When the boat is in the slip, should the keel be up or down? Also, I seem to take on water only when underway, what should I look for?
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drip
hi randy, put the keel up, you will have less keel cable exposed to the water and less torque on the mounting hardware caused by the rocking of the boat acting on the arm of the keel. as for leaks, have someone steer while you look for the inflow. look at the keel lock down bolt area, it is above water line but sloshing can leak through the threads. catalina tells us to keep the threads gloped with grease. find the leak befor greasing so you will know for sure john
hi randy, put the keel up, you will have less keel cable exposed to the water and less torque on the mounting hardware caused by the rocking of the boat acting on the arm of the keel. as for leaks, have someone steer while you look for the inflow. look at the keel lock down bolt area, it is above water line but sloshing can leak through the threads. catalina tells us to keep the threads gloped with grease. find the leak befor greasing so you will know for sure john
Up or Down
John - The guy I bought the boat from - a mechanical engineer - gave me the same advice as your response. However, when I talked to Catalina Direct about it, they said to leave the keel DOWN in the slip, since the lower center of gravity keeps the boat from rocking as much. Of course, now I'm in a new slip which I have to raise the keel to get into, so I don't have a choice anymore
John - The guy I bought the boat from - a mechanical engineer - gave me the same advice as your response. However, when I talked to Catalina Direct about it, they said to leave the keel DOWN in the slip, since the lower center of gravity keeps the boat from rocking as much. Of course, now I'm in a new slip which I have to raise the keel to get into, so I don't have a choice anymore
Water in Bilge
If your boat is an older model, you ought to look closely where the deck meets the hull beneath the forestay, especially with the mast and rigging in place. My 1975 Cat leaked there and I fixed it by installing the kit from Catalina Direct that connects between the bolts of the forestay and the bolt of the eyering on the bow. Before tightening add some silicone caulking in the crack. Dick K.
If your boat is an older model, you ought to look closely where the deck meets the hull beneath the forestay, especially with the mast and rigging in place. My 1975 Cat leaked there and I fixed it by installing the kit from Catalina Direct that connects between the bolts of the forestay and the bolt of the eyering on the bow. Before tightening add some silicone caulking in the crack. Dick K.
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