Keel Removal and renovation

[sofaboy]

Hi to all my sailing friends across the pond.
This is my first post as I am now the proud owner of a 1989 Catalina 20
I have searched the net for hours and been unable to find an answer on this.
Also, to my surprise, there seems to be very little ' Catalina' info coming from from the uk.
Ive had the boat for a week now and had a few great sails in her but once my excitement dimmed slightly, my thoughts went to safety and I noticed the keel seems to be rusting quite badly or coming apart somewhat
I have read that some metal keels are covered in fibreglass - perhaps this is what is coming away from the metal
Ive also read that the keel pin can become worn and keeps have been know to just drop out, so Im thinking its time to do some investigating
Are the keels plain iron or are they coated in fibreglass?
Does the keel have a profile ie thicker at the front and tapering off?
And now the big question, how do I get the keel out of the boat to check the pin and restore the keel surface?
The place where I keep the boat does not have any lifting facility so Im wondering if anyone has any canny ideas for lifting the boat up high enough to drop the keel.
Thank you very much in advance
OH and apologies if this is a tired old chestnut but I have looked on the forum and cant find much about it
Kind regards
Jack
sorry guys it appears I was using the wrong search box. I have found posts on this but would still be grateful if someone could point me in the right direction

 

[CaptDon01]

Try joining the National C-22 Association, only $25. and you'll have access to 400+ pages on how to do just about any repair or maintenance task from a collection of articles from over 40+ years. You will be able to download the Tech manual once your membership has been processed. Ton's of information on keel removal, repairs, and fairing.

http://www.catalina22.org/

Don

 

[sofaboy]

Try joining the National C-22 Association, only $25. and you'll have access to 400+ pages on how to do just about any repair or maintenance task from a collection of articles from over 40+ years. You will be able to download the Tech manual once your membership has been processed. Ton's of information on keel removal, repairs, and fairing.

http://www.catalina22.org/

Don

Don
Thanks a lot just what I need
Kind regards
Jack

 

[whatcaneyedo]

http://www.chipford.com is a great resource, he has done about everything that can be done to one of these boats and posted every detail there on his site. I also refurbished my keel and replaced all of the hardware two years ago. My process is documented here http://forums.catalina.sailboatowners.com/showthread.php?t=148410 Basically do whatever is within your means to drop it out, try not to strip the bolts in the process, strip all of the rust/epoxy/coatings off of the keel, fix anything that needs fixing, apply a new barrier and re install with new hardware. A cart of some sort would also help for moving it around throughout the process.

 

[sofaboy]

Thank you whatcaneyoudo
More great info there

 

[Barry B.]

Catalina Direct has a DVD on removing and restoring the swing keel. It also includes plans for a sled to slide the keel out from under the boat.

 

[Richie50]

All three are great sources of information. I really thought the CD was invaluable. Well worth the cost as is he C22 Association.