Keel Movement

[Connie]

The keel on my 216 seems to be loose. It still goes up and down but recently I noticed that there is alot of slack and movement. It bounces when going over waves. Is this suppose to happen? Thanks

 

[Ken - Kerr Lake NC]

check the cable

The cable should be freely moving over the block above the keel. if not, it needs to be replaced before remounting on the block (mine broke because I did not replace it. (and it is much easier to replace if you can put the keel up and put it on the trailer. once the cable brakes, it is a lot tougher.

 

[Rock]

Fact of life on swing keel

I have simiar problem only occurring on certain pints of sail that place lateral stress on keelduring sail. I am told this is normal, and something called keel clunk.

 

[Connie]

Thanks for keel info

Thanks for the information on the keel. That makes me feel a little better. Also thanks to the person who suggested Walmart for the boat cover. We just ordered a size E. Our boat is now in dry dock and we are looking forward to next season when we hopefully will know the boat a little better. Connie

 

[Ty]

Keel movement - " me too"

I have also experienced some keel problems- we noticed some significant "kickback" from the keel one day, and discovered the cable had broken. We keep the boat in the water, and the ram was not tensioned. It appeared the cable stuck in the pulley mechanism and then broke. However, now that we've replaced the cable, there still seems to be some excessive movement on the keel's pivot point, as if a spacer of some sort is missing. The keel still "kicks back" unless we tension the cable while sailing to absorb the shock. I've talked to the dealer, but am still waiting for a reply.