H-216 Improvement Keel Raising Mechanism Spacer

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Ranger Paul

I no longer worry about forgetting to lower my keel onto the keel rest when trailering...then remembering to raise the keel when I launch. I made a spacer out of a small chunk of Sea Board I had laying around. A hole saw was used to make a round cylinder from which I cut off a slice of the appropriate thickness (this will probably vary from boat to boat). I drilled out the center then hacksawed a notch so the hole kind of looks like an old fashioned keyhole. (See picture.) I then snapped this onto the hydraulic rod (see picture). This way, I cannot raise the keel all the way up and when I float the boat onto the trailer and pull it out of the water, the trailer keel rest contacts the keel and lifts it up a little bit taking the strain off the keel raising/lowering mechanism. Once on the trailer, my keel cable is slightly slack. Viola. If I forget to release the keel, it makes no nevermind as it is already resting on the keel rest! In fact, if I release the keel, nothing happens as the keel is already on the keel rest. Note I only changed the raised keel geometry a couple inches so it really does nothing. I do raise my keel when racing downwind...but the couple inches is not going to affect anything and I have peace of mind that I will not pull my shackle out of the keel or some other bad thing that can happen while trailering and forgetting to release the keel.
 
May 16, 2004
139
Hunter 216 Lake Hartwell GA
More on keel rasing spacer

This is also an excellent way to limit the amount of stress that is put on the cable. It is possible, with the power of this hydraulic ram, to easily break the cable. Having a spacer that limits its travel will prevent an overly helpful crew member from leaving you with the major job of replacing a cable. It may be necessary to resize the spacer from time to time as the cable does tend to stretch a little.
 
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