Keel lifting cable tube and guide ball

greg_m

.
May 23, 2017
692
Catalina Jaguar 22 Simons Town
Hi Guys

I read already somewhere that somebody replaced the tube and ball assembly. For the life of me I can't find the thread again.

I seem to think that it's weird on my boat, SA built Jag 22, that the threaded portion of the tube is facing the inside of the boat and the ball with its pin is totally inaccessible buried in the rather large mass of fibreglass around the tube. Effectively I cannot pull the pin and change the very worn ball without cutting the whole shebang out the boat. Is this a normal thing?

Now for me to replace the tube and ball will require importing it from the States which would be a ridiculous amount of shipping fee's.

I do have an American friend who is traveling to Pensacola Florida in a couple of weeks time and he says he can bring one back for me as hand luggage!

So... where would he source this item from in the Pensacola Florida region?
 
Sep 8, 2014
2,551
Catalina 22 Swing Keel San Diego
He can order it from Catalina Direct and have it shipped to his hotel or guest residence. If that does not work out I will try to give you exact measurements of the tube, my boat has the new version that I installed. It's just bronze tube and does not really need to be threaded at the end.
My resto thread for hull 10580 had some pics of my repair process, but when Photobucket cancelled 3rd party hosting for all free accounts all of pics vanished from my extensive thread. I tried to download my album last night and that too failed.
Its funny what you described above, the pin and turning ball being in the bottom threaded portion and inaccessible. It sounds like the builders of the Jag 22 read the drawing incorrectly and drilled the pin hole at the wrong end, or the worker who built the boat mad that mistake all on his own. Anyway, you should be able to slice the tube off just above the turning ball with a recip saw, the carefully cut a notch straight down allowing you to lift the old ball and pin out.
 

greg_m

.
May 23, 2017
692
Catalina Jaguar 22 Simons Town
I sent an email over a week ago to Catalina Direct asking about delivery procedures and costs to a friend in Pensacola in order that he may bring the parts back to SA for me. It will be a massive saving in time as well as costs for me.

I have had zero response from them...:(

I sincerely hope the service delivery is a lot better States side!!
 
Jun 8, 2004
10,024
-na -NA Anywhere USA
The Catalina factory is in Largo, Florida next to Tampa on Bryan Dairy road. Suggest an inquiry there and that number is 727-544-6681 to see if by chance they have the part and then ship it to Pensacola. Is your frined in the Navy?
 

Bilbo

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Aug 29, 2005
1,265
Catalina 22 Ohio
"that the threaded portion of the tube is facing the inside of the boat and the ball with its pin is totally inaccessible buried in the rather large mass of fibreglass around the tube."

I find this weird. The ball and pin are in the fiberglass a bit but my boat has a reinforced rubber hose tube that has hose clamps on it. After removing the fiberglass panel by the hatch, remove or loosen winch cable, then two hose clamps, get the hose up and out of the way and you can remove the turning ball pin. Just be careful not to drop it into the hole. BTW: I have had success at rounding out the slot with a small rotary tool bit and reusing the ball IF it's not too worn. I've also had more success at not wearing the turning ball and cable if the cable is loose and the keel is always down all the way in the water.