Association Forum - Lowering swing keel on C-25

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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

General Sailing Forum

Lowering swing keel on C-25

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Scribby48
Deckhand

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2 Posts

Initially Posted - 07/03/2012 : 07:18:14

I just bought a Catalina 25 and would like to know how I tell when the keel is fully lowered. Also, is it possible to lower it too far? Thanks for any advice.

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dlucier
Master Marine Consultant

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Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
7583 Posts

Response Posted - 07/03/2012 : 07:32:11

Congrat's on the purchase of your C25. Welcome aboard!

As to lowering your keel, no, you can't lower the keel too far as it is physically impossible to do so(keel head hits the trunk as shown below), but you don't want to slacken the cable on the winch. On my old swinger (not a C25), I'd just lower the keel until the cable went just slack, then I put tension back on the cable. After a while, you'll figure out how many cranks it takes to raise and lower the keel.

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Stinkpotter
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
9081 Posts

Response Posted - 07/03/2012 : 07:35:22

Welcome Scribby! I'll let the swingers answer that, but meanwhile I'll suggest that you:

1. Join the association--it's one of the best sailing communities on the web.

2. Check out Catalina Direct and consider buying their C-25 Owners' Handbook. They're a 3rd party outfit that knows our boats and has lots of good stuff for them.

3. Set up a "Signature" under "Profile" (above), showing your hull number, vintage, keel, rig, and sailing location. It'll help us give better answers to many questions.

4. Ask away! No question is "dumb" here.

Enjoy your swinger!

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Davy J
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1511 Posts

Response Posted - 07/03/2012 : 07:54:02

The cable will go slack when the keel is fully lowered. On my boat it takes thirty-two cranks to raise or lower. Contrary to the advice on the forum, I sail with the cable slack. I hate the humming noise that the tight cable produces when you get the boat up to speed.

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Dave5041
Former Mainsheet Editor

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USA
3758 Posts

Response Posted - 07/03/2012 : 08:25:32

Don's got it - all the way out and a 2-3 turns back for tension. The cable hums at around 3 to 4 knots. It isn't a critical number, but too loose lets the cable move and flex too much; it also means that if you hit something hard, like a rock, the keel could swing up and bang against the keel trunk when it swings back down. Not a good thing! Having too tight will progressively increase load on the cable and move the center of resistance aft. If you haven't already, search the forum for a lot of threads that discuss important issues about examining and maintaining the swinger. And finally, Welcome Aboard! We'll answer your questions either way, but the organization is the best $20 you'll ever spend on a boat. Tell us about your boat.

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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.