Hunter 22 Swing Keel Questions

[curt in CO]

I recently purchased a 2013 model Marlow-Hunter 22 with hydraulic swing keel.

1. Is it possible to remove the entire swing keel system from above? It looks to me like the entire frame is secured with bolts that protrude down through the frame and into the space below deck. Can one remove those bolts and lift the whole mechanism out of the boat? (I DO have a way to lift at 500+ lb weight.)

2. Those bolts that protrude into the below-deck space do not have nuts on them. There are about 10 bolts along both sides of the keel system frame. Should there be nuts on those bolts? The keel system does appear to be very firmly attached to the boat.

3. I have a heck of a time getting the boat centered on the trailer so that the keel rests on the center support of the trailer. Any tips?

4. When the keel is fully retracted, how much of the keel remains protruding below the hull bottom?

THANK YOU for any assistance

 

[Hunter216]

I recently purchased a 2013 model Marlow-Hunter 22 with hydraulic swing keel.

1. Is it possible to remove the entire swing keel system from above? It looks to me like the entire frame is secured with bolts that protrude down through the frame and into the space below deck. Can one remove those bolts and lift the whole mechanism out of the boat? (I DO have a way to lift at 500+ lb weight.)

2. Those bolts that protrude into the below-deck space do not have nuts on them. There are about 10 bolts along both sides of the keel system frame. Should there be nuts on those bolts? The keel system does appear to be very firmly attached to the boat.

3. I have a heck of a time getting the boat centered on the trailer so that the keel rests on the center support of the trailer. Any tips?

4. When the keel is fully retracted, how much of the keel remains protruding below the hull bottom?

THANK YOU for any assistance

Welcome to the forums

There isn’t a lot of info on the upgraded 216 which Hunter initially labeled the H22-2. They have another older model called the 22 so it causes confusion when you search. A lot of the posts on the 216 will be applicable.

I know that @chuckwayne pulled his on a 216 which is identical so could likely shed some light on specifics.

The trailer I have had vertical bars at the rear of the trailer to guide it on. Does your trailer have these?

I have never measured but it looks like several inches of keel protruding when it is all the way up

 

[Hunter216]

I’m a little curious about why your pulling the keel system?

 

[clnhse]

Good luck finding anything on this boat. I have one I bought last year. There is very little information on it. The manual does not offer any real value. I have a US Spars mast and boom on mine and I have more luck getting answers looking up a Castilian 22. I still cannot figure out the reefing system. On the flip side it is a great boat. My son had a Laser Bahia 15 foot and we sold it to upgrade to this. We needed a swing keel because here in southern Louisiana we have many sand bars. Several times we have run aground and pumped up the keel and move on. As you can see we added another axel because the trailer was overloaded. The keel does protrude about 6 inches. If is not centered on the trailer we just rock it to center on the trailer. We take about 45 minutes to set up and launch. Do you have the spinnaker? If you do please post pictures. We want to add it to ours. It is a very stable boat. If you have any other questions please ask.

 

[Hunter216]

@clnhse
It’s nice to see you back on the forum. It appears you have not quite got your spinnaker sorted out. Keep up the faith as it really adds to the enjoyment of the boat.

If I could respectfully offer a sail trim comment; the photo that shows you sailing upwind heeled over looks like your main isn’t hoisted all the way up and as a result the sail shape is off and the aft end of the boom is quite low and hanging off the topping lift.

I have included a photo below that shows the two line reef setup on my 216. I haven’t seen a 22 mainsail so I don’t know where the cringles are but basically on mine there is a light rope attached to an padeye on the mast, the rope goes up, through the cringle and back down to a cleat on the opposite side. The end of the boom has a somewhat similar setup except after the rope passes through the cringle and back to the boom it passes through a cheek block and then forward to a cleat, allowing you access to the end of the rope if the end of the boom is out over the water.

 

[clnhse]

That is the result of hoisting the main and having the boom too low and the nav too tight. We figured that one out later. Unfortunately, we are the only sailers here, everyone else fishes. Thanks for the help with the reefing. We are hoping to go out tomorrow and I will try to set it up.

 

[clnhse]

 

[Hunter216]

View attachment 167888

This photo shows SINGLE line reefing which is different than mine but accomplishes the same thing. Does your boom have internal sheaves like that?

This is the photo from the 22 manual posted in boat info but it says “typical” in the title so I’m not sure it’s actually the one you have. The manual is a bit messed up, looks like an edit from another boat that they posted some new diagrams in!

 

[Hunter216]

@curt in CO
This is a diagram of the centreboard from the owner manual on this site, no dimensions but the scale seems right,

https://sbo.sailboatowners.com/downloads/Hunter_22_88639816.pdf

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

@curt in CO
First you must have a fiberglass boat. On the bolts they probably bolt into aluminum plates that are drilled and tapped encapsulated in the fiberglass. Any info can be gleaned from boat info under hunter and then 22. Boat came out before the bankruptcy and was bought out my Marlow.

Look under the hunter owner’s and the first thread gives you a link for hunter sailboats and surf each section for any info on the 22
Hope this helps. I did sell a couple before retiring.
Crazy Dave

 

[clnhse]

This photo shows SINGLE line reefing which is different than mine but accomplishes the same thing. Does your boom have internal sheaves like that?

This is the photo from the 22 manual posted in boat info but it says “typical” in the title so I’m not sure it’s actually the one you have. The manual is a bit messed up, looks like an edit from another boat that they posted some new diagrams in!

View attachment 167889

My boom and mast is as above. This is from a Catalina 22 manual.

 

[curt in CO]

Thanks to all who replied. Very helpful.
I don't have side bars on my trailer, but I think I'll add them. I intend to single-hand quite a bit and loading on the trailer is the biggest challenge.
I do have an asymmetrical spinnaker and a bowsprit. I flew it last week. It was easy to handle and works great.

I don't plan to remove the keel system at this time. It seems like a point of vulnerability and I'm looking forward to how one might most easily remove it for servicing.

 

[clnhse]

Could you please post several pictures of the bowsprit on the outside and inside? I would like to add one to ours.

 

[Hunter216]

Thanks to all who replied. Very helpful.
I don't have side bars on my trailer, but I think I'll add them. I intend to single-hand quite a bit and loading on the trailer is the biggest challenge.
I do have an asymmetrical spinnaker and a bowsprit. I flew it last week. It was easy to handle and works great.

I don't plan to remove the keel system at this time. It seems like a point of vulnerability and I'm looking forward to how one might most easily remove it for servicing.

I think adding the trailer bars will help a lot. I don’t launch and retrieve often but a trick I picked up from power boat retrieval in windy or wavy launches is to use the rear dock cleat with a line rigged. Drive the boat onto the trailer and just throw a loose wrap around the trailer bar. Sort of holds the stern of the boat in place until you can get the winch hook on the boweye.

I don’t know if the actual centreboard is a problem unless you experience wear on the pivot pin. The most common point of failure is the hydraulic ram. Lots of maintenance and service info on this site.

Happy sailing

 

[Hunter216]

@curt in CO

Any chance you could post some photos of your bowsprit for us?

 

[Hunter216]

This is a modification the PO did on my trailer. His theory was if the Sailtec failed he could back the trailer in as deep as he could and winch the boat onto the trailer. The roller would reduce the friction where the centreboard contacted the trailer and allow it to rotate up into the boat. I believe the wedge shape helps align the boat to the trailer.

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

Either way it will be difficult to get on