Is there a best way to attach the bolt to the stainless wire that retracts the keel?.. I've done this once and was not successful... Your thoughts are greatly appreciated!
32 O'Day Retractable Keel System issue-
- Thread starter Thyme1
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Do you have any pictures of it? My set up consists of a braid pendant line with a shackle, rigging pin, and a cotter pin.
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The way to attach the cable to the board is a small shackle through the board and then through a very small loop in the cable as small as possible so that when the board is pulled up it stays below the small tube opening at the top of the keel trunk
I think you can zoom in on the pic and get an idea
I think you can zoom in on the pic and get an idea
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I've seen some odd centerboard configurations on this forum and others. One guy posted a picture of the centerboard on his O'Day 25 and it had a notch shaped like a "V" where the shackle connects to a hole in that area. I don't know if the manufacturer did that or the previous owner.
One of the oddest I've ever seen was the centerboard connection on the Quickstep 20. The braid pendant line is epoxied right into the centerboard for about half the width of the board. The reason being that the centerboards on these boat are lead filled. My question is; How do you replace the pendant line? You would think that the designer would have made a better provision for replacing the pendant line by having a long stainless steel tang anchored in those boards to make it easier to replace the pendant lines. These boats were built in Bristol RI, I think. I was talking to a guy who lives in my state who bought one of these boats off somebody who had it in their barn for years. I can remember looking at those boats at the Boston Boat Show back in the 80s.
One of the oddest I've ever seen was the centerboard connection on the Quickstep 20. The braid pendant line is epoxied right into the centerboard for about half the width of the board. The reason being that the centerboards on these boat are lead filled. My question is; How do you replace the pendant line? You would think that the designer would have made a better provision for replacing the pendant line by having a long stainless steel tang anchored in those boards to make it easier to replace the pendant lines. These boats were built in Bristol RI, I think. I was talking to a guy who lives in my state who bought one of these boats off somebody who had it in their barn for years. I can remember looking at those boats at the Boston Boat Show back in the 80s.
Both times that I had to replace mine it broke in the very same place so thats how I figured out where the weak point is, as for replacing the cable thats easy as long as you have one end crimped with a small eye(the end that goes on the board) the blunt end can be fished up the tube with no problem if you have a small snake or stiff wire and then before you wrap the cable around the winch you need to crimp a dead end on the cable after inserting through the winch drum
if there was a long tang I think that would interfere with the board going all the way up into its parked position.....one of the reasons for a small loop on the pendant
Rad,
You should give Rudy a call and ask him if the centerboard cable on your 32 can be converted over to a braid line. He had told me that this could be done on the older O'Day 25s which have the same set up as your 32, particularly the 1975s which have the winch drums mounted on the table pedestal down below. These boards are only made of fiberglass and they're not that heavy. I'm pretty sure a 3/8" or possibly a 5/16" braid line with a small shackle on the end could handle it very well. The pendant line on my boat is as old as the hills and it's still in great shape.
There's young lady on lake Tahoe who sails an O'Day 222 like mine,a later model than mine, probably built on the West Coast, and her boat came through from the factory without that sheave up in the keel slot. Consequently, she's had to replace the pendant line on this boat more than once. The sheave really makes the difference on these boats. If it's set up right, those braid pendant lines really should last a long time. They can also be pulled out and inverted in the same way as a halyard, anchor line, or Gennie sheets. I've done this to all three on my boat. It's just food for thought.
Joe,
Thats a real interesting thought, given the technology of braided line these days its probably stronger than SS cable and the weak point on the cable is right above the sheave from wiggling back and forth I suppose
I'm almost certain that you can do this provided that the braid will pass through the sheave and Rudy would know the answer to that question. I would even go as far as to replace the sheave if it wasn't wide enough. The sheave is attached to a special U bolt which has to come out through the keel slot The nuts and small backup plate are mounted on the sole plate in the cabin just where the pendant line pipe enters the keel slot.
If you had to remove the sheave and U bolt you could Mickey Mouse a tool to reinstall it back in. You could use a coat hanger with a hook on the end to remove it. I know that Ed K. from the Carolinas removed one and reinstalled it on his O'Day 26. He crafted some kind of a tool on the end of a stick to do it.
My centerboard slot has a small pocket up in the top where the sheave is located and there's a hump in the cabin floor with a small metal strap and two bolts with nuts showing. That hump is the pocket, and of course, the bolts and nuts are part of the U bolt that holds the sheave. Here's a picture of it. I think it's well worth checking into.
Joe
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I'll have to look for some pics to post but my system is way different cause the tube that guides the cable is 1-1/4 fiberglass and extends from the hull straight up behind the galley cabinet/cockpit stairs and stops at the counter height then right above this tube is the winch drum that seems to be a 2 to 1 ratio with the cable on one side off it and a braided line on the other side exiting to the cockpit and cleated off
oh and the tube is at least three foot tall
oh and the tube is at least three foot tall
If the tube goes straight down Rad, you may not even have a sheave. Some of the O'Day 23s did not have a sheave because the winch was mounted on the table stanchion and it was a straight shot right down to the centerboard. Unless you have seen this sheave and know for certain that it's there. At any rate, I'm pretty sure that the braid line with the shackle will suffice. Rudy would probably know for sure. My pipe is metal and it's "L" shaped. This is why there is a sheave in my keel slot. I think that the reason why they did this was to make room in front of the pipe for a 48 quart cooler. The later model O'Day 22 keel/centerboards have a straight pipe coming down from the cockpit in front of the companionway hatch and chances are these boats didn't have a sheave either. I think they made the change when they came out with the new O'Day 222s in 1984. I think that the later model O'Day 25s and 26s also have the sheave up in the keel slot. My friend Ray pulled the centerboard out of his 86 O'Day 26 a few years ago and told me that he had a sheave tucked up into the keel slot. This is how I found out about this. I never really knew how those sheaves were put in there until I talked to Rudy a couple of months ago. He showed me the sheave mounted on the U bolt and after viewing it I've come to the conclusion that it's not all that hard to pull it out and reinstall it if you ever had to. There's a strap welded to the U bolt which seats against the top of that pocket where the bolts go into the cabin floor near the pipe.
I know that some of those centerboard pendant lines were made up of a combination of wire and three strand rope. They set these boats up different through the years. Some guys are hesitant to make modifications on their boats and would rather stick with the original equipment. Myself, I've been making modifications on my boat since the first day I got it and I keep on doing them.
Years ago I met a secretary in the Fall River O'Day plant who would send out a free newsletter to anyone who owned an O'Day. It didn't matter if you bought it new or used from a PO. This newsletter had a lot of mods that the readers sent in and she would pass them on through the newsletter. I think the first one I ever did was the one where some guy cut the cover over the head in the V birth and added a couple of hinges to it. This allowed the cover to lay flat on the V birth instead of up against the user's back. Here's some pictures of it. There is no end to the mods that can be done on these boats.
Joe
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