Cal 21 Keel problem

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Nov 13, 2013
3
Cal 21 Shelter Island NY
Good evening.

I am a new member, so by way of introduction I have a Cal 21 which is kept on Shelter Island NY. I've enjoyed sailing it in the protected waters around Peconic Bay and agree that it's a sweet sailor.

I live in Boston area and in the summer the boat is on a mooring in front of the house on the island with the keel down. . The 21 is hull#508 and has been on the trailer for about 14 months. Last time I got ready to haul it and went to winch up the keel, it got stuck when it was almost all raised. Turned out that water has gotten into the area around the pivot and rust has developed, swelling the keel so much that the it is actually unable to retract all the way.

I know I'll have to pull the keel out to inspect and maybe rebuild it. It could have been worse in that the rust might have caused the pivot to fail with catastrophic results. But now I'm looking for advice on pulling the keel out and going from there. If anyone has BTDT I'd appreciate some tips. Rod Johnson are you out there?

Best,
Jon Brush
 
Jun 2, 2004
1,923
Oday Day Sailer Wareham, MA
Rod Johnson, AKA: NODROG is still here!!!

Well, removing hte keel is not "easy", but is not "HARD" either. The "not easy" is only due to the 360# weight and the need to get the boat suspended or supported is a way that allows the keel to come out. She doesn't need t obe all that high up, maybe 3' off the ground ,2' might even work. I would support the aft end of the keel on the ground, braced side-to-side if possible to avoid it toppling over to sither side as it comes out. Support the forward end (upper?) with a jack, then go aboard boat and remove the pivot bolt. Now, carefully lower the top of the keel out of the boat. Once out, you will need to lay the keel down on one side and move it out from under the boat. The 2-3 times that we had our keel out were all at a boatyard, and frankly....... getting it out wasn't hard, since hte pivot had rusted out and the keel more or less fell out. Well, the first time.... we removed it it fell out while the boat was on our cradle and thankfully my Dad moved out from under the boat just in time! The next 1-2 times the keel was removed when I wasn't there, by the boatyard crew.... but I know the last time it came out there was no doubt that the pivot had rusted out (thank goodness for our locking bolt!!)

I think there are still pictures and descriptions of rebuilding a CAL 21 keel on Richard Fuller's CAL 21 Web site (www.cal21.com) but if not...... let me know and I'lll see if I still have the info.

I'll post a couple of pics showing our keel going back in in 2001, should provide some hints about removing.
 

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Nov 13, 2013
3
Cal 21 Shelter Island NY
Rod:
The site (www.cal21.com) is no longer active as far as I can see.
So, more info would be great if you can find it. What you have already said is good, but more is better.
TIA,
Jon Brush
Boston and Shelter Island

Rod Johnson, AKA: NODROG is still here!!!



I think there are still pictures and descriptions of rebuilding a CAL 21 keel on Richard Fuller's CAL 21 Web site (www.cal21.com) but if not...... let me know and I'lll see if I still have the info.

I'll post a couple of pics showing our keel going back in in 2001, should provide some hints about removing.
 
Nov 13, 2013
3
Cal 21 Shelter Island NY
Thanks, Rod. your link did work as you know, and I found the additional keel info. Thanks,
I may ask you for more details but probably not for a while as it's getting pretty crisp around here. Will not work on it until at least next summer at this point.
Jon Brush
Boston and Shelter Island


Jon, looks like you are correct! I was able to get into the forum page, but the link fro mthere didn't work.
However, the original web page address does seem to still exist: http://www3.sympatico.ca/sailpair/21stuff/home.html

However.... no updates since 2003!
 
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