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keel cable snaped

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stan
Deckhand

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USA
21 Posts

Initially Posted - 10/14/2005 : 19:57:37

I have a 1983 swing keel model. Last month, I hit a submerged object, the keel went up and over came down and the keel cable snapped. The boat yard hauled the boat and replaced the cable and roller ball.

So with the bad storms in NJ this week the keel cable snapped again!!! I had 3-4 feet of water in the boat, so I think the swing keel caused the hull to crack.

The yard hauled it out again and they think the cable is wearing by rubbing inside the through hull tube leading to the winch.

If the keel did crack the hull is that fixable or total the boat? The insurance is only $4500.

What do you think?????

Edited by - on

Leon Sisson
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1893 Posts

Response Posted - 10/14/2005 : 20:24:55

stan,<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">If the keel did crack the hull is that fixable or total the boat?<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">Fix it of course! There are only two likely places for the swing keel to cause the hull to leak -- at the keel trunk head, and at that thru-hull with the turning ball. If the cable was installed ahead of the turning ball, that would allow the cable to saw a notch in the lower front of the thru-hull pipe, eventually causing a leak there. If the keel damaged the head of the keel trunk, there will almost certainly be tell-tale signs inside the boat. If you have a dinette interior, look for a spiderweb of stress cracks in the aft face of the forward dinette seat in the footwell at the centerline of the boat. (Sort of behind your left heel if you were seated facing aft. I hope that's clear.) If you have the traditional interior, then remove the cosmetic trim from around the head of the keel trunk at the base of the mast compression post, and look for those same stress cracks. Either type of damage is quite repairable. If you do your own fiberglass work, the actual cash out of pocket will be trivial (on the over all scale of boat ownership outlays). Let us know what you find.

-- Leon Sisson

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Buzz Maring
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1768 Posts

Response Posted - 10/14/2005 : 22:03:12

Hi Stan,

Here's a link to our Tech Tips section showing a repair job on a keel trunk ... it should help you visualize the area and type of damage Leon described, and it'll give you an idea of how to do the repair: [url="http://www.catalina25-250.org/tech/tech25/dragn2.html"]Swing keel trunk repair[/url]

'Sorry to hear about your problem, and please keep us posted on what you find out ... good luck!

Edited by - on

ClamBeach
Master Marine Consultant

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3072 Posts

Response Posted - 10/15/2005 : 10:48:11

"they think the cable is wearing by rubbing inside the through hull tube leading to the "

Sounds like something was improperly assembled. The turning ball is designed to keep the cable
from rubbing on the standpipe or hull.

If the area around the head of the keel trunk is damaged you might consider getting the 'wing keel retrofit' kit that is available. No more keel cable to worry about and the trunk area is sealed by the new keel.

Edited by - on

lcharlot
Master Marine Consultant

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Antigua and Barbuda
1301 Posts

Response Posted - 10/19/2005 : 08:41:18

If the yard installed the new cable ahead of the turning ball instead of behind it, they will be liable for any repairs since it's their fault for doing it wrong. I hope your keel trunk isn't cracked, it's a big job to color-match and restore the cut-out fiberglass pieces so that the repair is invisible.

Edited by - on

cat30
1st Mate

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73 Posts

Response Posted - 10/19/2005 : 09:00:15

After the cable snapped for the 3rd time (in a couple years) on my boat, we decided to replace the swing keel with a wing keel. It was well worth the extra expense to not have to think about swing keels and leaking trunks ever again. the boat with new keel fit on the same trailer also.

Edited by - on

Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
10005 Posts

Response Posted - 10/19/2005 : 11:53:27

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by cat30
 ...the boat with new keel fit on the same trailer also.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
As I recall, the wing keel draws only a couple of inches more than the fully-lifted swinger. It sounds like your yard screwed up the first repair--the original cable certainly lasted a lot longer than one month, and only broke because of a free-fall. Maybe you could get them to agree to some or all of the labor to install the wing (if you think you can trust them). (And, as an added incentive, you could let them "have" the old keel!

)

Edited by - Dave Bristle on 10/19/2005 11:58:58

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