I am sure this noted somewhere among the threads. As I was pulling out mandatory Long Beach MS harbor evac the weekend,, loading on trailer, cable snapped at keel. Hoping I can run another cable from spool without boat lifted off trailer, but first I will need to go pick up correct length. Any help appreciated. Tips around attaching cable as well. FYI spool was replaced year ago,, thought cable was good enough, but nope- JB
Mac 25 Swing Keel Cable Help
- Thread starter jonjbfx
- Start date
KEEL, CABLE
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HEINZIR
.
- Jan 22, 2008
- 198
I have replaced the cable on my VN23 several times with the boat on the trailer. You have to jack up the rear of the boat far enough off the trailer bunks to expose the keel attachment point for the cable. This is just a hole through the aft end of the keel. A bolt passes through a thimbled eye in the cable and through keel. I used several bottle jacks and large blocks of wood to progressively get the boat high enough. I placed the jacks between the trailer frame and the boat. If I was jacking from the ground the first 6-10” of lifting would be just overcoming the load on the suspension springs without actually lifting the boat off the keel end.
The bow stays secured to the trailer bow chock. As the stern of the boat goes up the end of the keel stays on the trailer frame roller.
I think the original cable was 3/16” 7 x 19 ss. I broke several of these over the years (total 43 years of ownership!) until I replaced the cable with 1/4”. I never had a 1/4” cable break. I made it up myself with a thimble, sleeve, and DIY Nicopress tool. Do not use hardware store aluminum sleeves, only genuine Nicopress. You can have one made at West Marine or any rigging shop, even online. I don’t remember the exact length but 8-10 ft should be more than enough.
You probably also want to replace the keel winch. Use only a brake winch, not a trailer winch. Northern Tool is where I got mine. I think it was a Dutton-Laison DL1200. Others will work also but, again, make sure you get a brake winch.
The bow stays secured to the trailer bow chock. As the stern of the boat goes up the end of the keel stays on the trailer frame roller.
I think the original cable was 3/16” 7 x 19 ss. I broke several of these over the years (total 43 years of ownership!) until I replaced the cable with 1/4”. I never had a 1/4” cable break. I made it up myself with a thimble, sleeve, and DIY Nicopress tool. Do not use hardware store aluminum sleeves, only genuine Nicopress. You can have one made at West Marine or any rigging shop, even online. I don’t remember the exact length but 8-10 ft should be more than enough.
You probably also want to replace the keel winch. Use only a brake winch, not a trailer winch. Northern Tool is where I got mine. I think it was a Dutton-Laison DL1200. Others will work also but, again, make sure you get a brake winch.