Help... swing keel feel off.....

[Scubajeep]

Yep... The swing keel is not their.... one day of sailing no problems... the second day we "beached up" for a hour or two then, while sailing the boat it would "feel like she hit a sand bar" but we were in the middle of a deep channel.... a few bangs later the "keel" rope went loose and the noise was gone.

Back at the slip I went under the boat to see what was wrong... and where their should be a swing keep their was nothing.

we are on vacation in Orange beach AL till wednesday (june 24) and will trailer the boat back to Louisiana then.

So... question 1.... can I put my Hunter 23.5 back on the trailer and bring her home or does the keel help keep the boat up while on the trailer?

Question 2... any suggestions on replacing this..... and how to do so......

Thanks
TOdd Hubbell
Thibodaux LA 70301

 

[George H260]

The "beaching up" probably did you in.

I've not heard of many centerboard problems on water ballast models but I did recently learn of a 2003 H260 centerboard that had to be replaced due to delamination. If water penetrates the centerboard it could cause eventual failure.

Apparently IdaSailor makes a replacement which would be a good option but it's $1400. The fact that IdaSailor has replaced a few waterballast centerboards tells me your problem is not unique.

I intend to repair the minor scrapes on my board this winter and keep a close eye on it.

On the H26/260 models the side bunks carry the weight and the bottom bunk just keeps the board from resting on the axle. I know of one H26 owner who completely removed the bottom trailer bunk and he's had no problem pulling the boat all over the country.

 

[Scubajeep]

Thanks for the feedback George. I was guessing the bunk boards held the weight but I was not sure.

I will look up IdaSailor today and see what they have.

ALso, You have great www site, I visit it often.

Thanks
Todd Hubbell