I'm trying to figure out which hole belongs to my keel lock bolt. I know the lower right bolt is the keel pivot bolt and the upper left one has nothing to do with the keel. The previous owner told me that he never used the lock bolt and so he cut out that large hole in the middle of the trunk and fiberglassed over the hole. (Thanks a bunch fella)BB2F I'd like to use the keel lock bolt the way it was designed. I have found a bolt in the upper right hole and removed it. It is slightly bent and I'm guessing that is the lock bolt hole that I need to line up with the keel when deployed. If I'm right, what was the hole he fiberglassed over? There is a hole plug in the removed piece of cover right over the patch. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks, Richard
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Swing keel
I had an 86 Macgregor 25 for a number of years (loved it) but never used the locking bolt and I'm sorry I don't have the answer to your question. I sail a Catalina 22 now and don't lock the keel on it either. The reservoirs that I have sailed have so much junk on the bottom like stumps, rocks, roads, bridge abutments, shallows and the depths aren't always constant one week to the next. There seem to be two schools of thought on locking swing keels and I'm a definate non-locker. If the keel is locked and you hit something at a high speed there seems like a chance of doing damage to something. If left un-locked and you hit something, it acts more like a shock absorber and decelerates the boat more gently as the keel swings. I've hit road beds and concrete bridge abutments at a good speed and the boat merely slowed down as the keel drug across the obstacle and then went on my way. I finally found what those obstacles were one drought year when the water was down 6 feet. The argument for locking the keel seems to be that the keel could possibly retract into the trunk if you got blowed over far enough and not right the boat. I don't race, and just cruise comfortably on a small puddle so the chance of getting knocked over that far are slim to none for me. I'm sure someone can answer your question on here. Fair winds, Jon Golliher C22 Happy Daze Anderson, IN
I had an 86 Macgregor 25 for a number of years (loved it) but never used the locking bolt and I'm sorry I don't have the answer to your question. I sail a Catalina 22 now and don't lock the keel on it either. The reservoirs that I have sailed have so much junk on the bottom like stumps, rocks, roads, bridge abutments, shallows and the depths aren't always constant one week to the next. There seem to be two schools of thought on locking swing keels and I'm a definate non-locker. If the keel is locked and you hit something at a high speed there seems like a chance of doing damage to something. If left un-locked and you hit something, it acts more like a shock absorber and decelerates the boat more gently as the keel swings. I've hit road beds and concrete bridge abutments at a good speed and the boat merely slowed down as the keel drug across the obstacle and then went on my way. I finally found what those obstacles were one drought year when the water was down 6 feet. The argument for locking the keel seems to be that the keel could possibly retract into the trunk if you got blowed over far enough and not right the boat. I don't race, and just cruise comfortably on a small puddle so the chance of getting knocked over that far are slim to none for me. I'm sure someone can answer your question on here. Fair winds, Jon Golliher C22 Happy Daze Anderson, IN
3 holes
though i dont have a 25, but instead a V222, the three holes should still apply. The lowest hole and in the middle is the pivot hole, upward and to the left is the lock down bolt hole, and upward and to the right is the stop bolt. That prevents the keel from moving any further forward in its arc of travel. The way mine is, is that when the keel rests against the stop bolt, the lock bolt hole lines up with the hole in the keel so the bolt can be pushed through. If the stop bolt gets bent, then the holes wont exactly match up. Maybe that helps and maybe not, as i said i dont have a 25, but they cant be that different!
though i dont have a 25, but instead a V222, the three holes should still apply. The lowest hole and in the middle is the pivot hole, upward and to the left is the lock down bolt hole, and upward and to the right is the stop bolt. That prevents the keel from moving any further forward in its arc of travel. The way mine is, is that when the keel rests against the stop bolt, the lock bolt hole lines up with the hole in the keel so the bolt can be pushed through. If the stop bolt gets bent, then the holes wont exactly match up. Maybe that helps and maybe not, as i said i dont have a 25, but they cant be that different!
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