How do I drop my swing keel?

[Ward H]

Sounds simple but not so sure.
Can I support it with a hydraulic floor jack, take out the swing bolt, then lower it with the lowering cable mechanism enough to inspect the bolt and bolt hole. Then raise it back up again using the cable and jack to hold it while installing a new bolt? Is it a special bolt?
It looks like the cable leaves the cable spool, goes across a couple of pulleys, down to the keel and back up again to a mounting piece for the cable end.

So I am assuming there is a pulley block on the keel? Of the two pulleys directing the cable from the spool down to the keel, both are frozen and will not turn. If I am going to lower the keel I imagine it would be a good idea to replace those blocks for smoother operation of the keel lifting/lowering process?

Do pulley blocks for steel cable differ from those for line?

Due to spalding/thickening or some other obstruction the keel does not raise all the way up. This will make it difficult to launch as the keel will not clear the trailer unless the boat floats up about 6".

Probably a good time to drop and inspect to avoid issues this summer.

Thanks

Ward

 

[CalebD]

From this: http://sailboatdata.com/viewrecord.asp?class_id=4571
I'd guess that your swing keel could weigh up to 235 lbs. (Ballast = 235) so using a jack of some kind would probably help in the lowering/lifting of it. Any car jack could handle that load.
If your blocks (pulleys) are frozen then now is the time to replace them for sure.
You might consider using a high tech line like Amsteel instead of the wire rope that is there. If you go that direction you will not need the "V" grooved blocks that are made for wire and can use a "U" grooved block for line instead.
Once you are able to drop or even lower your swing keel I'd look into cleaning out the center board trunk if there are any obstructions in there. A key hole saw or long sheet rock saw should be able to reach up in there. I get barnacle growth in our center board trunk every year and clean it as best I can in this manner.
If you have to replace the pivot bolt for the swing keel I'd go with a high grade of stainless steel (304).
It would be good to insure that this system is working well for you this summer. It would also be good if you could get the swing keel to fully retract for ease of trailering.