Beth Ann Daye
Clinton, WA
Boat Name:
Model/Year: 1976
Hull No.
Hailing Port: Cultus Bay |
 09/19/2004 9:04 PM Pacific Time
We have found a 1976 C22 that we hope to buy. We have an inverse economic problem. We must store it in saltwater. Our tiny yard will store the trailer but the septic won't allow the weight of the boat.
Problem is...it will have a swing keel. The keel hanger is reported to be bronze and we have seen Slaton photos in "Our Old Boat" articles, but we can't tell where it is and how it attaches to boat. We presume it is up inside the lower forward end of the trunk.
Does anyone have diagrams that show the location, orientation and shape of the keel hanger so that can consider whether we can have a saltwater-safe stainless version of the keel hanger? Does someone already offer one. We're hoping it would eliminate the dissimilar metals problem in saltwater.
The 1977 manual warns against longtime storage in saltwater probably because of these metals creating a "battery" which will cause corrosion.
Thanks for any help and pointers.
Beth Ann |
Paul David
Melbourne Australia
Boat Name: Reflections
Model/Year: 1986
Hull No. 13369
Hailing Port: Melbourne Australia |
09/19/2004 11:22 PM Pacific Time
Beth Anne - Assuming you haven't yet bought the boat, ask the vendor to tell you where they are and what they've done. This will do a few things - give you an idea if they have ever pulled the hangers out to check wear on the assembly, and if they have periodically pulled the bolts to prevent them from freezing up in the hull (and risk snapping them off when removing them). You might also make the sale contingent upon their lowering the keel (even slightly) out of the hull and checking what is probably the most problematic "feature" of an otherwise great boat.
Paul / Reflections |
Bob Vick
Caldwell, TX
Boat Name: Over Keel
Model/Year: <1985
Hull No. 13059
Hailing Port: Lake Somerville |
09/20/2004 6:18 AM Pacific Time
Beth Ann,
The keel hanger is in the trunk about 18 inches back from where you see the rounded part of the keel hanging under the boat. All you will see is what looks like flat metal if it is attached correctly. The only bolt heads under the boat are attached to the keel hanger. That flat metal & bolts willl be all you see but keel & hull.
I would take a blanker & crawl under the boat & shake that front & rear section. If it moves the pin might be worn & need replacing. Skip Meisch lives in your area; he has not been on the board for a while but would know what to look for on an older boat. I would get the boat surveyed unless your husband likes projects, by a C-22 sailor. You might contact your local fleet.
I know there are a lot of C-22’s that slip in warm salt water & seem to survive. In your cooler northern waters, the effects of electrolyses should not be as extreme as warm water boats. If the keel has a few coats of epoxy on it, it will offer some protections.
Cheers,
Bob Vick
Caldwell, TX
C 22 #13059
Over Keel
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Joe McElroy
Snoqualmie, Washington
Boat Name: Teasel
Model/Year: 1979 Swing Keel
Hull No. 9014
Hailing Port: |
09/22/2004 7:34 AM Pacific Time
I spent lot of time wading around in Useless Bay just opposite you when I was a kid. At low tide, it seemed like we were out 1/2 mile from land.
Skip has been very active with Catalina people in this area, but the local group seems to have quieted down and I haven't heard from him in quite a while. Look at his website and click on "Sail with Friends database". His email address is in there, though that may have gotten him spammed to death by now. |
Joe McElroy
Snoqualmie, Washington
Boat Name: Teasel
Model/Year: 1979 Swing Keel
Hull No. 9014
Hailing Port: |
09/22/2004 12:35 PM Pacific Time
Beth Ann,
I don't believe that it would be worth your time and money to replace the keel pivots with stainless steel. If you look at the galvanic series, stainless and bronze are quite close. My impression is that the bronze does a very good job of staying alive. What does seem to happen is that the iron keel corrodes A LOT when it is exposed, and this can create problems with your cable fitting. Definitely check the cable fitting and the bolts (take the bolts out one at a time to replace them with new). You might just replace them before you buy the boat. Then if they break, you know you're in for more time to easy-out the broken off parts and possible replace the threaded fittings bonded into the hull (this is a BIG deal).
If you keep your keel insulated with an epoxy/glass covering, you have nearly eliminated the problem. Of course, these coverings get damaged easily. My very ignorant vote is to install zincs on the keel as well as keeping a good finish on it (meaning epoxy/glass, which is pretty non-porous). If money were not an object, the new lead/stainless/glass keel from Catalina would seem ideal.
I think what it comes down to is maintenance. If you haul sufficiently often, you do not have a problem. Question is: can you keep up the maintenance in the long term? In my case, I can see being really conscientious for a year or 2 and then really slacking off until I had a dead boat. That’s why I keep our boat under cover at home. It can sit for years while I’m getting back around to being a sailor.
Our trailer sat on Lummi Island for years unused. Just being in the salt air nearly destroyed it.
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David Daye
Whidbey IS, WA
Boat Name: Heelin' Dancer
Model/Year: c22 1976 Swing Keel
Hull No. 5634
Hailing Port: Cultus Bay |
09/24/2004 9:37 PM Pacific Time
Thanks to all for answering questions of my wife Beth's and mine. I've run through many earlier keel postings currently listed too.
The upshot is that the Catalina Direct keel repair video is in the mail to us, while the Catalina 22 will be hitched to a rental truck for the journey here tomorrow.
In the 1970's I worked briefly building Lightnings, Snipes and Thistles, have done a lot of small boat fleet maintenance in college and yacht club instruction, and my wife and I owned a Pearson 30 on Lake Erie for a few years. The ornery lake back east, not the little puddle near Anacortes. So I'm not afraid of some amount of layup, tearing-out or severe itching.
This mid 70's c22 has a firm deck, basically sound hull, good rig and sails; it's priced reasonably so if the keel is a bit of a project that's not so bad for autumn. I've sailed my El Toro here every month since last October so whenever the C22 swing keel is back in place, and bottom all painted, in she goes.
We have a relatively exotic upgrade experiment in mind. In a few months we may have something interesting to share.
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