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swing keel problem

9K views 26 replies 8 participants last post by  windyway 
#1 ·
outboard died gave up after 1.5 hrs went to load it on the trailer ,
first try was not quite right , tried again and something was really wrong .
finally after another hour dragged it out of the water to see this .

dont know for sure how im going to fix this , but i will be decking over part of the trailer so nothing like this can happen again .
 

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#2 · (Edited)
any suggestions ? only thing i can think of is to cut the swing keel with a jig saw ,then have the remainder removed and make another one

all of those braces that go in towards the keel are going to be moved so they go to the outside of the trailer .

the line going to the swing keel is still tight so something is going on there also .
 
#3 · (Edited)
it's pretty common for the uninformed trailer sailer. You need a "cattle chute" type of guide for the keel. Weld (or bolt) uprights about 2" on either side the keel and progressively wider to the end of the trailer. When the boat lines up it will guide the keel (and the boat attached to it right in! You also need boards on the bottom of the chute too. It works very well at my YC where all the cradles and trailers have the "chute" ck the cable or tackle that holds the keel up too. Good luck!
 
#5 ·
if a picture is worth a thousand words...


You should be able to fix the drop keel. epoxy filler and cloth if needed. you will have to completely strip the paint from it to though.
 
#6 ·
I would not cut the swing keel with a jig saw. You need to get the boat off the trailer for this work or put it in the water & with scuba gear take the swing keel off. (I did the former) The steel side plate is removed to reveal a pin with a theaded hole in it. Attach a bolt to this to get a grip on the pin & pull it out. The swing keel will drop down to give you access to the cable attach point that you can disconnect. The swing keel is fiberglass exterior with foam interior but 50lbs of lead shot epoxied into the lower portion of the keel itself to keep it down in the water when extended. I bought some shotgun shot & mixed it with a slurry of epoxy to repair the missing portions on the bottom of mine. Make sure you don't make the keel longer than the slot it fits into! LOL If you PM me your email address I can send you pictures of my repair.

Your boat seems to be just hanging on to the trailer. It is suppose to be supported by the keel (90%) & yours seems off a bit... better fix that soon.
 
#7 ·
swing keel bolt removal -5/16th bolt

i loaded up the truck full of gear and made the 20 minute drive to the club .
not knowing what size bolt i need to pull the swing keel pivot bolt i got
one of each ,turns out it is a 5/16th bolt .

once i got the bolt moving it backed out easy on the trailer .
i spent a hour with the boat in the water trying to get the swing keel to drop
out . could not get the boat to float high enough to get the swing keel
to drop out ,i had the keel tied off with twine so it would stay with the trailer

i ended up having to cut the tip of the swing keel off it was jammed under a trailer beam , it was pretty mangled anyway .it didnt let the keel drop out but ,it did let it go back up inside the
keel slot .
the boat finally floated off the trailer and i pulled it out to fix the other issue of fighting to get it on the keel board every time.
 

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#8 ·
at the end of the day with the new rails on the trailer the boat sat right the first time , i was pretty happy .
i have a one piece board i bought that will go the lenth of the trailer for the keel
to rest on but i forgot the grinder to grind out the rusted bolts that are holding the 3 boards that are now on the trailer
 

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#10 ·
Had a complete disaster today. Much the same as you had.
I have been renovating the interior of my boat , and itching to get it in the water. Finally today i was ready for launch...or so i thought.

What i didnt realise was the keel cable had snapped the last time i had the boat in water. When we went to float it off it got stuck ... im thinking the water must be shallow as we have not had much rain. Never occurred to me the keel might have dropped down and got stuck between the trailer axles. So we couldnt go backwards and the boat had shifted sideways a bit. Finally decided to drag it back out again.. As my buddy pulled up the ramp the whole boat sudden learched sideways then dropped down again. Before i could shout stop we were right out of the water. The keel had folded over and was partially snapped in half. The whole boat was resting on the keel that was sticking right out by the tires.... Couldnt float the boat and couldnt drive it home as it was tilted over. Had to run to local walmart and buy trolly jacks and a 6 ton bottle jack. Over to home depot and buy timber and a dremel multi saw. Jacked the boat up a little and cut chunks of the keel off. Eventually managed to get enough of it cut off to let the boat sit back down on the rollers. The remaining part i was able to pck back into the keel box. Managed to pull the keel pin easily and push the remainder of the keel backwards to drop it out behind the back axle.

So now i have no keel . just chunks of fiberglass..... not sure im even going to bother replacing the keel right away... The water level in out lake chain is pretty low , its really hard getting in and out of the water.. so im gonna leave it moored up for now.... at least i can use it every weekend.
 
#11 ·
i feel your pain man , i know what a sick to your stomach feeling that is .
the next time you get the boat in the water you should install a set of
rails like i did down the middle .if the boat keel gets between those rails
there is no way the swing keel can ever slip down again ..

one guy bob i think talked about epoxying two pieces of 3/4" plywood
togther and then fiberglassing it to make a new keel ..

also inspect your swing keel pivot bolt , when i pulled mine out i found
some severe corrisoion

ok spirit owners modify your trailers so you dont end up like us .
 
#13 ·
You might want to contact Foss Foam in Williston FL. They made most of the swing keels in the 80's, and still have the molds for the ones they did. They. made a perfect replacement for my Hunter 22. Not cheap, but anything for the boat, right? It really did help when I went to sell the boat, since the new owner knew the keel was up to spec.
 
#14 ·
finally got my swing keel removed today , even with the bolt out it did not want to come out ,a lot of swinging back and forth and yanking on it while holding my breath at the boat dock . i was wearing a skateboard helmet and a dive mask .

good news is i finally got to sail my spirit by myself , the new tohatsu 6hp sailpro pushes the boat at 5mph with the throttle barely cracked
 

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#15 ·
finally got my swing keel removed today , even with the bolt out it did not want to come out ,a lot of swinging back and forth and yanking on it while holding my breath at the boat dock . i was wearing a skateboard helmet and a dive mask .

good news is i finally got to sail my spirit by myself , the new tohatsu 6hp sailpro pushes the boat at 5mph with the throttle barely cracked
I dont suppose you could measure the part of keel you have , im goin to have to make one sooner or later. Does the keel pin hole have a plastic bush ? how thick is it at keel pin hole? what should length be ?
 
#16 · (Edited)
hope this helps
it looks like it's a 1.75" at keel bolt measured at the edge of the board
it has a bushing in there ,cant tell what its made of .
im guessing im missing about one foot off the bottom , next time i put it in the water i
will measure the slot it fits up into .

i am guessing that the keel cable attachment point broke off from corrison and its still tied to the line that goes to the winch and that is pulled up tight to the spot where the cable exits the bottom of the hull .. i cant get my hand up in there .
 

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#19 · (Edited)
Attached is a picture of my keel measurements before my repairs, then during the repairs a steel bottom was installed. The cable fitting came off last weekend & I had to go thru the effort of keel removal again! What a PITA ! Where the keel strikes the forward part of the keel slot on the hull I mounted a 3/8 thick piece of nylon as the wood I used last time got gouged. The cable was otherwise in perfect shape.
 

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#20 ·
Hey Thanks for the pictures guys, a couple of questions.

Is the 47 inches the finished length or the before repair length.

What would be the finished length

Assuming a circlular section at the top of the keel with circumference of about 15inches with the keel pin in the center is 1 3/4 inches thick, does the keel narrow along its length? Just thinking that top section of the keel must fit pretty snug to reduce the movement during use, but the rest needs to move in and out freeley.

Just how much side to side movement ( wiggle room ) do you have on the keel. To make it snug fit could i cut a thin 15 inch diameter nylon washer.

Thanks for advising guys , you been very helpful
 
#23 ·
Found cable to CB had parted, small # of blister's ground our & filled.Grafite /epoxy applied, new cable + hardware obtained, so final steps getting close. refit CB/cable,the cable attachment was about to fail, so it has to be repaired,add extra gudgeon to rudder,trailer still to do as well.

windyway to do your roller mod for theCB cable did you cut off the top of the CB trunk or build it up ??

MM
 
#26 ·
windway
Yes I see the reccess your refering to,but how did you install the bracket and roller you fabricated. did you simply reave the new cable, run it through the block from below then wigle the assembly into the recess, then attach to the CB.
If so I'd be concerned the assembly would drop down when you lower the CB.

Sorry for all the questions, the idea is a good one, just can't see in my mind how it's installed.

MM
 
#27 ·
If you look at the dwg carefully you'll see a nut welded on the underside of the top of the bracket, (the one that captures the cable in the pulley) I drilled a hole in the keel slot for a bolt that goes thru this nut held with large washers on top and sealed. This bolt washer & nut along with the cable fitting on the back hold the bracket up in place. In 2 years of service there has been no issue with the bracket setup. (just the swagged fitting on the cable slipping off. You need to double up on that)
 
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