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Whats up with my keel?

2K views 12 replies 7 participants last post by  deniseO30 
#1 · (Edited)
HELLO everyone!
SO! I have a question about my 1969 Grampian 26' that I hope someone will be able to shed a little light on...
My keel is short, and looks like it would be a drop keel, though there is no indication from the outside, absolute bottom of the keel. And it is wide. But today, whilst inspecting in the bilge, I saw this little square bolt on the aft portion of the keel extrusion.
So my question is; do I have a drop keel boat that someone glassed shut?

I briefly talked to some people in the chat before about this (I think Dferron & Faster?((Thanks again!)), and some thought perhaps the boat could be a prototype, since it is an earlier model, being hull #27

I sailed her all last season in LI sound, and from what I can tell, she is a little tender in the heel, but stands up well..

Below are links to images of the boat from the port side, on the hard. The other is a pic of the keel bolts in the bilge. Hopefully another grampian owner, or those familiar with drop keels, will be able to identify whats up. Ive never seen or operated a boat with a drop keel, so I really dont know what Im looking at. Thanks to all for reading!

imgur: the simple image sharer

imgur: the simple image sharer
 
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#2 ·
That looks like you have a centerboard version.

Check out Sailboatdata.com
 
#3 ·
Yes it does, but theres no way (that I can figure) To lower a Center board from the cabin... Unless that bolt aft of the extrusion in the bilge is turned to spool/unspool a cable? Only center board Ive ever had any experience with is that of a Sunfish.

If it is a CB version, the bottom does not indicate it, but rather that it has been sealed shut. Whats my next step? scrape the bottom to the bones I suppose...

Great website BTW, thanks for the reply!
 
#5 · (Edited)
Well it does look like there should be a shaft going aft from the cylinder but it is hard to tell. Perhaps there was a problem with the mechanism and a "thrifty" DPO (dreaded previous owner, who gets blamed for everything that is wrong with the boat, even if you did it!) decided to disable it. I doubt they would disable a functioning one. But perhaps they sealed it off with a plumbing plug as that looks to be what is there now. I would start off with removing that to see what is behind it. I have heard of people sealing off a center board when they sail predominately in shallow waters, and light airs. But mostly I think it normally just a kludge rather than fixing the real issue. I have not seen someone do it to a boat as small as this. There have even been builders that just deleted the swing keel, and called it a shallow draft keel. What to do would depend on what was broken. At this point I would sail it as is for this season and at next haul out you might want to do some exploratory grinding. If they did a clean job of covering the opening it might not be hard, but that is not likely.

I think it depends on your attachment to this boat, you might be better off starting fresh. After another year of sailing you might want more boat anyway. Those stringers don't look too solid but it is hard to tell from the photos. So perhaps it might be worth a general condition survey to see what a professional would advise. Really depends on your patience for projects, skills, work-space and tools.

Look at number 4 on "how to unstick my centerboard"

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT GRAMPIAN 26.

I think you will find what they did to fix it. I guess it depends on how much you have invested. I would likely sail it as is, till I moved up.
 
#7 ·
Mike Oreilly, Miata Paul, Thank you for your replies.
I will read #4 on the FAQ, Grampian owners website.
Upon reading Pauls advice, I will sail it as is for the season, as Im not looking to add yet another project to my list. I have talked to an individual in my marina who owned a G26 in the past, and mentioned that there were shoal-drafters out there. I was under the impression that this was one of them, until I saw the bolt protruding from the keel inside the cabin. I may scrape the very bottom of the keel a bit to try and get a look-see, just so I know (maybe better off knot knowing..)
I havent invested a terrific amount of money, (got into her cheap) but I have a lot of love and work put into her. and I rather like the interior space and headroom she affords on such a small cruiser. I dont plan on upgrading for a while (at least until I upgrade my job situation!) so I will heed the advice paul, and address this issue more in depth during the next haul out. Great feedback and sound advice here. When I learn more, I will post again for those interested. (w/pix) Thank you for the guidance, guys!
 
#8 ·
This from the Grampian Owners Website link above:
"McGruer's design mandate had been for a comfortable family sailer, with six-foot headroom in the interior, and the berths for four (five if you squeeze two into the pull-out settee). She was to be strong and seaworthy, and trailerable - hence the swing-keel version. (The swing-keel has a draft of 3ft with the keel up, 6ft 6in with the keel down; fixed keel draft is 4ft 3in.)"

So, if you can figure out the approximate draft of your boat you should be able to figure out if it ever had a center board. If the draft is around 3 feet then it should have a center board; if the draft is around 4'3" then it is the fixed keel version.
Should be fairly easy to figure out.
 
#9 ·
I can tell from pictures that mine is not a 4'3" fin keel...But what about the possibility that it is the elusive shoal draft, with no CB?
The draft depth should be a good tell, and I'd say off hand that it looks closer to 3', but my uncertainty derives from the fact that I dont see any gear, cable or mechanism for a CB in the cockpit or cabin.
Of course, that too may have just been done away with. Thanks for the input Caleb!
 
#12 · (Edited)
For anyone interested: upon further investigation (mainly communication with a previous owner I tracked down from 20 years ago!) I have learned that my '68 G26 was a center board version that was sealed up (over 20 years ago). I have no intention of attempting to reappropriate the CB as I can imagine it a massive undertaking. I've also been reassured by other sailors that a 3' draft for a 26 footer isn't bad, and in fact sufficient for my planned coastal cruising. thought it'd post the outcome of this inquiry and see what some of you think about keel requirements in relation to boat size. Again, thanks for the help and replies. You were spot on sloopjonb, mikeoreilly, miatapaul and Calebd. So is ritchard, fences beware.
 
#13 ·
Well, this is what happens when someone doen't learn about a boat before buying it. If you didn't need the swing keel or centerboard (they are different) the builder would not have designed one for it.
 
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