Leaning Keel

[TP]

I'm looking at a very nice older Catalina 22. The boat is on the trailer a little off center and the keel is resting on the trailer crossmember rather than the rubber rest. The keel is on a slight angle from vertical. How rigid vertically should the keel be. Diagrams show a close fit pivot pin

 

[Bob F.]

"leaning Keel"

I would suspect some damage in the keel pivot pin or the hole in the keel itself. There are kits available to take up some of the slack on both sides of the keel. If the boat is actually centered on the trailer in the the cradles and they are not damaged or off center and it is showing that much lean with the keel retracted, then there is something going on there to be concerned about. I think it deserves being lifted off the trailer and having someone very familiar with Catalina 22's take a look at it before making a financial committment. With the keel retracted the distance from the lowest point to the keel pivot is fairly short and anything more than about 1 to 2 inches of deviation from center is pretty severe.

 

[Larry W.]

TP; I had a 22 several years ago. The keel has a certain amount of play that you can take out with the locking bolt. The trunk is pretty strong, but you want to be a good enough sailor so that you don't drift it sideways into hard things. If you don't know how to sail, I'd advise learning on a dink off a beach first; the learning curve and cost of mistakes are not as steep with a dink.

 

[Barry P. Broyles]

Worn hole in keel

TP: I have the same problem with my C22, I,ve had the boat for 10 years and its been like that the whole time. It has a slight impact on sailing performance but overall the boat sails fine. You can have the hole drilled out and a bushing welded in its place. You should be able to get the bushing from Catalina Direct (Link Below). It is not an expensive repair.Barry Broyles C22 #1909 "Brighteyes"

 

[Aldo]

Barry's Right

Barry is right. Before I put the guide onto my trailer, it often took us several tries to get the keel in the molded "V" on the trailer. The keel sometimes did have the lean that you described in your question. With a guide on the trailer, we can put the keel into the "V", first time, every time. I never left my boat on the trailer without the keel in the molded "V". I felt that this would put some stress on the hull. The purpose of the "V" is to take the weight of the keel off of the hull while the boat is being trailered. I don't think that the lean would be apparent when the keel is lowered. There is a taper on the upper rounded part that goes into the trunk, that will take up the clearance that allows it to lean. In my opinion the trunk is very strong. So is the keel.I would be a little concerned about someone not puting the boat back onto the trailer correctly. Was it the previous owner, or was it a yard? I think that you should have the boat checked out very carefully. Aldo