Drop down keel, will it "drop out"??

Deadline · Apr 24, 2012

Swing keel

A sizable bolt holds the keel in place, as it pivots. Check for cororsion and replacement, but wait to replace it when it's on the trailer. Also, be careful of the handle spinning wildly if you let go as the keel drops. Could whack your hand badly.

kloudie1 · Apr 24, 2012

Not familiar with that boat, Joe, but have never seen one designed without a stop.. whether it is still substantially there is something that should be verified.. could be a pin through a slot ? or a bolted on top flange that would prevent it from going out the tube.. Does it have a removable cover where the cable goes into the keel trunk?

EDIT: the Mustang 22 has a swing keel.. I can find no pictures/drawings of the PT 22.. http://sailboatdata.com/viewrecord.asp?class_id=204
and the PT: http://sailboatdata.com/viewrecord.asp?class_id=203

Ariel · Apr 24, 2012

The PT 1/4 and the Mustang are keel centerboards, hence there is no CB case in the cabin. I do not remember how the pin is encased in the keel but I do know that the CB will not fall out if it is lowered.

The PT 1/4 is a great sailing boat. It was designed by Martin Bludworth in the late 1960's and is a 22' Mustang modified by Martin to meet the 1/4 ton rule. Both were patterned after the Flying Dutchman. Martin was a world class FD sailor designer and sailmaker. He was the chief measurer for the sailing events at the 1968 Mexico Olympics. Plastrend was a company owned by Andy Green that built a full line of successful racing boats in the 60's and 70's. Andy also won many offshore races around the world.

You have a wonderful boat that brings back a boatload of memories for me. Keep it sailing!

Dave
s/v ARIEL

WayneH · Apr 24, 2012

Joe,

Most keel/centerboards swing up into the ballast. The sistership Mustang 22 does that and I can not imagine the company producing two completely different molds for the same 22 footer.

Like you said earlier, there's very little data on the PT 1/4 but the Mustang 22 at least has line drawings from the brochure.

http://sailboatdata.com/viewrecord.asp?class_id=204

Compare the drawings to your boat.

You might check out the Tempest 22, also, although that series was a few years before the PT.

http://sailboatdata.com/viewrecord.asp?class_id=3043

My keel/centerboard is a tad bigger than yours but the centerboard does not intrude into the cabin except for a small hump for the pennant.

Just a thought. Even with a "drop down" centerboard, there should be stopper to prevent the board from escaping the hull. That would mean an access port above the board to remove said stopper for maintenance and to install said stopper during construction.

A pivoting centerboard should have a pin to rotate on. My pin is contained within the centerboard slot by two angle brackets bolted to the lower edge of the slot. The pivot pin is up about 3 inches into the slot and invisible to a visual inspection. It also allows the entire centerboard to stow inside the ballast.

Hope this helps. And yes, removing the board under the ballast would have been a good idea. Can you inspect the entire cable on the centerboard? I would find a way to look at the 41 year old cable and make sure you can retract the centerboard when you are done sailing. Because the boat may not go back on the trailer if the cable breaks and the centerboard can not be raised.

Yeah, I know. MORE stuff to go wrong. That's why I replaced my pin during my first haul out. 31 years seemed long enough to me.

kloudie1 · Apr 24, 2012

Exactly.. my old Spirit 23 (built in Austin Tx ) was like that, centerboard swung up into the external keel trunk.. was retained by a stout pin which was in a recess covered by a stainless plate which was retained with a couple of screws. The pin was threaded on the end so that once the access plate was removed, a bolt could be threaded into the pin end and the bolt used to pull the pin from the trunk.. worked fine..

31seahorse · Apr 24, 2012

I wonder what it'd be like to own a NEW boat with NOTHING to do to it?[/quote]

Sort of like those "snipe" we hunted at Boy Scout camp. After a few years we learned there 'aint no such thing!

Enjoy the lake. We are about 2 hours from Lake Wallenpaupak and hope to sail there this summer. Make sure the snow is gone by June!

Mitch Witt · Apr 24, 2012

Sir, I suggest you take steps to find out exactly what you have there.. what the mechanism is, how it works and at a minimum, replace the cable. I know of several boats
that have lost their drop down keels, both those that pivot as well as those in a tunnel
that drop straight down.
In the case of the pivoting keel, if the pivot pin is supported by laminate then through
the years the supporting laminate can weaken and the entire assembly fail all at once.
Put your boat up in a travel lift and drop the keel down, photograph it and see if you
can see and determine how things work. You might seek out a surveyors help also.
Regards
mw

joes new addiction said:
This is on a '71 PT 1/4, made by Plas Trend, a short lived company outta Texas.
I understand there is VERY little info out there on her, (or her twin "Mustang 22").
But I got to thinking the other day when I was painting the hull.
I HAD wanted to lift her off the trailer, drop the keel and inspect it, soda blast and paint it, but like many plans that went south.
I ended up lifting her enough to get her off the bunks, remove the bunks on the trailer and painting what I could, drop her back down on the bunks and painting the lifting areas.
I was able to see a few inches of the drop down keel, it looks like a 3/4" X 30" or so flat cast iron plate that falls through the center of the ballast.
It's controled by a 1/4" cable and spool in the cabin and a line to the cockpit to raise and lower it.
Seeing how this boat is 41 years old, I expect NOTHING to be in good shpae, (this way I'm not pissed when I find something bad).
So far it's been a straight foreward refit, some construction of the cabin.
But, back to the keel.
The cable raises and lowers the keel.........
What holds the keel from falling into the deep? (I have read of boats losing their keel)
My last (and my first) boat was a 16' AFC with a swing keel and that had a healthy 1" pivot bolt, but being new to this boat and sailing I was just wondering how it all works.
Joe
I wonder what it'd be like to own a NEW boat with NOTHING to do to it?