A21, how to UNDO a 'fixed' centerboard

[aquariusmg]

the A21 is supposed to have a 'swing keel'. A centerboard that can the retrcted for trailering. the previous owner(2 owners back) apparently converted the centerboard to a 'fixed' positon.
is there a way to undo this?

it's very expensive renting a crane everytime i need to move the boat.

 

[Tim R.]

Pin

My San Juan 21 had a hole in both the board and the trunk that allowed me to insert a 1/2" stainless bolt. This locked the board down. Very important feature that many overlook. If the boat ever turtled and th epin was not in place, the board could come crashing through the trunk.

 

[Benny]

There is a big difference between a centerboard and

and a swing keel. The swing keel carries ballast weight and must be locked and secured under sailing as in a knockdown it could come crashing through the keel trunk as already mentioned. A swing keel usually has a winch to raise and lower it. A centerboard carries no ballast and its purpose is solely to counteract drift and enhance pointing ability. A centerboard usually just has a line to raise or lower it by hand. A centerboard does not usually provide a locking point so you would need to determine how the centerboard was locked. If the boat was left in the water with the center board down for any length of time it may have a lot of marine growth in the trunk thus acting as a lock. You may dive the boat and see what is happening underneath or pay for a haulout.

 

[aquariusmg]

originally, the swing keel did have a bolt for pivoting, and a winching mechanism. none of that exists anymore.
what i was hoping to find is someone who was familiar with the 'usual' method for converting this model to a 'fixed' swing keel, so i could see if there was a way to undo it.
it seems like it is welded into place, but it's a fiberglass boat.
i even put a jack on the swing-keel and it lifted the entire boat. should not be capable of that.

 

[kendall]

swing to fixed

Sorry to say there is no 'usual' method, most conversions are done on a case by case basis.

If I were to do it on my 22 swing keel, I'd bore a couple more holes through the keel and trunk for bolts to make it rigid, then fair in the slot. Depending on my reasons for doing it I may remove most of the trunk, since the trunk -IS- the most irritating factor of a swing keel to me, that would be the only reason I'd have to eliminate the swing keel.

Optionally, I'd cut out the entire trunk and mount an exterior fin keel on it, not too hard if you're willing to build a support system for it and give up a little headroom, if you're willing to do the casting yourself it would be cheap.

Best thing I can say is to find a boat like yours, or see about obtaining any copies of manuals and advertisements you can find and compare differences so you know what has been altered.

I have two boats, a portager 22 (venture clone) and a 67 pearson triton. I Love the triton, but realy like the convenience of the portager, I can tow it anywhere I want and sail areas I could only dream about with the triton, but I can go places in the triton I'd be concerned about in the 22. Think if the portager had a fixed keel it would eclipse nearly all of the reasons I like it.

Ken.

 

[kendall]

swing to fixed

Sorry to say there is no 'usual' method, most conversions are done on a case by case basis.

If I were to do it on my 22 swing keel, I'd bore a couple more holes through the keel and trunk for bolts to make it rigid, then fair in the slot. Depending on my reasons for doing it I may remove most of the trunk, since the trunk -IS- the most irritating factor of a swing keel to me, that would be the only reason I'd have to eliminate the swing keel.

Optionally, I'd cut out the entire trunk and mount an exterior fin keel on it, not too hard if you're willing to build a support system for it and give up a little headroom, if you're willing to do the casting yourself it would be cheap.

Best thing I can say is to find a boat like yours, or see about obtaining any copies of manuals and advertisements you can find and compare differences so you know what has been altered.

I have two boats, a portager 22 (venture clone) and a 67 pearson triton. I Love the triton, but realy like the convenience of the portager, I can tow it anywhere I want and sail areas I could only dream about with the triton, but I can go places in the triton I'd be concerned about in the 22. Think if the portager had a fixed keel it would eclipse nearly all of the reasons I like it.

Ken.

 

[aquariusmg]

adapt trailer?

I was thinking about getting a 'standard' trailer and adapting it at allow for the boat to be rolled on/off without the use of a crane to lift it on.
I have NEVER loaded a boat into the water from a trailer, and am wondering ...would it reasonable to expect such an adapted trailer to be able to load/unload this boat withut the use of a crane?

the 'swing keel' hangs down below the hull by about 2 feet.

 

[David S]

I ADOPTED A TRAILER

I have a 79 O'day 22 with a slotted fixed keel that contains a center board in the slot and raised and lowered with a rope. I have the boat on a Magic-Tilt trailer that all the cross members are on the same level as the side rails, it originally had an old 24 foot power boat on it. After building the 2 bunks and the boat resting on 2 of the cross members and the next cross member aft, I cut a gap in the center of it wide enough for the ctr brd to drop down thru but narrow enough so the solid keel will rest on it. I put blocks under each side of the gap to hold the weight of the boat before using a come-along, some chain and rope, and blocking the trailer wheels, to pull the boat far back enough to drop the ctr brd. It work good and I made a new center board.
Another time I rented 4 boat jack stands for $50 bucks for 1 month. Using 2 heavy beams, size them to the weight of your boat, placed in front and back of the keel with blocks under ends of both beams and the blocks spaced far enough apart for the trailer wheels to clear as you pull it from under the boat and of course all the while doing this using the jack stands to steady the boat. Depending on your trailers configureation you may need a fifth jack to move the other jacks around any trailer obsticals. Good Luck.

David S Happy Sailing All