I have a 1982 25' Catalina, swing keel. It seems to be in excellent shape and I have docked on Lake Ray Roberts, a freshwater lake in Texas. The previous owner did not take the boat to any saltwater locations that I'm aware I don't know if the keelbolt has ever been examined or replaced. When is it recommended that the keelbolt be inspected and/or replaced? Also I removed the little cover over the keel's bolt location; however, it is entirely encased so I can't get to the keelbolt location to inspect it. How do I gain access to inspect and/or replace it?
Keelbolt Inspection/Repair
- Thread starter tklinck
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Best place to ask that ? is the C25 association: http://www.catalina-capri-25s.org/forum/forum.asp?FORUM_ID=3
You should get to know those guys, as well as those of us here.
You should get to know those guys, as well as those of us here.
X2...come over to the C25 Association.
I'm on Eagle Mountain....I'll take ya sailing out on Eagle Mountain if ya take me out on Ray Roberts.
How is it out there? There's only one marina there, right? The one at the end of old 455....I grew up in Denton and have many fond memories of that area before the lake, and I remember them building it in the mid to late 80's. I've got some pictures of the dam and lake bottoms before they filled it and construction was going on. I also frequently ride my Harley around the lake; take 455 to 377, up to 922, back across to 3002 or all the way to Forestburg to pickup 455 again.
I'm on Eagle Mountain....I'll take ya sailing out on Eagle Mountain if ya take me out on Ray Roberts.
How is it out there? There's only one marina there, right? The one at the end of old 455....I grew up in Denton and have many fond memories of that area before the lake, and I remember them building it in the mid to late 80's. I've got some pictures of the dam and lake bottoms before they filled it and construction was going on. I also frequently ride my Harley around the lake; take 455 to 377, up to 922, back across to 3002 or all the way to Forestburg to pickup 455 again.
To answer your immediate question....there's nothing much in the owners manual other than a blurb about it not being a good idea to keep a swinger in salt water all the time, and if you're gonna keep one in fresh water where electrolysis is an issue, have good anodes.
However, subsequent comments by Catalina and by owners, it is advisable to inspect the swing keel components annually. A cable failure and accompanying keel drop can cause catastrophic problems up to and including sinking of the vessel.
If you have no idea when the last time an inspection or rebuild was done, I'd say you should pull the boat and check these things out. It's not expensive to replace all the wear/tear items and the peace of mind is priceless.
However, subsequent comments by Catalina and by owners, it is advisable to inspect the swing keel components annually. A cable failure and accompanying keel drop can cause catastrophic problems up to and including sinking of the vessel.
If you have no idea when the last time an inspection or rebuild was done, I'd say you should pull the boat and check these things out. It's not expensive to replace all the wear/tear items and the peace of mind is priceless.
I agree. I posted on some older threads about what can happen if / when the keel does drop down fast if the cable should snap, etc. I wound up spending about $1,500 to have the whole keel trunk rebuilt when it cracked. The crack usually occurs between the hull & the cabin sole floor where U can't see it where the trunk penetrates. It can create a MAJOR seepage leak if damaged. As far as the keel bolts that hold the bronze pinion in place, they can only be accessed from the bottom of the hull, when hauled out. If U have no thorough previous maintneance records to confirm their replacement, then its probably time to consider it at your next haulout. Also replace any suspect keel cable, rusted original winch, etc. The cast iron swing keel naturally corrodes the stainless & bronze keel bolt fittings via electrolysis. Using an epoxy type paint can help slow this corrosion on the swing keel. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure...
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