DSC00729 This is what the companionway step looks like when it's in place along the sole plate covers. When I first bought my boat I had a heck of a time getting my cooler in the area behind this step. I had to remove the quarter birth cushions on the left in the picture, and slide the 48 quart cooler in, behind the step each time. Boy what a PITA that was!!! After I modified the step, it became easy to lift my 50 qt. cooler over the mounts after removing the step. Last year I omitted those two quarter birth cushions in those cubby holes under the cockpit seats. They really aren't needed and I gained more space for a second cooler and all my gear. My cabin looks less cluttered now and I have better access to my settee compartments in there.
- Joe11688
- Dec 28, 2012
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DSC01475 This pic shows the pipe heading toward the hump which is really the outer side of the pocket in the keel slot. You can also see the bilge pump inlet hose next to the pipe. I have two boards that enclose the pipe and inlet hose and this area is where I place a 50 qt cooler. Also, you can see the mount for my companionway step. I had made this step detachable to make it easer to get my cooler behind it. This was probably one of my most successful mods ever. A real work saver there never was until I came up with this brain child.
- Joe11688
- Dec 28, 2012
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DSC01474 This is the pendant line pipe that come from the cockpit companionway step. This pipe is L shaped to provide enough space for a cooler to fit in this area of my cabin. The shape of the pipe is probably the reason for the pendant line sheave. That corrugated plastic hose is the outlet for my manual bilge pump which I've never had to use thank God. It goes to a thru hull fitting out my stern and between the rungs of my swim ladder. There's a detachable handle that is used to operate the pump from inside the cockpit.
- Joe11688
- Dec 28, 2012
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DSC01012 My O'Day 222 has a small pocket way up inside the keel slot with a sheave U bolt assembly attached to it. They probably inserted the assembly with a long tool at the factory. The U bolt has a strap welded to it and resembles a bow eye for the winch hook. The O'Day 26 has a similar set up.
- Joe11688
- Dec 28, 2012
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DSC01015 Here's a closer shot of the grooves. OK, so now we were able to remove the plates. The next thing we need to do is remove the wedges without damaging them too much. I took a torch and heated the blade of one of my fish fillet knives and stuck it into the caulking behind the wedge in order to free it. I also did the same with a putty knife blade. What the heck. Luthiers have been using heat to remove guitar necks for hundreds of years, why not use it here? If you screw up the wedge, just clean it up and reconstruct it with West System filler and Epoxy. That's what I wound up doing. Once the wedges are removed the pin won't slide down until you get the grooves cleaned of all the caulking which bring up an important step that your ought to do in preparation for removing the board. You need to Mickey Mouse some way of letting that board down easy so it won't drop down on your head. I took a couple of long lines and went over the top of the cabin with them and tied a Bowline at one end of each line and ran the other end under the keel and through the bowlines with a round turn and two half hitches. I was able to access the line while lay under the keel. I also took a short piece of strapping and cut a V notch on one end and used it to help support the board from the ground. The centerboard isn't that heavy, but you need to be able to control it once you get it free. When you're ready, just loosen the lines and let the board slide down horizontally with the pin sliding down through the grooves. I cleaned the inside of the keel slot and later bottom painted it. I left the groove unpainted for the caulking to adhere to the back of the wedges. Later on after I installed the board and hardware back on, I painted over the wedges.
- Joe11688
- Dec 28, 2012
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DSC01014 This is what the forward edge of the bottom of my keel looks like. You can see where the plates fit on each side of the keel slot and also the rabbet grooves where the wedges fit in place. I think it's the best centerboard set up that was ever out on the market. Removing the bolts to the plates was a problem. I had two that were stubborn and it took hours to finally remove them. I used an impact driver which was very tiresome after a while because you need to bang the tool while laying on your back. It would be nice if I could tip the boat upside down and bang down on the tool but I honestly believe that a cordless electric drill/driver like a Makita with an adjustable clutch for the Phillips bit in the chuck would work a whole lot easier and better. Less tiresome too. I was told by Rudy Nickerson of D&R Marine http://www.drmarine.com/ that there are two bronze plates embedded into the lead on each side of this keel slot for the bolts to thread into. This is always good to know just in case you break a bolt and need to drill and re-tap the hole for threads.
- Joe11688
- Dec 28, 2012
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DSC00404It was back in Septober or Octember of 2005 that I decided to bottom paint my boat. I hated to do it but it became a pain pulling it out of the water and cleaning marine growth. While I was at it I needed to paint the inside of the keel slot along with the centerboard. To do this the right way I decided to pull the centerboard out and check the pivot pin while I was at it.
- Joe11688
- Dec 28, 2012
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DSC00982 This is all that holds that centerboard in place. You have the fiber pin in which the board pivots on, the two Fiberglas wedges shown below the pin, and the two stainless steel plates that bolt to the bottom of the keel on each side of the keel slot under each wedge. Four 1/4" Phillips head bolts hold the plates to the bottom of the keel. Also there are two S.S. wood screws that go through each of these plates and into the bottom of each wedge. It is important to remember that each of these wedges were adhered to the grooves in the keel slot with an adhesive caulking. This is what really holds that centerboard in place. Make no mistakes. If you neglect to use a good adhesive such as 3-M 4000 or 3-M 4200 to adhere these wedges you'll lose the wedges. You could lose the wood screws with no adverse effects to the board or wedges, but you need to have the wedges adhered to the grooves.
- Joe11688
- Dec 28, 2012
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IMG 0005b I bought this shackle off Rudy years ago. It's an improved centerboard shackle with a sheave or spool to protect the braid eye splice from getting frayed. The rigging pin has a cotter pin that needs to be checked annually. I found a broken cotter pin last year on it and replaced it. I'm glad I caught it. Actually this is only my second pendant line and since I installed it I've inverted it and re spliced it. The first pendant line wasn't all that bad. I believe that because there is a single sheave up inside the keel slot for this pendant line to ride through, there really isn't going to be much wear on the line. The O'Day 26 has this same identical set up with the single sheave. I'm sure this is because the pendant line pipe that comes down from the companion way step in the cockpit has an "L" shaped bend in it whereas the O'Day 23s and 25s have a straight pipe that lines up with the centerboard shackle attachment on the centerboard. I'm pretty sure that the 1983 O'Day 22 also has a straight shot to the centerboard.
- Joe11688
- Dec 28, 2012
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IMG 0006b I always make sure that the hull has good support when I work on the keel. I know that my centerboard and bottom of the keel is going to need some bottom paint touch up this spring and it's a heck of a lot easier to get my boat in this position to get at the board. I'll also wind up digging a hole under the keel so that I can let the board all the way down.
- Joe11688
- Dec 28, 2012
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