Lost Swing Keel?

[Michael]

I was sailing along and tried to lower my keel. I turned the crank and suddenly heard a loud boom and after looking at the crank i saw that the cable had broken. Is there a keel still there or not? I docked the boat and felt underneath and could not feel the keel. Does the keel go back into the boat when the cable breaks, does it just hang there, or does it drop to the bottom of the ocean?Help!

 

[Bob Camarena]

It's going to hang down

The cable holds the keel up in the horizontal or "up" position. If the cable breaks, the keel is going to hang down in the vertical position. It's possible that it fell completely off, but the keel pivot is pretty strong. You probably didn't reach far enough under the boat to feel the keel. Try passing a length of line under the hull at the bow and then walking it back to the stern. If the keel is still there, it will hang up on it.

 

[Charlie -]

Keel trunk

Your right , the keel is probably hanging straight down. I'd worry about impact damage to the keel trunk where the free falling keel (600 lbs) hit it. thats what made the noise.Have it checked out.Good Luck