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Details of swing keel cable replacement

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lcharlot
Master Marine Consultant

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Antigua and Barbuda
1301 Posts

Initially Posted - 07/23/2004 : 22:24:07

In August of 2003, I did the whole keel cable replacement job - cable, winch, hose, and turning ball - on my '79 swinger (since sold), so I know from personal experience what's involved. I first replaced the hose, winch, and turning ball with the boat on the trailer. This took about 4 hours, working slowly since I wasn't in any hurry. Could probably be done in two hours if you set-to and
concentrated on the job at hand and didn't take any breaks. I could not lower the keel enough to detach the cable with the boat on the trailer, so the old cable was wound on the new winch temporarily. I then launched the boat, took it out to 15' deep water a few yards offshore in the lake, and anchored it securely. I am a certified scuba diver and own my own gear, so the next part was easy enough and I didn't have to hire a diver to do it.
First I unwound the cable from the winch and pushed it out through the
bottom of the boat, letting it drop free (it was still attached at the keel, of course). I then got ready to do the replacement part of the job, requiring a dive under the boat. I attached two different kinds of small vicegrip pliers, a needlenose plier, a small crescent wrench, and a dive light to my wrist with a lanyard, and looped the new keel cable around my neck after donning my dive gear. I also took a few feet of 1/8" nylon cord (for tying the old cable into a coil for retrieval), and two spare clevis pins and cotter pins taped to the dive light in case I dropped one. The clevis pin attaches the swage fitting on the end of the cable to the eye bolt on the keel. I then swam down to the keel, and using the tools I had brought, unpinned the old cable and coiled it up, tying it to a D-ring on my
scuba vest (BCD - if you are a diver you know what that is). I then
unwrapped the new cable and attached it to the keel ey-bolt with a new
clevis pin and cotter pin, managing to not drop any parts. With the new cable secured, I then proceeded to push the free end of the cable up through the turning ball and hose. This step is easier if you have a helper on the boat to grab the end as it comes out of the hose and guide it away from the winch. I did it without a helper and it took many tries to get the cable up without it's getting hung up on the winch. Once the cable was pushed fully up, I took a last look at the swage fitting, cotter pin, and forward pivot bracket to see if there were any other problems that needed correction, then surfaced and got back in the boat. Total dive time 30 minutes. It could probably be done faster, but I was working very slowly and carfully so as not to drop anything. NOTE: This job would be nearly impossible to do with dive gloves on, since the pins are so small, so it requires your local water to be warm enough to dive without a full wetsuit, or at least without gloves. Minimum 70ºF, I guess. After getting back in the boat, it's just a matter of wrapping the new cable onto the winch drum, and testing for correct function, and you are done. One advantage of doing this yourself (assuming you are a diver), is that you are self-assured that the job was done correctly, using the proper parts, and that the keel eye-bolt looks in good shape and is not cracked or showing signs of excessive corrosion. BTW, if you DO see that the area around the keel eye bolt is badly corroded, you MUST have it replaced! The second most common mode of failure of the Catalina 25 swing keel, after breakage of the cable itself, is this eye bolt pulling out of the keel because the threads in the cast iron have corroded from water intrusion. The usual method of repair for a corroded keel eye bolt hole involves filling the existing hole by welding, and drilling/tapping a new hole slightly lower down into which a new eyebolt is installed. The swing keel weighs 1500#, and you must not take any chances with the cable or pivot bracket systems or any parts therof being in questionable condition. If that keel lets go when fully raised, it will smash the end-of-travel stop in the trunk with enough force to probably
cause major damage to the fiberglass, possibly opening a hole big enough to sink the boat. This has happened to a few people; I am not exagerating the risk. I don't mean to scare you to death, just want you to be aware that lack of proper swing keel maintenance on these boats can have some nasty consequences.

Anyway, if you don't have free access to a scuba diver, or aren't a
diver yourself, this job is best done with the boat hauled out and
rasied on stands as if you were going to do your annual bottom painting.

Larry Charlot
Catalina 25WK/TR Mk. IV #5857 "Quiet Time"
Folsom Lake, CA

"You might get there faster in a powerboat, but in a sailboat, you're already there"

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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.