I got back from my first sail of the season this afternoon and when I cranked up the swing keel, there was this violent noise that I assume was the keel cable snapping and the keel swinging down. Is there anyway to change the cable while the boat is in the water? I changed the winch and cable out 2 seasons ago and checked it before I launched it this May. Needless to say I was not a happy camper today. Thanks, Zan
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snap
hello sailc22, I assume that you cranked the cable all the way into the boat. Did the end pull off, did the cable break, did the clevis come out of the cable end, did the attach point come out of the keel?. Except for the attach point leaving the keel, quite a few snorkel dives or a scuba dive you can do it. Good luck john
hello sailc22, I assume that you cranked the cable all the way into the boat. Did the end pull off, did the cable break, did the clevis come out of the cable end, did the attach point come out of the keel?. Except for the attach point leaving the keel, quite a few snorkel dives or a scuba dive you can do it. Good luck john
My thought - take it out of the water
Replaced the entire winch system myself this last winter. I'm not entirely sure that it can be done in the water alone - though, as the earlier posting says, a lot of it depends on the nature of the break. But bearing in mind that the black hose exists to complete an air tight system until reaching the winch located ABOVE THE WATERLINE...short answer - the hose cannot come off while you are in the water or you will even be more annoyed. How to replace the cable without removing the hose? That would require you to somehow thread a new cable either down through the hose, or up from below (underwater) while ensuring the cable passed on the aft side of the internal ball. The easy answer is take the boat out of the water, spend about an hour making the repair, and put it back in... That brings up the next question - how to get the boat out of the water with your keel hanging down. A boat yard with a boom/crane that pulls fixed keel boats out of the water is the easy answer. Another possible easy answer is to use a boat trailer designed for a fixed keel boat. But if you don't have those available? Wow. I'd have to put some thought into that... Scott
Replaced the entire winch system myself this last winter. I'm not entirely sure that it can be done in the water alone - though, as the earlier posting says, a lot of it depends on the nature of the break. But bearing in mind that the black hose exists to complete an air tight system until reaching the winch located ABOVE THE WATERLINE...short answer - the hose cannot come off while you are in the water or you will even be more annoyed. How to replace the cable without removing the hose? That would require you to somehow thread a new cable either down through the hose, or up from below (underwater) while ensuring the cable passed on the aft side of the internal ball. The easy answer is take the boat out of the water, spend about an hour making the repair, and put it back in... That brings up the next question - how to get the boat out of the water with your keel hanging down. A boat yard with a boom/crane that pulls fixed keel boats out of the water is the easy answer. Another possible easy answer is to use a boat trailer designed for a fixed keel boat. But if you don't have those available? Wow. I'd have to put some thought into that... Scott
getting the keel up
I read this in either a post or a manual somewhere, but it makes sense - use a line or strapping around the hull and slide it back and physically pull the keel back up. Kindof like a belt around the hull of the boat. obviously will require some swimming to get the line placed correctly for the most leverage. that should allow you to get it back on the trailer where you can do a more routine fix. good luck
I read this in either a post or a manual somewhere, but it makes sense - use a line or strapping around the hull and slide it back and physically pull the keel back up. Kindof like a belt around the hull of the boat. obviously will require some swimming to get the line placed correctly for the most leverage. that should allow you to get it back on the trailer where you can do a more routine fix. good luck
In-the-water Replacement
Dear SailC22, I did the very thing you are thinking about doing. I replaced the keel cable with the boat in the water...not a big deal. I used the SCUBA method and threaded the cable from below with someone else in the boat to take up slack and hold the cable while the other end was attached to the keel. Yes, you have to make sure the cable runs aft of the turning ball...luck or many attempts at threading it should work there. Once the cable is threaded and attached to the keel, the rest is a non-issue. I too have heard of using a strap around the girth of the boat to raise the keel. You can use your jib sheet winches to help out there. Good luck, Brad s/v Worthless Crew 1972 C-22 SK
Dear SailC22, I did the very thing you are thinking about doing. I replaced the keel cable with the boat in the water...not a big deal. I used the SCUBA method and threaded the cable from below with someone else in the boat to take up slack and hold the cable while the other end was attached to the keel. Yes, you have to make sure the cable runs aft of the turning ball...luck or many attempts at threading it should work there. Once the cable is threaded and attached to the keel, the rest is a non-issue. I too have heard of using a strap around the girth of the boat to raise the keel. You can use your jib sheet winches to help out there. Good luck, Brad s/v Worthless Crew 1972 C-22 SK
fork lift
If the lake has a fork lift facility---have them lift the boat and either set it on a cradle or trailer. However, if you use a fork lift make sure you use a couple of 1X6 boards at least 6 feet long on each fork --angled so you don't get a high punch loads on the hull. Our marina has lifted dozens of sailboats with the forklift. As big as a Cat27.
If the lake has a fork lift facility---have them lift the boat and either set it on a cradle or trailer. However, if you use a fork lift make sure you use a couple of 1X6 boards at least 6 feet long on each fork --angled so you don't get a high punch loads on the hull. Our marina has lifted dozens of sailboats with the forklift. As big as a Cat27.
rope on keel
I personally have done the rope trick from winch to keel to winch. I was able to pull up the keel by cranking only one of the winches. (in the northern hemisphere it is considered proper to use the starboard winch
Note that it is a good idea to use some sort of chafe guard at the gunwale rub rail because cranking that heavy keel up will wear a grove in the existing soft rub rail. I swam under the boat to get the rope lined up at the lowest point of the keel. I have heard and image it would work if you were to walk both ends of the rope from the bow then aft to the winches. I will not explain in detail why this all was necessary, but suffice to say you can indeed attach the keel cable while the boat is in the water! I did it while snorkeling.
I personally have done the rope trick from winch to keel to winch. I was able to pull up the keel by cranking only one of the winches. (in the northern hemisphere it is considered proper to use the starboard winch
Note that it is a good idea to use some sort of chafe guard at the gunwale rub rail because cranking that heavy keel up will wear a grove in the existing soft rub rail. I swam under the boat to get the rope lined up at the lowest point of the keel. I have heard and image it would work if you were to walk both ends of the rope from the bow then aft to the winches. I will not explain in detail why this all was necessary, but suffice to say you can indeed attach the keel cable while the boat is in the water! I did it while snorkeling.My cable snapped also
I experienced the same scenario last year (the snap and then the thud-bounce-thud as the keel dropped). I trailer my 22 and was concerned about reloading it that day. To my suprise, al I had to do was align the boat with the trailer at the ramp and then winch it onto the trailer. No problam and no effort. I discovered the cable had pulled out of the assembly which attaches it to the keel. Once I received the new cable, It took less than 20 minutes to retread the cable onto the winch and attached the new cable assembly to the keel. My primary concern was any possible damage to the keel housing area of the boat. I inspected it closely to find everythng intact. There appears to be some minor play (1/16-1/32" or less) beteen the keel bolt plate and the head of the attachment bolts, but otherwise all appears ok. If you have any recommendations for checking for additonal possible damage I would appreciate it. Good luck with your repair. I purchased my 22 as a new boat in 1982 and have never experienced ant major problems with it (and believe me, in my youger years my college friends and I really put it through some paces).
I experienced the same scenario last year (the snap and then the thud-bounce-thud as the keel dropped). I trailer my 22 and was concerned about reloading it that day. To my suprise, al I had to do was align the boat with the trailer at the ramp and then winch it onto the trailer. No problam and no effort. I discovered the cable had pulled out of the assembly which attaches it to the keel. Once I received the new cable, It took less than 20 minutes to retread the cable onto the winch and attached the new cable assembly to the keel. My primary concern was any possible damage to the keel housing area of the boat. I inspected it closely to find everythng intact. There appears to be some minor play (1/16-1/32" or less) beteen the keel bolt plate and the head of the attachment bolts, but otherwise all appears ok. If you have any recommendations for checking for additonal possible damage I would appreciate it. Good luck with your repair. I purchased my 22 as a new boat in 1982 and have never experienced ant major problems with it (and believe me, in my youger years my college friends and I really put it through some paces).
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