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Keel Winch 201

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Brooke Willson
Admiral

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USA
983 Posts

Initially Posted - 08/22/2002 : 11:18:13

Last weekend I got the advanced course in SK keel winches. (Val, you'll love this one.) I was sailing with my 21 year old son between the end of his summer job and going back to college. A great day on The Rivah (local appellation for the Rappahannock). At the end of the sail, I sent him below to winch up the keel.

Learning # 1: if you crank the keel up the wrong way (counterclockwise), it will come up, but the ratchet won't work. He cranked it up until it stopped, but then it wouldn't hold. I hadn't been paying attention to which way he was winding. When he reported that it wasn't holding, I thought, "Great. . . the pawl is broken. And the winch is only 17 years old, too!" I held the crank while he looked underneath at the winch to see if he could see anything wrong -- see learning # 2 below. When he came back up, we miscommunicated, let the crank slip from our grasp, and it began to windmill as the keel dropped. Instinctively, I reached for the crank to catch it. BAD IDEA! That is a forceful and dangerous propeller, as my right index finger shows. I THINK I'm going to keep the nail, after all. Once the keel was all the way down (yes, I did check, and the keel dropped slowly enough that it didn't crack the trunk) I realized he had wound the winch the wrong way. I wound it (right/raise, left/lower) and the ratchet held it just fine. However:

Learning # 2: When Drew looked at the winch, he gasped in dismay, because the core of the drum had collapsed from corrosion, and the cable was winding around what I guess is an axle through the center of the core. When I've inspected the winch in the past, the cable has been wound around the core so I couldn't see the corrosion. Years of salt water had slowly eaten away the core until it had collapsed. I guess this is one of the reasons the SK was recommended for fresh water. But, hey, 17 years isn't bad!

Moral of the story: inspect the winch with the keel DOWN!

Yes, the new winch is on the way from Catalina Direct.

Brooke

Edited by - on

Champipple
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
6855 Posts

Response Posted - 08/22/2002 : 12:03:04

Um - Professor, I think such a topic should be included in both the 101 class and the Oh91 class (remedial for those who don't lurn two guhd)

Glad nothing more serious happened...By the way, your son still dating that Miss America Contestant?

Edited by - on

Brooke Willson
Admiral

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USA
983 Posts

Response Posted - 08/22/2002 : 12:16:58

Thanks, Duane. And thanks for remembering my son's late love life. She was only a Miss Virginia semi-finalist, and no, they parted ways their first year in college. Drew is very, very single, and in his radical simplicity phase now (grew a beard this summer at camp, dresses simply, eats simply, etc. We'll see how long this lasts. . . ). That romance was never destined to last -- she was a Medieval Italian Catholic with a very wealthy and controlling family. It looks like Drew may head to seminary in two years, which would never work with the beauty queen.

By the way, if any of you like really well done male acapella music, Drew's award-winning college music group (Academical Village People)can be seen and heard at the link below. Drew is the one with the curly hair.

Brooke

http://www.student.virginia.edu/~acadvil/

Edited by - brooke willson on 08/22/2002 12:29:53

Edited by - brooke willson on 08/22/2002 12:35:26

Edited by - on

Mark Rials
1st Mate

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USA
39 Posts

Response Posted - 08/22/2002 : 20:28:33

Brooke:

Your gonna be amazed at how nicely that
keel comes up with the new winch. I too
had been winding on the axel. There was
always rust on the cushions at the end of
a sail but I was too stooopid to figure out
where the rust had been coming from.

Mark & Pat Rials
C25 # 5450 "Garget"
Homeport Tampa, Fl.

Edited by - on

Brooke Willson
Admiral

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USA
983 Posts

Response Posted - 08/23/2002 : 09:48:27

Mark: I had wondered about the rust as well. Duh!

I'll be terribly disappointed if it's easier to raise the keel with the new winch. It was such a good upper body workout! On the other hand, I was wondering what I was going to do 25 years from now when it might be a health hazard. But by then I'll have put in two more winches. . . or (gasp) the Val Bisagni Memorial wing conversion (shhhhh. Don't tell him!)

Brooke

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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.