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Swing keel work update & pivot pin/winch questions

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Aceguy
1st Mate

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USA
77 Posts

Initially Posted - 08/22/2005 : 02:29:42

One day closer to getting in the water! Today I replaced the keel cable, turning ball, cable hose & hose clamps. Ran into an issue there. Once I got it all hooked up, I tried out the winch for the first time (I bought the boat with a failed keel cable). It winched up the six inches or so from the trailer up to the boat, and then when I let go, it went back down much faster! I was under the impression it wasn't supposed to do that.

I tried it a couple more times-same thing. The braking feature of the winch doesn't appear to work. I looked under the winch, and I see quite a bit of corrosion around the "brake disks". Maybe they're not doing their job? I don't know, but it looks as though the best thing to do would be to just replace the winch. It's 20 years old, and it's only $90-could be much worse.

Then I moved to the other end of the keel. I created quite the okie-rigged setup to lift the hull a foot or so. Basically, I cut the contour of the bottom of the hull out of a 4X4, stapled some padding to it, and lagged it and five other 4x4's together with some very long screws to bridge the distance between the hull and my car jack.

I'm not particularly proud of it, but it worked. Next, I built a support structure on either side of the keel to keep it from falling over if it dropped too low (I got the idea off this board)

Then, I placed a bottle jack under the keel and using a combination of the jack and the threaded rod method, I lowered the keel enough to get the bronze pillow blocks off of the keel pivot pin.

Up until this point, the whole project was going according to the experiences of others whos I have read about on this forum. Then it changed a bit. I was expecting (from all the other stories) to find a very loose pivot pin in a wallowed-out hole in my keel. After all, this boat was moored in salt water for 15+ years. What I found was quite the opposite. That pivot pin is so stuck firmly in that keel it appears it was brazed there by the factory. I was hesitant to use a hammer to try to loosen it, so I tried about 20 blows with a weighted plastic mallot. The pin didn't budge. I can't even see a seam around the pin that would give me even a clue that it isn't just a casted part of the keel!

There is a dark circle around the pin that momentarily made me think somebody had installed a bushing in the keel already (without the PO's knowledge??), but as I used a brush to clean around it, the circle came off as well.

So now I'm just not sure what to do. Under all of that rust and muck, the pin appears to be in tip-top shape. Didn't find any pitting or anything around where it meets the keel, and no wear marks to speak of either. I think I'm just going to finish brushing it clean and call it good. Maybe when I pull the keel for sandblasting this winter I'll take another look, but that's about where I'm at.

Also, another thing that didn't go as I read it should: The bronze pillow blocks that hold either side of the pivot pin-the new ones are supposed to be oversized and require machining for proper fit. Well, the ones that came off the boat look to be about 100 years old, but they fit up against the keel like a glove. The new ones I bought appear to be almost identical in size. If anything, the old ones have a layer of guck on them that makes them ever so slightly thicker.

Anyway, I guess I am going to be just putting the new ones up there and calling it good. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. I think this all is good (except maybe my pivot pin being frozen in my keel). I was just surprised at what I found. Nobody mentioned this scenario. I thought I'd open it up for input before I button it all up tomorrow evening.

As I said in my other post, I am going to treat the keel with Jasco Prep & Prime, put on a couple of coats of spray primer, a coat of spray paint, and sail her until winter. Then I'm going to have the keel sandblasted while I'm doing a good bottom sanding, prepping, and coating. I've got a whole lot more questions on that project, but that's a whole 'nother topic. (here's a picture of my "beautiful" keel right after a few hours of boat powerwashing.)

Eric Freedman
1984 SR/WK #4671
Folsom, CA

Edited by - Aceguy on 08/22/2005 02:39:38

Frank Hopper
Past Commodore

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Pitcairn Island
6776 Posts

Response Posted - 08/22/2005 : 07:41:47

"your mileage may vary"
Everyone experiences slightly different things when they take the knowledge from this board and then do their project. my keel eye would not budge and looked good so I left it alone, your castings are probably fine but you might as well use the new ones. There are some plastic/nylon disks that people put between the keel and the hangers to tighten up the fit, I would look into that but I agree with you, button her up and go sailing. Just to start a discussion... I would guess your keel has been up most of the time, it would explain the good condition of the pin. I would also guess the winch took out the first cable!

Edited by - on

Ed Montague
Captain

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USA
499 Posts

Response Posted - 08/22/2005 : 16:18:38

Eric, ditto here on the brass keel pin. I lowered the keel down, tried to drive out the pin, found it in perfect condition, decided that if I messed with it I would more then likely make more work for myself. That was 5 years ago. I lowered the keel again before our Catalina Island trip this past July. Still looks perfect. I still have the new pin where I can find it in 5 more years in the event this origial pin needs replacing. I am in fresh water most of the time. The cable is the one worry and is inspected twice a year. Good move on leaving the origial pin alone.

Edited by - on

ClamBeach
Master Marine Consultant

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3072 Posts

Response Posted - 08/24/2005 : 10:20:15

Double ditto on the pin here. Solidly fixed in keel, looks fine so I didn't mess with it either. Like Ed, I have a brand new keel pin sitting somewhere in the shop.

Edited by - on

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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.