Thanks again for all the responses to my "Newbie 25 Owner" post. I am trying to ascertain what type keel I have on my 1975 H25. It is in the water, the water is far too cold for me to dip into, and the fellow I bought it from did not know what type keel the boat has. I understand that there was both a fin (3'11" draft)and shoal (2'11" draft) keel available on that year and forward. Hunter was of no help, even said shoal draft wasn't an option that year, so I read to him from the sales brochure I have with boat documents. No owner's manual, but a sales brochure! The specs on this website also refer to optional keels. Is there any way to determine what type keel my boat has without pulling it out or going for a little dive?
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keel type
Proceed as if you have the deep draft until you know for sure. That big piece of lead down there can play hell with fiberglass if you ground her too hard.
Proceed as if you have the deep draft until you know for sure. That big piece of lead down there can play hell with fiberglass if you ground her too hard.
Keel
I'm not sure about the weight, my 77 has a fin keel and the weight is 4,400#. Like the other folks, I think it might be a fin keel. Look at the Keel bolts, this will tell you fin or shoal.
I'm not sure about the weight, my 77 has a fin keel and the weight is 4,400#. Like the other folks, I think it might be a fin keel. Look at the Keel bolts, this will tell you fin or shoal.
Water
Why is it too cold to get into the water? You should live in Wisconsin, our water gets very hard this time of year.
Why is it too cold to get into the water? You should live in Wisconsin, our water gets very hard this time of year.
Keel bolts tell the story?
Ok, so share with me how the keel bolts are going to let me know if I have a fin or shoal keel. Size, pattern, small message engraved into the bolthead saying "fin keel bolt"? Not saying they won't, just saying if they will I have no clue what I am looking for and the message will come in fine but be received garbled and stupid. And tho I now look equipped for cold water like an artic seal with all this middle aged blubber, I "ain't no polar bear." Thanks for the help, let me know what to look for, please. That would be great if can ascertain keel type that way. Surprising Hunter didn't say anything about that, well not surprising, but disappointing. THIS SITE IS GREAT1
Ok, so share with me how the keel bolts are going to let me know if I have a fin or shoal keel. Size, pattern, small message engraved into the bolthead saying "fin keel bolt"? Not saying they won't, just saying if they will I have no clue what I am looking for and the message will come in fine but be received garbled and stupid. And tho I now look equipped for cold water like an artic seal with all this middle aged blubber, I "ain't no polar bear." Thanks for the help, let me know what to look for, please. That would be great if can ascertain keel type that way. Surprising Hunter didn't say anything about that, well not surprising, but disappointing. THIS SITE IS GREAT1
Maybe use some line and a little math?
How about this. 1. Take some line (sufficiently long). Tie or affix a weight in the middle of the line. 2. Drop the middle of the line off the bow (making sure you hold the ends. 3. Now slowly walk the line ends back from the bow toward the stern. (Easy with one person on each side). Make sure you pay out the line slowly and only as much as you need to to keep the line snug against the bottom of the boat. 4. As you move towards the stern, you should eventually come to the keel where the line will need to be let out more (thus the weight to pull it downward). 5. eventually, you should have enough line out to be able to have the line not snagging on the front od the keel but is instead now tight against the bottom of the keel. 6. At that point, pull each end tight and mark where they come up to the deck/rubrail. This ends up being close to an isosceles triangle with the width across the deck being the 3rd side. You should now be able to remove the line and calculate the distance from the deck top to the bottom of the keel. Subtracting the distance from the deck top to the keel bolts should closely approximate the keel depth. By the way, I haven't tired this myself but it seems like it should work. Good luck and let me know if it works.
How about this. 1. Take some line (sufficiently long). Tie or affix a weight in the middle of the line. 2. Drop the middle of the line off the bow (making sure you hold the ends. 3. Now slowly walk the line ends back from the bow toward the stern. (Easy with one person on each side). Make sure you pay out the line slowly and only as much as you need to to keep the line snug against the bottom of the boat. 4. As you move towards the stern, you should eventually come to the keel where the line will need to be let out more (thus the weight to pull it downward). 5. eventually, you should have enough line out to be able to have the line not snagging on the front od the keel but is instead now tight against the bottom of the keel. 6. At that point, pull each end tight and mark where they come up to the deck/rubrail. This ends up being close to an isosceles triangle with the width across the deck being the 3rd side. You should now be able to remove the line and calculate the distance from the deck top to the bottom of the keel. Subtracting the distance from the deck top to the keel bolts should closely approximate the keel depth. By the way, I haven't tired this myself but it seems like it should work. Good luck and let me know if it works.
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