: Swing Keel / 1974
Hull No. 4570
Hailing Port: Newport, Oregon |
11/18/2007 3:34 PM Pacific Time
The reason for the elongation of the keel hole is that the keel hole is the bearing surface instead of the hangers. Ideally the pin would be fastened to the keel and the pin would rotate within the hanger. Dick |
David Torrisi
Santa Clara, CA
Boat Name: Dumbo
Model/Year: 1975 C-22
Hull No. 4330
Hailing Port: Santa Clara |
11/19/2007 9:26 AM Pacific Time
I epoxied (MarineTex) my pin to the hole when I pulled my keel. I used a piece of plywood to hold the pin square and measured it from every angle I could think of to make sure it was square to the tip and leading edge of the keel. 18 months later, it seems to have held pretty well. While I had the keel out, I measured the width of the keel trunk and built up the top of the keel to fit snugly in there when lowered. I also have some ~3" plastic (not sure what it is) washers on either side of the keel to keep it centered between my old style hangers. I, too, started to work on the new style to get them to fig, but decide it was way too much work.
One of these days I'll hang the boat in a sling and lower the keel to see how it looks.
David |
