So, I keep my boat in a marina all summer and remove it in winter. Do you h26 owners leave your keel up or down while in the marina?? Thx. Willem.
Keel up or keel down
- Thread starter Willemvan
- Start date
This questions comes up every now and again.... and I don't think it is settled (or will be). I keep mine up. My reasoning is that the constant rocking will waller out the pivot hole over time. But I have no evidence to back up my suspicion. Some people think leaving it down dampens the sway of the boat and thus puts less stress on the rig over time.....
YMMV
YMMV
I use to leave mine up when stored in the slip and down when I was aboard in the slip to dampen the rocking. Not on a Hunter, but the concept is the same..
"Up" for our Mac26S. Our situation may be unique though. We are on a reservoir and the "cheap" slips are shallow. One time we thought we had enough water under us to leave the centerboard down. We came back the next week and the CB was stuck in the mud. They had let that much water out. 
"Up" for our Mac26S. Our situation may be unique though. We are on a reservoir and the "cheap" slips are shallow. One time we thought we had enough water under us to leave the centerboard down. We came back the next week and the CB was stuck in the mud. They had let that much water out.
If you have zebra mussels, keeping the keel up at the slip might be a good idea. A dock neighbor of mine had left her C22 swing keel down through the summer, and couldn't figure out why the keel wouldn't come back up when it was time to haul. I'm not sure how she got it taken care of, but I suspect someone had to dive and scrape. Not a job I would want to do at the end of the season, mid October, in Ohio.
Make sure your centerboard line is in good shape so it will not break causing it to come down seriously doing damage
Up. There is far less fouling that way, because there is less oxygen, no light, and greater biocide concentration. Also risk of grounding.
If a board does stick , it is always just fouling at the opening, and is easily cut loose with a scraper.
If a board does stick , it is always just fouling at the opening, and is easily cut loose with a scraper.