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Swing keel winter blues

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T O P I C R E V I E W
C25BC	Posted - 03/04/2019 : 03:25:16 No mild western Canadian winter this year .After days of high winds , unusual cold and ice our lake is the shallowest it's been in years , depthfinder read 7' yesterday in my slip and no precipitation predicted for least a couple weeks . Has anyone been in a situation where the keels in the mud ? Is there any danger of damage when this happens ? As I understand it the keel is never supposed to be left cranked up for extended periods of time .
9 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First)
sethp001	Posted - 03/07/2019 : 18:46:31 quote: Originally posted by islander If your worrying about a possible keel drop if you put it in the up poition you could walk a line from the bow back to the winches on both sides then crank the line up. This could take the weight off the lifting mechanism. Just a thought. Excellent idea!
sethp001	Posted - 03/07/2019 : 18:39:07 While the boat is not designed to rest on the keel, letting the keel rest on the bottom is not likely to cause damage. The keel hardware and trunk are subject to substantial lateral loading when the boat is hard over under sail. As the keel touches bottom, it will tend to drive the boat forward as the keel is forced back and up. Therefore, I would worry more about adjusting lines to allow for that forward motion in the slip, than the forces on the keel hardware and trunk.
C25BC	Posted - 03/06/2019 : 08:14:33 That is a good idea , when I was running worse case scenarios in my head ( long winter ) i wondered what one would do if the cable did break without ripping the bottom out of the boat , and was thinking of a big ratchet strap pulled back somehow and try ratcheting it up . After reading Davy and Bills posts and being fairly confident In the condition of the cable I'm thinking it should be ok .
islander	Posted - 03/06/2019 : 06:47:39 If your worrying about a possible keel drop if you put it in the up poition you could walk a line from the bow back to the winches on both sides then crank the line up. This could take the weight off the lifting mechanism. Just a thought.
C25BC	Posted - 03/06/2019 : 05:13:32 I was out yesterday , cranked the keel up , checked depth meter. The lake had gone down a bit since the weekend , I'm around 6.5' now , I took a boat pole and double checked for accuracy seems to be closer to 7 ' . It will probably rain for 2 months this spring once it starts .
Boomeroo	Posted - 03/05/2019 : 22:44:09 Just check the depth under the rudder. As any slop in seabed can impact on it and it is weak cf keel. Especially if boat rocks.
C25BC	Posted - 03/04/2019 : 08:23:29 That definitely makes sense , Thanks , the whole keel lift assembly and 1" bronze pin was replaced by the PO , he should me the original pin and it looked in very good shape . I'm hoping the situation is just just for the next couple weeks . The boat is in freshwater and apparently was primarily . But I guess you never know for sure . It will be on its trailer next winter ,
Bill Holcomb	Posted - 03/04/2019 : 08:07:45 Davy is correct. With proper maintenance, you should not have much to worry about cranking up the keel. The alternative of having the water drop to the point where the keel is driven into the mud, sand, rocks, et al... is much worse. Even if your boat is moored very tightly, she will move in the slip due to waves and wind. That movement with the keel buried can potentially rack the pivot brackets and damage the bottom of the boat where they are secured. This leads to an expensive repair. Bill Holcomb - C25 #4839 PS - Proper maintenance includes freq1uent inspection and maintenance of winch, cable, and attachment gear between keel and cable.
Davy J	Posted - 03/04/2019 : 05:39:16 quote: As I understand it the keel is never supposed to be left cranked up for extended periods of time . There has been debate here on the forum over this issue many times before. I owned my C25 for ten years, docked behind my house, in saltwater 24/7 365 days a year. The keel was always cranked up while at the dock. Mainly because we have about a three foot tidal swing, and many times at extreme low tides the boat would be sitting on the bottom, even with the keel up. With proper maintenance I would not hesitate to leave the boat with the keel up. Especially, since in my case, and apparently yours, if the cable would fail, the keel should hit the soft bottom.

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Notice: The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.